3
- -
i
Mr'-" -.-"C "
4
) '
;
': f
mm
Endorse the Slocumb License,
Local Option Liquor Lav.
FROM PERSONAL OBSERVATION
Eo-Called "County Option" is Shown
to lie County Prohibition Anti
Saloon League 'Would Deprive
School District of License
Money False Pretenses.
Eminent Nebraskans have expressed
emphatic opinions upon the question
of the best means of controlling the
liquor traffic. They all base their
Views upon personal observation. No
one knowing the high character and
standing of these men can fail to at
tach importance to their statements.
1 hey are well worth reading.
Those who have given the most
Study to the question of the best
tneans of regulating the liquor traffio
fcave reached the conclusion that ex
perience the last fifty years has
proven that Its eradication .is impossi
ble; therefore the only debatable
question is as to what method for the
regulation and control of the traffic is
'inbst effective.
Without referring to the fifty years
failure in Maine, let us take examples
nearer home. The editor of .the Kim
ball (Neb.) Observer is a former resi
dent of Kansas. In May he wrote the
following letter to the Merchants' and
Manufacturers' association, Omaha:
"I came here over a year ago from
Kansas, where I lived fifteen years. I
bad ample opportunity to observe the
workings, or rather the non-working
qualities, of the prohibitory law. I
Km sick and tired of drug store sa
loons and Joints which pay no license
f.nd which cause more drunkenness
than open saloons. The Slocumb law
In Nebraska is all right as it now
stands, and needs no changing. A sa
loon run strictly in accordance with
this law is a great deal more to be de
sired than a 'dry' town with its drug
6tores. its bootleggers and its numer
ous shipments of mail order booze
and consequent drunkenness."
A veteran editor of North Dakota,
Ilcn. D. R. Streeter of the Linton Rec
ord, recently wrote as follows:
"I have published a paper in this
(Emmons) county since 1884, part of
the time under license and part under
prohibition, and I find little difference
as to the amount of liquor consumed.
Those who were drunkards under li
cense are drunkards under prohi
bition. I can see no change. But if
Kebraska wants to put a premium on
bypocrisy and violation of law, she
should at once follow in the footsteps
of North Dakota. In this state, wera
there a federal law preventing the
Interstate carriage of whisky, wine,
nd beer to all but druggists, and the
druggists' permits to sell were taken
way by the legislature, we would be
tumbling over one another to get un
der the license banner."
With a knowledge of many similar
"tacts, prominent Nebraskans have ex
pressed their views on the subject In
letters to the Merchants' and' Manu
facturers' association. From such let
ters the following extracts are taken:
Says Hon. L. D. Richards, an influ
ential banker of Fremont:
"I am In hearty sympathy with the
purposes of the Merchants' and Manu
facturers' association to secure the
tetter enforcement of the Slocumb
liquor license law. No state in the
Union has a better law for controlling
end regulating the liquor traffic than
"Nebraska, and It only remains for the
temperance and right-minded people
to see that this statute is enforced,
when many of the existing drink evils
will be removed. Under the local op
tion provisions of the Slocumb law any
community can vote and secure as ef
fective prohibition as is possible under
the strictest state prohibition law ever
enacted. My old state of Vermont
liad prohibition, so-called, and the ef
fort to enforce it made liars and hypo
crites out of many otherwise respect
able people, without lessening the
evils arising from drink. This has
been the, experience of all the states
which have for any length of time had
prohibitive legislation, and some of
them have returned, as has Vermont,
to license and regulation."
Hon. W. H. Thompson, the well
known lawyer of Grand Island, writes:
"If I understand you. the object of
your association Is to aid In the strict
enforcement of the Slocumb law of
this state. In such an effort each citi
sen should lend support. I believe it
to be the beat enactment on the sub
ject now on the statute books of any
state in this Union, If Its provisions
ere enforced as they should be."
