The "high license" reforms in the southern states (and elsewhere) were efforts scale back the number of saloons. Only the more profitable and reputable saloons could survive. If I recall, Duis contrasts the number of saloons in Boston after a similar effort with Chicago's unregulated market. James Ivy On Sat, 26 Sep 1998, David M. Fahey wrote: > In late 19th and early 20th cent. England reduction in the number of > premises licensed for the sale of alcoholic drink for on-premises > consumption became popular as a method of temperance reform. Was there any > similar enthusiasm for reduction in numbers in the USA or other > English-speaking countries? >