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Show I HOW PROHIBITION "PROHIBITS" IN IOWA AND OTHER STATES Editor Tribune: The -writer was living In Iowa when tho prohibition law was passed there. It was made In tho form of' an amendment to the constitution, being be-ing passed by a voto of the people. The supreme, court declared the amendment unconstitutional. The Republican legislature legis-lature then shouldered the white elephant and passed a prohibitory law. Previous to that time Towa hod always been Republican Repub-lican by a large majority. This act made the Republican party so unpopular that at the next election a Democratic governor gov-ernor and a Democratic legislature were elected. Thoy repealed the prohibitory law and passed an act known as the mulct law, which thoy have at. the present pres-ent time, which gives oanli cltv of 5000 population the right to take a voto on the question to choose for themselves whether they shall have- saloons or not. During the,' period that the strict prohibitory pro-hibitory law was on the statute books there was never a time hut what the saloons sa-loons were wide open, making no pretense pre-tense whatever to closu their doors In the following cities: Keokuk, Burlington, Davenport. Dubuque. Muscatine, Sioux City and Council Bluffs. They paid no llcenso except twice a year they wero fined amounting to about $300 each time. All the combined efforts of tho most rabid prohibitionists were brought to bear to enforce tho law In those cities, but It was of no avail. The saloons continued wide open all the time. Why was tho law not enforced? Simply because public pub-lic sentiment was against such a fanatical fanati-cal law. The same condition exists In Salt Lake City. Tho majority of the best people, those who have built tho city and made It what It Is today, thoso who represent repre-sent the wealth of the city and pay the largest amount of taxes, arc almost solidly solid-ly against such a farcical law. They: do not believe It Is tho right wny to deal with the liquor question. In some of the smaller towns or Towa where the prohibition prohi-bition Fentlment Is tho strongest they have succeeded In closing the saloon, but the drugstore has taken Its place. Bootleggers Boot-leggers are also constantly selling Honor. Just as much liquor Is sold as before, only by a different method. Every little while they would pull a bootlegger up to try and prosecute him for selling liquor. li-quor. 'Witnesses whom they believed had bought liquor from him wero summoned (there was no doubt that they had): but when'thev come to the witness stnnd Wev Invariably protected tho bootlegger seldom. If ever, proved anything against him. It' caused almost an endless amount of hypocrisy and false swearing. These trials were a continual expense on the state, and practically of no avail. In any of the small Iowa towns whore there Is no saloon the druggist, looks after the wants of the people. The bootlegger Is a close second. Any quantity can bo had from a glass of whisky to a barrel. If there Is auv doubt exists In the mind of any one as to the truthfulness of thif statement, the writer is willing to challenge chal-lenge that one on .a trip to Iowa and show him. Tho proposition is as follows. I will go to ono of the small towns In Iowa where there arc no saloons, where the prohibition sentiment Is very strong, where every effort Is being mado to enforce en-force tho Inw, and will show you that I will buy all the way from a glass to a barrel of whisky there. I will stand all tho expenses of the trip If I fall; otherwise, other-wise, loser Is to pay the expenses. This Is a bona flde offer. Money for tho. expenses ex-penses of the trip will be deposited In the bank here before trip Is begun, to make good. Come, now, if prohibition prohibits, let's sec if It does. This is no exception to any of the small Iowa towns whoro there are no saloons. Prohibitionists would havo you believe that the people of Utah aro a better bet-ter class than thoso of other states, and for that reason argue that they can en-forco en-forco such a law; but that Is noL the case. Even the law against murder hero is not enforced as strictly as In other states. Some of thoso who are offering this argument and crying th loudest for prohibition, if they lived In Iowa and violated vio-lated the laws" ns they do hero, they would soon land in tho penitentiary. Tho Antisaloon league man is a malicious falsehood, Intended to deceive, those who are not familiar with tho facts. It hows that portion of Oregon In which Portland Is located as white. Any person who has been to Portland lately knows that Tort-land Tort-land has at least 200 licensed saloons. The same thing applies to other states mentioned on the map, If prohibition prohibits, what is Kansas doing with 3000 liquor dealers, as shown by the licenses li-censes Issued by th United States internal in-ternal revenue office? Nchraska lies parallel par-allel with Kansas, has more population and high llcenso and fewer liquor dealers than prohibition Kansas. Facts and figures fig-ures show for themselves that prohibition Is an absolute failure in Kansas, as in other places It has boon tried. What is the use of Utah experimenting with a law that has been tnoroughly tried Qlit and demonstrated a dismal failure? That It has hurt Kansas there Is no question. The people who havo signed petitions In favor of prohibition, If thoy wero familiar with the workings of that law, would sign against It; but they have boon deceived by tho circulation of false literature and pleadings of a few fanatical leaders. A sample of this Is tho Anllsaloon league map. I am not writing this from hearsay hear-say or from newspaper reports, but from .actual experience and observation. I am not interested in tho liquor business in any way except as any good citizen should be to doviso the best method of dealing with the liquor traffic Tho laws on tho statute books now would bo sufficient, If properly enforced, and arc as good as those of almost any stale. G. AY. HULL. Salt Lake, February 7. |