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The Commoner
YOU 16, NO. 0
2G
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Billy Sunday Renews Rum Fight
An Omaha, Nobr., dispatch to tho
Kansas City Star, dated Aug. 19,
gays: Tho lightning express whizzing
across tho continent from Oregon to
New Jersoy, dropped Billy Sunday off
In Nebraska long onough to make
four shrioking attacks on "demon
rum," and then caught him up again
last night and whizzed on.
After tho closo of tho big meetings
in Kansas City in Juno Billy and
"Ma" and Billy, jr., and Little Paul
Wf5nt to a bungalow In tho Oregon
mountains to rest. Mr. Sunday is to
bijgln a ten days' rovival in Ocean
Beach, N. J., tho latter part of this
month, and begins a seven weeks' re
vival in Detroit September 10.
Ottered $1 )() to Mr. Sunday
Ono day a committeo from Ne
braska arrived with a plea that on
tho way across America ho should
stop off in this state and help in the
prohibition campaign.
"I can't do it," said Billy. "I'm
tired yet from last winter's work and
I've got to begin in Now Jersey right
away."
Tho committeo beggod him, offered
$1,000, started to raise it to two
thousand and told him how tho li
quor interests woro spending one
million dollars to defeat prohibition
in Nebraska this fall.
"What!" says Billy. "That wea-zol-eyod,
hog-jowled, pot-bellied,
blear-eyed bunch? I'll go. I'll give
you two days and that's all I can
sparo; but you keop your money. I
don't want a cent. Nebraska has al
ready given mo onough."
T Whon that got Into tho papers on
tho nntiflt t Htartod somotulnrc. A
prohibition campaign Is on In British'
Columbia and thoy had been trying
to got Billy, so down como tho com
mlttoes ngaln, and ho had to consont
to make a couplo of speeches. Port
land had been after him top, and he
hid to promise thorn; and' then tho
folkB in Hood River, whore ho lives,
S(nt, a committeo.
"Scorns to us you ought to give
Inme folks a chance to near that
biozo sermon," thoy said.
BMy throw up his hands and sur-
INSURANCE IN FORCE
December 31, 190G ? 559,000
DJocomber 31, 1908 1,453,218
December 31, 1910 2,641,084
December 31, 1912 4,805,502
Docember 31, 1914 6,580,604
December 31, 1915 7,618,000
August 31, 1916 8,451,683
LOCAL AGENTS WANTED
ii every locality in Nebraska and
Kjansns. "THE MIDWEST LIFE is a
live, Up to date company and. pays
liberal initial and renewal commls-
sions. Its growth has been steady
and persistent. Previous oxperionco
ill selling insurance is not necessary.
Some of the best agents this com
pany has never sold a policy before
tiioy entered its service.
The Midwest Life
, . of I.tneolH, NcbrnHka
i N, '.. SNIDLL, President
Guaranteed Cost Life Insurance
rendered. He packed tho trunks
and sent them on to Now Jersey,
gave his booze sermon to the home
folks .in Hood River, was whisked off
to Portland and gave it there,
jumped to Vancouver, then to Vic
toria, where ho spoke to audiences
of ten thusand, then back to patch
tho transcontinental express, arriv
ing at North Platte, Nebraska,
Thursday afternoon, where he spoke
to five thousand in a big tent.
While he spoke there a special
train with steam up was -waiting. As
soon as his speech was finished, a
motor car rushed him to the special,
which gave a wild toot and sped over
Or clear track to Grand Island, Neb.
Billy, wet with perspiration, took
a sponge bath in his car, put on dry
clothing and lay back to rest. Reach
ing Grand Island just in time to rush
to tho tent which was filled with
sovon thousand persons, he tore
through his booze sermon again, fin
ished in time to catch a fast train to
Omaha.
Paul Sunday Operated Upon
Here, Friday morning, little Paul
was operated upon for enlarged ton
sils and adenoids, and Mr. Sunday
watched it safely over, then caught a
train back to Lincoln, spoke that noon
to three thousand, was hurried again
to Omaha, spoke thero last night to
five thousand and finished, as wet as
if lie had been ducked in the river,
with just ten minutes to spare in
which to catch the east-bound lim
ited, with little Paul and his doctor
aboard, too, and Paul showing no
bad effects. So, on they went into
the night, after four booze sermons
in threo days on the coast, and four
booze sermons in Nebraska in two
days. That is going some, even for
Billy Sunday.
And he didn't get a cent for it,
anywhere. In addition he gave $200
to tho prohibition cause in Van
couver and Victoria. He could have
got one thousand dollars apiece for
eight lectures any time, but he says
ho is not speaking for money. In his
revival work he takes only what the
peoplo choose to give.
AH Promiso to Vote "Dry"
After each of his four speeches in
this state he said to his audiences:-
"How many hero will say, 'Bill, on
election day I'll vote against the sa
loon?' Stand up." And the four
audiences leaped to their feet.