Dr. George L. Miller, for many years
the most Influential Democratic editor
la Nebraska, says:
t "The question is an old one. Charles
I-. Dana proved by overwhelming testi
mony, derived from an exhaustive in
veotigntion. .hat for more than thirty
year prohibition In Maine utterly
failed to prohibit. It fails now, as
everybody knows. Ten years tf the
most demor- lirlr.g struggle in Iowa re
sulted in fai'ure and in a repeal of the
law. Local option under the Slocumb
law Is the ;rwe remedy for alcoholic
evils regulation and control, not
prohibition, which is impractlble and
Impossible in this free country of
ars. Besides, prohibition 13 a rank
SO E
KEBKASKANS
( Invasion or personal rights and HLertj
: from the Tain attempt to make m.-r.
' rood by statute. I have comlated it
, Xor sixty years, and torn tat it jiow, oj
tfcia prlnclp.a."
LMttmar & Sisler, owners of a lnrq?
mercantile house In Oeaeva, write:
"We believe that the law now in
force in Nebraska Is good an J thoulJ
( not be repealed, because a3 prohl-
Ditlon cannot possibly prevent the sale , whether or not it will issue taloon 11
and use of liquor; license, properly cerses.Thls must not be eounfounded
adjusted and regulated, tontrois tiie vith so-called "county option," whl
liquor traffic most e.Tectively. Com-
,parlson of the years when this j:rce
(went 'dryland thoe "in "watch licence
earr,ed 8hows that h city was much
juioiueu, wu quieter, naj less
litigation, and more public improve-
ments were mad during license rule."
Every Nebraskan may well be proud
f the career of General Charles F.
Mandereon. soldier, statesman, lawyer.
p-inouc citizen. Upon request for
his opinion of the Slocumb law, the
general wrote the following:
"This is the best liquor law in the
United States, and when enforced it
leads to sobriety and respect for law
and is productive of much good. The
country suffers frequently from Im
provident and unwise legislation, and
socalled prohibitive legislation as to
the liquor traffic has done infinite mis
chief and great harm. It leads to
clandestine evasion or direct violation,
and with either there comes contempt
of all law, good or bad. I have spent
much time In prohibition states and
nowhere has the use of liquor been
prevented, and the results have been
aeplorable. The temptation to vio
late the law is great and the results
flowing from clandestine and illegal
annmng nave led not only to con
tempt of all law, but have Increased
the liquor habit."
President P. Walsh of the McCook
National bank writes:
"I am unalterably opposed to prohi
bition because it has proven to be det
rimental to business interests wher
ever it has been tried, and I share
with you in your views that Nebraska
has at present the best laws regulat
ing the sale of liquor of any state in
the Union."
Hon. V. D. Nailer of Blair, whose
record in the Nebraska legislature
stamped him as anible man, writes:
"My observation convinces me that
no state in the Union has any law that
so fully controls the sale of liquor a3
does the Slocumb law of this state.
Prohibition in other states has been a
failure. NoConly is there as much
liquor consumed in prohibition states
as In this state, but no revenue is re
ceived therefrom."
Mr. Thomas B. McPherson. the
South Omaha banker, is known to
business men all over Nebraska. Ha
writes:
"I lived in Pennsylvania under pro
hibition for years and found more
drunkenness and corruption of youth
there, to the township, through the
process of 'bootlegging, than has ever
existed in the whole state of Nebraska
under the Slocumb law, even with a
lax enforcement of its provisions. We
now have the very best law for the
regulation of the liquor traffic to be
found in the United States. All we
need is its proper and rigid execution.
Your association is certainly moving
in the right direction, and should re
celve the assistance and hearty co
operation of all good citizens.'
A WISE CONCESSION
Law-Giving Body of Methodist Church
Indorses Local Option.
The Baltimore Sun of May 26 con
tains the following report showing
that the great law-giving body of the
Methodist church was wise enough to
concede that local option is an effec
tive means of controlling the liquor
traffic. The report reads:
"For three hours locked In a fierce
struggle, the advocates of local option
as the road to prohibition fought
things to a final settlement in the gen
eral conference of the Methodist Epis
copal church at the Lyric yesterday.
