Mineral Point tribune. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1854-1858, 1854-04-20
A d d r E SIS
OF THE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLiTTRF
Friendly to a Prohibitory Liquor Law.

To the People Of the State of Wisconsin !:
We, the undersigned. members of the
Senate and Assembly, friendly to the pas-
sage of the Prohibitory Liquor Law, after
mutual consultation, have concluded that
| in Justice to ourselves and the friends of
! the temperance reform throughout the
State, brief and correct history of the
action of the late legislature upon this
important measure should be published.
and, through the columns of TIE public
press, be placed within the reach of every
person in the State. In accordance with
this conclusion, we have drawn up the fol
/ lowing statement of the inception, pro-
gress, and final defeat of :. the bill for the
suppression of the traffic in Intoxicating
drinks for improper purposes" during
the late session.
Ever since the State of Maine set the
glorious example of prescribing the inn
proper traffic in spirituous liqu 1rs. within
her borders, and the innumera bic evils
which follow In its train, the sub ect of a
prohibitory liquor law has been agitated
more or less, by the people of Wis consin.
For two sessions of the legislature, prior
to the last Intellectual attempts have been
made to pass law of this character
Petitions were poured in upon the legis-
lature during the session of 1925. from
all quarters of the State, aud the mea
sure demanded by voice more potential
than ever asked for any other law of that
body. Had it been for the restriction of
any other evil, that voice would have been
obeyed at once; but the legislature
shrank from the responsibility of passing,
what, n the mildest phrase, they feigned
TO believe an experiment In legislation
The only concession which they conde-
scended to make to the demands of the
people was to allow them the poor privi-
lege of voting upon the question of such
law at the ensuing general election
Last November the people voted upon
that question, and by handsome majori-
ty, demanded OF their representatives the
enactment of such law
This question entered largely into the
choice of representatives, and decided
majority Of the members Of the Assem-
bly, were elected from among the friends
of the principle Of prohibition.
In the Senate the case was different
One half of its members held over from
last year. They were elected with no
reference to this subject, and a majority
of those who thus held over were hostile
to a prohibitory law. The influence of
party is stronger in the election of Sen
ator than member of the House Those
elected last fall were mostly chosen with
a view to the coming election of United
States Senator, at the session of 1885.
Less thought was bestowed, in conse-
lquence. to their vote upon the measure in
question The result was that of the thir-
! teen members chosen at the last election,
seven were friendly to the prohibitory.
/ law, and six were opposed to it. A ma
jority of the members holding over from
| last year being opposed to it, the predom
mating influence in that body was hostile
/ to prohibition. Several Of the latter
class of Senators, elected in the fall of
1852, represented or rather misrcpre-
sented, districts which gave heavy major
general election. Had those districts
elected Senators at that time, they would,
without doubt, have chosen none but gen
uine friends of this measure This ex-
plains the course of the Senate Old the
liquor bill, and is sufficient guarantee,
that had the entire Senate. like the As
sembly, been elected last fall when this
question was fairly before the people, both
houses would nave been friendly to its
passage and no difficulty whatever would
have been found in enacting it.
During the first week of the late ses-
sion, the Hon. James D. Reymert, of
/ Waukesha, introduced bill in the Sen
ate 3 to prohibit the sale and manufacture
of intoxicating drinks" The bill was
very stringent in its provisions, and pro-
vided for being submitted to . vote of the
people at the next November election
The last section contained instructions to
the 2lert LEGISLATURE, that, in case a ma
jority of the votes should be cast in favor
of the bill that body should enact a law
precisely similar to the bill. In question,
with the exception of the portion refer
ring to such submission if a majority
were against 1T, that, of course, would put
an end to the matter.
Somewhat later IN the session, the por-
tion of the Governors Message which re,
lated to a prohibitory law, was referred in
the Assembly to the committee on iudic.
iary, a majority of whom were IN favor of
the measure The committee. after a
thorough investigation of the subject.
the light of past experience in other
States, studiously avoided all constitu-
tional objections and impracticable or un-
Necessary provisions, contained in the sim
liar laws which several of the states have
adopted This bill, accompanied by a
brief report recommending its passage,
and signed by four of the five members
of the Judiciary committee, was reported
to the house Soon after, meeting OF
the members Of the Senate and Assembly
friendly to the passage of a law embody
ing the principles of the measure known
as the Maine Law, was held the bill re
ported by the judiciary committee was
. considered and discussed IN detail il
was thought to answer the requirements
of the people more exactly than the bill
introduced in the Senate, and was accor
, dinghy fixed upon as the proper one tc
/ w N hFpp