Tho audiences in North Platte and
Grand Island were mixed, but in
Lincoln and Omaha they were men
only.
The state is to vote in November
on a prohibition amendment to the
constitution, initiated under the ini
tiative law. It began with a mass
convention, the largest ever held in
tho state, last September, to which
everyone interested in prohibition
was invited. An executive committee
of eight persons chosen to manage
the campaign was composed of rep
resentatives from each of the politic
al parties, from organized labor, the
Anti-Saloon league and the W. C. T.
U. It was necessary to have 15 per
cent of the voters in the state sign
an initiative petition. Only 37,000
signers were required, but there were
60,000.
The amendment, to carry, must
get a majority of the vote cast on the
proposition, provided tho vote for
the amendment equals 35 per cent of
all tho votes cast.
"Drys" Are Gaining Steadily
The campaign for prohibition is
conducted by the Nebraska Dry fed
eration, assisted by the, Anti-Saloon
league and all other "dry" organiza
tions. Its headquarters are in Lin-
111 .
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IWilMMMaBfi!tI,.U-
SOMETHING ABOUT TO HAPPEN
Henderson in the Westerville American' Issue.
coin, W. T. Thompson is at the. head.
It has subcommittees and a branch in
each county, and there are five or six
auxiliaries in each county. ,
There are ninety-two counties in
tho state. Thirty-two are "dry" -now,,
under local option. The state has
378 "dry" towns and cities and 169
"wet." In the election last spring
twenty-seven towns with a population
aggregating 45,000 went "dry," and
seventy-eight saloons in them were
closed. This indicates the trend of
sentiment in Nebraska, which itf
growing in favor of prohibition. But
the result this fall is so doubtful
neither side is confident: It is ad
mitted the liquor interests caused the
recent defeat of William J. Bryan for
delegate to the democratic national
convention, and that they defeated
woman suffrage in this state. These
tests indicate the strength of-the li
quor forces. On the other hand, in
the primaries this spring thd "dry"
candidates ran amazingly well. In
Omaha the "wets" expected their
candidates to get majorities of about
15,000, but they only broke' even
with the "drys," and everyone was
surprised.
Kansas a Horrible Example
Omaha business men are mostlv
"wet," believing the saloon helps
business. Lincoln is overwhelmingly
"dry" in. sentiment, but has twenty
five saloons because Lincoln is a ri
val of Omaha in the jobbing business
and it is afraid to be "dry" when
Omaha is "wet." 'Lincoln would
rather be "dry," having experienced
two years of it, if Omaha would con
sent to be "dry," too.
The World-Herald of Omaha is
"wet." The Bee is "wet," too. The
News is "dry," and will not accept
whisky advertisements, but does
print the paid arguments or the li
quor men against prohibition. In
Lincoln the Journal and News are
"dry" and the Star "wet." The ma
jority of country newspapers are
"dry." -
Liquor men are waging their fight
through "The Prosperity. League."
This league is covering the state with
literature arguing prohibition ruins
business. It, cites principally Kansas
.as an example , of how prohibition
blights everything it touches. Ac
.cordingjq the. "P,rosjerity League, v
Kansas jails, insane asylums and
poorhouses are overflowing with in
mates, banks arq empty, illiteracy
and crimo run wild, grass grows in
the streets and there is no business
at all in Kansas, just because there
aro no saloons there.
Billy Tells the tfacts
It was fun. to hear Billy Sunday
take the hide off the "Prosperity
League" and its arguments, first he
showed its officers owned saloons
and breweries.
"The arguments of the Prosperity
league are all lies," he shouted, and
then he gave the actual facts from
Kansas, the statistics furnished by
Governor Capper.
"In Kansas there is not a news
paper that will carry a beer or
whisky advertisement," he said in
his speech here last night. "And in
Kansas City Is one of the greatest
newspapers in. all the world, the Star,
that you couldn't get a beer or
whisky advertisement in if you went
with a million dollars to buy it."
Then he gave the real facts about
Kansas, how it has thirty-eight
counties without a pauper; sixty-five
counties that did not have a man in
jail all last year; ninety-six couuties
without a drunkard; of its 220 mil
lions of dollars in -savings bank de
posits; of how, when New .York was
on the financial rocks, Kansas sent 55
million dollars to keep her out of the
poo'rhouse.
"If there is a heaven for fools the
fellow who thinks the saloon helps
business will be on the front seat,
he said. 'He told how prohibition
had helpe'l$usiness in Oregon.
"The 4an ho will vote for the
saloon is, as0l,ow down as the saloon
and the jh&wspaper that supports tlie
saloon isJasjlaw down as the saloon.
Last year twenty-four thousand sa
loons w,ere voted out in this country.
Prohibition Js, the one great issue
.from the Atlantic to the Pacific, The
whisky men know 'the roof is au0U?
to 'fall in on their heads and' I have
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