The result was an overwhelming tri
umph for the local optionlsts. Indi
vidually, It was a spectacular triumph
for Governor J. Frank Hanly of Indi
ana, whoso speech In defense, of the
majority report of the temperance
committee, of which he is chairman,
aroused unbounded' enthusiasm. His
was a powerful appeal that swept the
conference from end to end and scat
tered the opposition like chaff before
the wind' until there was a bare cor
poral's guard of them left to protest.
Some few refused to surrender and in
sisted upon their privilege under the
rules to have their votes recorded by
name against the report."
The debate was long and exciting.
The most conspicuous man on the side
of the vanquished was Chancellor J.
R. Day of Syracuse, N. Y.. who. in an
impassioned speech, urged' the confer
ence to declare solely and straightly
for prohibition; asserted that the
words "local option" did not and never
had sounded right to him.
Dr. A. B. Leonard vigorously and
with Intense earnestness attacked the
majority report because of its indorse
ment of local option.
"I oral option," he declared, "means
prohibition or permission."
Dr. Leonard, when he could make !
fc'mf.elf heard, insisted' that that was
vrrt it did mean, and predicted that
V. th majority report should bp adopt
ed the conference would regret it and
that throe months from now those
who votel for it would be wiser than
tiey are today. He declared that if
the conference indorsed local option it
Indorsed the right of a majority of the
people in any given district to legalize
the sale of liquor."
However, the report was adopted.
This notable action of the Metho
dist chureh is causing widespread
comment. The Clay Center (Neb.)
San. of which W. L. Palmer is editor,
! In its litue .f June B. mates tie fuJ-
lowing coinmen cn the subject:
"It la enough to make Slocumb
the author of the Nebraska local op-
tlou law, turn over In his grave and
take' notice when the M. E. general
conference invokes the aid of hU law.
Local option, as defined by the Ne-
traska statute, means that any village
or town may decide at the ballot bo
Kuans simply county prohibition bo-
cause its advocates decline to give to
the voter any option in the matter.
Under their program he must vote Xor
license or not. at an.
;
j Mulcting the Taxpayer.
I The object of the Anti-Saloon
i League is to bring about county
prohibition (under the name of county
option) and thus, by extending dry
territory, ultimately to reach state
wide prohibition. To attain this ob
ject, the league adopts in one state
methods differing from those prac
ticed in others; for instance, the
league in Massachusetts is waging a
campaign for a state law which wifl
take from local school districts
moneys received from licenses and
fines and put it into the state treas
ury. The agents of the league explain
their action to be based upon the fact
that local communities, in most cases,
have refused to vote for county prohi
bition because it would forfeit the rev
enues from licenses and fines which
now go into the school fund to pay
for the maintenance of the schools.
The forfeiture of this money, of
course, means that local taxpayers
must submit to an additional levy to
make up the deficit. In Omaha, for
instance, that deficit would amount to
over a quarter of a million.
There is no doubt that agents
the league are correct in their state
ment that 1 state law requiring all
license money' and revenue from fines
to be covered into the state treasury
would be a powerful lever in the hand
of the learue to bring about state
wide prohibition. It is equally true
that such a policy would recoil with
terrific effect upon the taxpayers of
every school "district.
The program of the league includes
the raising of this issue whenever it
can be done without jeopardizing
chances of niccess. It would be well
for Nebraska taxpayers to give this
matter earnest attention before it is
too late.
OKLAHOMA'S FLOP
Editors Agree With Judge Strang that
the Dispensary Is to Sell Liquor
Not to Prohibit.
Perhaps the strangest of all the
things done by Oklahoma was Its
adoption of an article in the constitu
tion prohibiting the manufacture and
sale of liquor, only to repudiate such
action the . following year. Last fall
the people adopted prohibition at the
polls, but the unusual part of it is that
the legislature took advantage of an
alternative clause in the constitution
and reversed the will of the people re
specting prohibition, putting in its
place a state dispensary. Under the
new law, the state is now selling liq
uor to the exclusion of all private
business houses; whereas the people
decreed that liquor should not be
made nor sold within the boundaries
of Oklahoma.
