nstructive programme in connection with the public
regulation of its affairs. It does not seem to have any fixed
principles or positive convictions as to excise methods and liquor
laws. Its policy has been that of an opportunist, at the best,--or
an obstructionist, at the worst. As in all other industries which
affect the welfare of the people, reforms have been forced from
the outside, with no help from within. Of course this is equally
true of insurance and railroad corporations, of food purveyors,
mine owners, cotton merchants, and a score of other interests. It
is due not merely to human selfishness but to shortsightedness; in
other words, to a lack of statesmanship.

To call your opponents hypocrites, cranks, fakirs, and fanatics
may relieve your feelings, but it doesn't convince anybody, and
only hurts a just cause. It is foolish to question the motives of
men who, without thought of personal gain, are trying to remedy
the evils of inebriety.

The church is perfectly right in urging total abstinence upon the
individual. The only path of safety lies in abstinence for some
individuals....

The recognition of the right of a community to establish its own
licensing conditions carries with it the right of the community to
determine whether there shall be any licenses at all!

To make the discussion of this subject as fruitful as possible, I
venture to submit the following questions for your consideration.
None of them involve any direct moral issue, but there is an
honest difference of opinion about each one of them, and they are
certainly of vital importance in determining the course of wise
and just administration.

What has been the effect of high license?

How much public revenue should the traffic yield?

Does high license stimulate unlawful trade?

How much license tax should be imposed upon local bottlers and
grocers? Should they be allowed to peddle beer or to sell it in
single bottles?

Should the place or the individual be licensed?

Should the licensing authorities be appointive or elective? By
whom should they be appointed, and for what term of office?

Have the courts made good or bad licensing authorities? Where the
courts issue licenses, what has been the effect on the court?

Should the licensing authority alone have the power to revoke a
license, and discretion to withhold a license?

How can the licensin