Taxation Of The Liquor Traffic

It ia difficult tosco tor what roason the Legislatura hesitates so much over tho soction proposed by tbo Constitutional Commission tor tliu rostriotiou and taxation of tbc liquor tramo. Thoro my be soino questiou as to tlio (vdvisubility of inoorporating tho soction in tlio maiu body of tho Constitution, but any argument directed againat tbo proprioty or policy of sucli action possess no force whon apwd to separate aubmissjon. Lot aa suppose, for tho sake of illustration, thnt the sentiment of a niajority of tho people Of the State is averso to any reoogmtion ot tho liquor traffio in tho Constitntion savo in tho seetien which prohibits tho onaotraont of a license law. In ihat caso the soction for tho restriction atd taxation of tho traffic can nnd will bo yoted down, and the effect of tho submission will be to strengthen tho hands of thoe whoare, ai thty say, opposfcd to all comproruise with tho ovil. If, on tho other hand, the section is submitted and adoptod it will show conclusivoly tbat n majority of the people are in favor of tho taxation of tho traffio, whetber thcy aro in favor of its Icgalization or not. lu neithorcasc could any harra rcsult froiu tho submission of the section. Tho subject in volved is an important one, and one on which it is' particularly desirablc theru should be a freo and ftill epreioi of the popnldï will. If it were ptopeaed to substituto the restrictivo sectiou for tho present prohibitory ouo, it would not be bard toeuunier;vto souio strong rcasons for the chango. - Chief among them is tho fact thatthough for nearly a quarter of a century a prohibitory clauso bas had a placo in the Constitutiou, it bas practioally been a nullity. In somo localities at certain intorvals the sale of liquor bas boon suppressed, but, tako tho wholo State through, it cannot be denied that prohibition in tho Constitution has failod to achieve any results, or that undcr it tho traflic in intoxicatiug drinks bas either been suppressed or diminishod. The teaching of this experience ougbt to bo sufficiont to oonviuco the most uncomproruising advocato of probibition that soincthing different or additional is nceded. This appears to be afforded by the restrictivo SDction. Under it the liquor traffic can be taxed out of existence in any locality wbenever the prohibitionists have a maiority in the Legislatura and are sufficiintly sustained by public opinión to warrant them in imposing an excessive tix. Then, too, with tho rato of annual taxation proposed in tho section as it btands at present, cach locality and the State at largo could derive greut benefit. In tho City of Detroit alone thorc are oight hundred bars for tho ictail of spirituous liquorp, and an aunual tax ot f200 on eacti ot these would bring in 160,000 yearly.- The section provides that tho tax " hall bo paid into the treasury oi' the proper township, city or villagc, and bo applied by the proper authorities to tho support of the poor therein, sofar as uiay be necessury, and the residuo áppropriated us tho Legislatura shall próvido." The suui nauied is six tirues as large as the amount annually expended by the City of Detroit tor tho relief of its poor, and after they wero provided for out of it, there would be a largo balance romaiuing which could be devoted for pnrposes of the highest beneficenco. This would bo the case if only one-half of tho saloons in the city paid theiv tax. Why this large suui of money should be thrown away for a mero whim or caprice is utterly inconceivable. The national government haa no scruples at deriving millions of revenuo annually from tho tax of spirituous and fprinented liquors. Without this tax heavier burdens would be laid . upon the peoplo in other directions. Tn tliiB State thoro is a large liquor traflic. It goes on uninterruiitedly in spite of prohibitory enactrnents. " By a judicious system of taxation it could be regulated, and a largo enougn fund raised every year to rnitigate many of the resulta ftowiug from it- results which an unenforced prohibitory law doos nothing to provont. We will havo tüese results in greatcr or less degree whether we havo a prohibitory law, a Hcen8e law, or a system of restriction. - Thoy flow frora and aro dependent in a great measuro upon the state of society, and until the timo comes when tho liquor traffic goes down beforo public sontiment which can bo educated and olevated just as readily no matter what the law of the State- theso will continue to be manifested. Why not accept things as they are, and at ouco make thn mot nd hct of them ükljtgan Jrps.