Some of the Prohibitionists contend
that Oklahoma did not reverse its pol
icy, and that the dispensary is a meas
ure promotive of prohibition, as de
fined by the state constitution. How
ever, it is difficult to see how any fair
minded man could be deceived by such
pretension. Judge Strang of the dis
trict court of Guthrie, early In May,
in a case brought before him involv
ing a collateral issue, decided the
point with emphasis. He held that
"the dispensary law is an act regulat
ing the sale of liquor, net one to pro
hibit." The editor of the State Capital, in a
recent letter to a Nebraskan, said:
"Responding to your query, let me
say that the people adopted state-wide
prohibition last fall by a majority of
18,000.. The legislature repudiated
this action by the passsage of the dis
pensary law. The dispensary law will
simply develop into a lot of state sa
loons." The following are a few brief quota
tions from newspapers in Oklahoma
bearing on the point:
"Prohibition carried by nearly 20,000
votes at the last election. Cut the
legislature and governor are ignoring
the wishes of the people and are es
tablishing saloons in every county of
the state." Texhoma Times.
"Just as sure as there is a just God
in heaven, the politicians will have to
answer to an outraged people for their
broken prohibition promises. Oklahoma
did not vote for a dispensary system
of dram shops. They voted for prohi
bition." Erick Altruist.
"After voting 18,000 strong for pro
hibition, the people find that the pro
hibition law was only a horrible farce.
and they are now placed in the saloon
business themselves." Carmen Head
light.
The action of the legislature in re
versing the rolicy of the state respect
ing prohibition should not be judged
too harshly. It was taken upon renre
t'ijfiUion of citizens of the state that
I ,e prohibition amendment (effective
upon its ratification) had been utterly
ignored in nearly every community of
the new states the people paying no
more attention to its provisions than
do the people of the larger cities of
Maine and Kansas pay to the prohib
itory laws of those states. There is
much evidence showing that boot
leggers in large numbers pervaded the
state, and that the clandestine sale of
liquor was practiced everywhere. Very
raturally, many people saw that this
state of a"aira would bricj di&uter,
nd they appealed to tic leilatr.ro
for protection.
It co happened that the Trainers cf
the Oklahoma constitution inserted a
clause empowering the legislature to
establish a state dispensary upon a
showing of fact that the policy of pro
hibition could not be enforced. When
Euch showing was made the legisla
ture acted accordingly. Just as did the
Iowa legislature in 1894.
MR. BRYAN ANDPROHIBITIOH,
An Associated Press dispatch, dated
fct Lincoln, June 11, says:
Replying to a dispatch from Mil
waukee concerning his attitude on the
question of prohibition, Mr. Bryan
said:
"I have received many letters from
prohibitionists and many from oppo
nents of prohibition, and I have an
swered them all in the same way. I
have told them that I did not regard
the question as a national one. While
it is an issue in a number of states,
I do not expect it to be made an issue
by either the - Republican or Demo
cratic national conventions. I have
made it a rule not to discuss ques
tions outside ' the platform, because
the candidate has no right to Inject
Issues which his platform excludes.
"In answer to questions about my
own record on the subject, have
stated that so far as my personal hab
its go, I am a teetotaler, never having
used liquor as a beverage, but in 1893
I voted against the state prohibition
amendment because I thought the li
cense system we had, with local op
tion, was better suited to the condi
tions we had to meet In our stats."
. It will be remembered that Mr.
Bryati in 1S0O "stumped Nebraska
against a proposed prohibition amend
ment to the state constitution and
helped to defeat it by a large majority.
Secretary Taft's Opinion.
