Show IDAHO LIQUOR BUSINESS The high license liquor bill which was introduced in the Idaho Legislature early in the session has been unceremoniously uncere-moniously killed THE HERALD never believed the bill would be passed We dont think it was the intention to pass it and wonder why it was introduced Perhaps some fellow wanted to pose asa as-a temperance reformer and didnt realize re-alIze where he was Experience has demonstrated that the liquor traffic can be best controlled by a high license law but where the license is so high that the business cannot can-not possibly pay it the law is prohibitory pro-hibitory and in the average American community prohibition is a failure The Idaho bill proposed a license tax which saloon keepers outside of three or four towns could not have paid To say that with the exception of perhaps four towns Idaho can be made prohibitory prohi-bitory is to talk like an idiot If the selling of intoxicants the little mining min-ing camps and the railway towns involved in-volved heavy fines and imprisonment I the intoxicants would be sold The law could not be enforced and a statute which cannot be applied is better out of the books Having wisely killed an unwise billie bill-ie > Legislature should enact a liquor law which could be enforced and which would place the liquor traffic under better control and at the same time make the business a source of revenue The law should be based on the principle princi-ple of high license but not so high as to be prohibitory Let the population be the gauge as to the amount of license A saloon keeper in a town of 10000 could pay a license which would be prohibitory in a place of 5000 people The liquor business in our northern neighbor is in need of regulation and the public treasuries are in need of more revenue and we know of no better way of getting the money than by making those who drink whisky pay for it We hope the Legislature Legis-lature will not be discouraged by the first blunder which so alarmed the community |