Secretary of War William H. Taft.
in his book, "Four Aspects of Civic
Duty," page 46, explains why statutory
prohibition cannot be enforced, as fol
lows :
"Nothing is more foolish, nothing
aaore utterly at variance with sound
policy than to enact a law which, by
reason of conditions surrounding the
community, is incapable of enforce
ment. Such instances are sometimes
presented by sumptuary laws, by
which the sale of intoxicating liquors
is prohibited under penalties in local
ities where the public sentiment of
the immediate community does
not and will not sustain the en
forcement of the law. In such casejs,
the legislation usually Is the result
of agitation by the people of the coun
try districts who are determined to
make their fellow citizens in the city
better. The enactment of the law
comes through the country representa
tives, who form a majority of the
legislature, but the enforcement of
the law is among the people who are
generally opposed to It3 enactment,
and under such conditions the law is
a dead letter."
Full and Frank Discussion.
One of the best weekly newspapers
in Nebraska is the Greeley Citizen,
published by Messrs. F. P. and E. E.
Compton. Its editorials are uniformly
well written and forceful. Its issue of
June 5 contained the following:
"It is but just to state that the Mer
chants' and Manufacturers' association
is not a saloon organization, nor is
there a saloon man (either wholesale
or retail, nor a brewer) among it3
members. It is an organization of
manufacturers, wholesale and retail
merchants of that city, banded to
gether for the distinct purpose of
working for what they deem for the
best interest of Omaha and the state.
Some of the best and most influential
papers in the state have published the
article and we call our readers' atten
tion to it on the last page.
"The Merchants and Manufacturers'
association or the Anti-Saloon "League
should enjoy equal facilities at the
hands of the Nebraska press and, with
few exceptions notably our contem
porary they will, and a full and frank
discussion of any public question will
never injure the morals of any one.
and no one, but a hypocrite would
object."
False Pretenses.
There is no such thins as county
option. It Is simply county prohi
bition. Its advocates are working to
have the question put to vote in their
way, and that way is to let the voter
have a chance to say no licenses shall
he issued, but they will not give him
a chance to say licenses shall be
issued. It Is a one-sided, jugi-bandled
proposition. The voter has no option.
It is "Hobson's choice."
When the Anti-Saloon League la
beled "county option," it hoped to de
rive some benefit from the popularity
of local option as defined by the Slo
cumb law, but the league is guilty of
false pretense when it uses the term
"county option." If the league would
take off the mask and use the true
term, "county prohibition," it would
not deceive half as many as It does,
end in many places where the league
low gets a hearing, its pretensions
.oultl not be tolerated.
Paid agents of the Anti-Saloon
league a-re agitating prohibition in
Nebraska. They forc.e resident voters
to defend existing law. They are
getting the farmers to sign petitions
to the next legislature for so-called
county option, which is nothing but
county prohibition, the ultimate, aim
being state-wide prohibition. Tax
payers should compel them to take off
the mask, and to abandon the false
pretense that there is the Slightest
degree of option In the bill which
they are aiTocatiny.
v - - - -
- County Prohibition I
Agents of the An.l-S&loon Irne
who are so zeslousy working in Ne
braska for so-called county option caa
not be expected, of course, to tell the
people the true inwardness of the
movement. The term "county option"
Is a misnomer. No dojbt it was
chosen because of the popularity of
the local option clause of the Slocumb
law of Nebraska, which has worked to
perfection in so many cities and
towns. There 13 no option in the plan
proposed by tho Anti-Saloon League,
The dictionaries tell us that to exer
cise option is to have the power of
choice. The program of the Anti-Sa
loon League respecting the giving to
voters of a county a chance to vote in
regard to the liquor traffic prevents
the exercise of choice. The bill intro
duced in the last legislature providing
for so-called county option intended to
make it possible for voters to express
their will only upon the negative side
of the proposition as to whether or
not saloons may be licensed. Under
that bill, if enacted into law, it would
be Impossible for the voters to ex
press a desire for license; therefore,
the quality of option does not attach
to the measure.
The agents of the league ought to
be frank enough to say that they are
seeking county prohibition as a meaos
of bringing about state-wide prohi
bition through the voters of the sev
eral counties. Their plan is severely
criticised because it does not give tho
voters an option or an alternative In
an election to determine the question
whether or not licenses shall be is
sued. Their program is unfair ana
unjust, and can not win among voters
who take the trouble to learn all
phases cf it.
Why Hoke Smith V.'as Defeated.
Politicians will cite the case of Gov
ernor Hoke Smith of Georgia as an ex
ample of the folly of leaders of any
party loading up with the Issue of
prohibition. "Hoke Smith Is one oT.
the best men of the south, where
nearly every white man is necessarily
a Democrat. He has made an ex
cellent record as governor, and was
entitled to a renomination for a sec
ond term. Partisan oracles of the
north will not be slow to perceive that
Hoke Smith's defeat was due to his
championship of prohibition in the
face of a popular movement among
business men of Georgia for a revision
of the law which was put into effect
only last January. This law was en
acted to abolish the black man's sa
loon, but it was not intended to pre
vent the white man from getting liq
uor. The net result, however, is the
loss of -hundreds of thousands of dol
lars in trade, according to the esti
mate of the Savannah Chamber of
Commerce, and this has led to a con
cert of action of boards of trade
throughout Georgia to bring about a
revision of the law. Immense quanti
ties of liquor are being shipped Into
the state in original packages, so that
while there is no diminution of the
amount consumed, there is an enor
mous outgo of money from the state
to outside dealers.
Hoke Smith's competitor, Joe Brown,
is said to have promised the business
men to approve any bill the legislature
would enact affording them relief.
This is why he was successful in the
Democratic primaries, which triumph
is equivalent to an election. In other
words, Georgia business men have
risen, as did Iowa business men, and
demanded of the dominant party re
lief from damaging conditions. They
are for any candidate who is willing
to help them.
In a nutshell, this is the whole story
of the overthrow of Governor Hoke
Smith and' the breaking of time hon- 1
ored precedent, which calls for the
giving to a good governor a second I
term.
Dr. Lyman Abbott on Prohibition.
Dr. Lyman Abbott, editor of The
Outlook and an eminent divine, in his
book "The Rights of Man," page 243.
says :
"My objection to prohibitory laws is
not that they cannot be enforced, but
that they ought not to be enforced.
H3S a rural county in
Maine, which thinks the saloon is an
injury, a right to prohibit the saloon
to the people of Eangor or Portland,
who entertain a different opinion? If
so, on what is that right baaed? It is
not based on their right to protect
themselves, for drunkenness and dis
order in Portland or Bangor inflicts
an insignificant ahiount of injury upon
the inhabitants of the remote rural
county. It must be based on the sup
posed right of the majority to impose
their conscience on the minority, to
determine for them what is safe and
right, to act toward them In loco
parentis; and this right of the major
ity to act in leco parentis toward t?ie
minority is fundamentally antagonistic
to the essential principle of a derr.oc
ricy. which is founded upon local self-
government."
. "When a p.ild aent of the Anti-Saloon
League begins to make an argu
ment for what he calls county option,
voters should require him to explain
why he makes use of the word "op
tion," since he would' give voters a
chance to vote only for no license, and
would pvevent them from voting for
license. The agent should be forced
to admit the truth, viz: that his pre
tended county optica is uctlriinf but
couniy prohibition.
TKIS IS SOUTHERN PROHIBITION
(New York World.)
Henry Wattcrson says, "Nobody can
be Democrat and a Prohibitionist."
If the venerable principles of Democ
racy mean anything, nobody can at
the Hire time advocate personal lib
erty .and then undertake to dictate
what some other man shall or ehall
rot drink.
A man can be a Democrat and a to
tal abstainer. He can te a Democrat and
smoke or not smoke. But he cannot
withcut casting aside the fundamental
Jeffersonian principles undertake to
regulate by law another man's habits
or morals, any more than another
I man's religion or taste.
In the southern states wnere prom
otion has been adopted it Is en
forced chiefly as against negroes and
not against white men.
The, system of white men's clubs,
original packages by express and drug
store saloons enables the white man
to regulate the negroes' habits with
out changing their own, somewhat as
they regulate the diet and work of the
horses and mules which are no more
Indispensable on a southern planta
tion than Is negro labor.
This is southern prohibition.
How Kansas Is Hampered.
There is a variety of opinion as to
the success of prohibition in Kansas.
This is due to the fact that in some
of the country precincts the law is,
for the most part, effective, while in
all the towns- and cities It is a dead
letter. In an effort to get the truth
of the matter, the Merchants' and
Manufacturers' association addressed
l m
a number of letters 10 memoers 01
boards of trade and commercial clubs
throughout Kansas. Many replies have
been received, but, for want of space.
only one is given herewith. It is
signed by a member of the Fort Scott
Commercial club, under date of May
20, and reads as follows:
"In answer to your letter cf May 23
regarding the effect of prohibition,
will say that your editorial informant
at Kimball, Neb., is entirely correct.
The writer has studied and seen the
effects of the prohibitory law in Kan
sas since its inauguration over twen
ty-five years ago. At no time, the
present included, has it been impossi
ble to procure liquor, and that, gen
erally speaking, of the very worse
quality. The drunkards of ten years
ago, if still alive, are the drunkards
of today. If not alive, their places
have been taken by an army of new
recruits.
"Kansas, with its natural resources.
is the most productive Btate in the
Union, and yet we have gained less in
population than almost any other
state In the Union the Increase of
population in this state being less
than the birth rate. The writer has
seen more blackmailers, more perjur
ers, and more dissension caused
among good" people by this same pto-
hibitory law than from any othar
cause that may be named. The n.a
jority of our people In this local! cy
feel that it Is an unjust law, and that
it has greatly hampered our progress
and well-being.
"I sincerely hope that tL. jaerchants
and solid business men of Nebraska
will not burden themselves with such
a law. You may rest assured that If
they do you may bid goodbye to prog
ress; at least, our experience is that
way. About the only benefit the Uv
has proven to us Is to give a good ad
vertising medium for sensational
preachers, evangelists and grafting
politicians. Furthermore, any repre
sentative business man of any town in
Kansas, if he speaks the truth, is
bound to tell you the same thing."
The Case of David City. .
Last spring David City decided by
Tote to issue no saloon licenses. This
was done under the provisions of the
Slocumb local option law, and the se
quel shows that actual prohibition pre
vails in that city. The result may be
satisfactory to a portion of the peo
ple, but not to the merchants. A
banker said recently that mercantile
business had been Injured to the ex
tent of 50 per cent since the closing
of the saloons, while towns to tne
east of David City, which are wet.
now enjoy unprecedented trade tiie
increase coming from men who form
erly went to David' City to do trading.
West of that city, where there are no
saloons, there has been a large in
crease of trade with mail order houses
located far beyond the limits of the
county. This shows that there are
many farmers who will not trade In a
dry town if they can help it. Many
farmers in the vicinity of David City
aro foreign born and many are not
All are thrifty and well-to-do. Not
paying taxes in town, they have no
right to say whet the people therein
may or may not do, but of course
they ran trade where they please.
The unfortunate part of the matter
Is that the loss falls heavliy upon the
merchants, who are the heaviest tax
payers. While tbclr profits are re
duced one-half, their taxes must be
increased to make up for the loss of
revenue to the school fund derived
from l!rnse fees. In a year or two
thpy will feel the pinch more than
t'-ey do now, and when conditions be
i vie intolerable, they will demand a
Sange. That demand will result in
one or two thing. to-w!t: The reissu
ing of licenses or the goins dry of
every town In the county, for the mer
chants cannot sit still e.nd see their
trade going to vet towns.
The Antl-Fnloon Leajrue lp profiting
by its false pretense concerning "coun
ty option" because of the popularity
in Nebraska of local option. The
liague's program is devoid of the qual
ty of option. It is nothing but county
prohibition, pure and simple.
V