Eaton weekly Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1866-1875, 1872-05-16
The "Anti-vigiianoe Meeting"

The Anti Vigilance Meeting"
According to call the Court House
was filed with the citizens Of Eaton
on Thursday evening the 9th inst.
for the purpose of taking some action
against the impracticable and tanatieal
course of the, self=constituted "vigi-
lance committee" or tire question: OF
temperance, but owing to any preoon-
certed action in The matter by those
who are opposed to the arbitrary
conduct of the three or four "regula-
tors here, we. are free to admit that
nothing very decisive was done. 1t
was not the intention of the meeting
to defend whiskysdrinking orswhisk sky
selling, and when Mr.. Lake, in his
usual self-opinionated haste, charged,
over the. signature of "Law and Or
der,1 that a ';majority of. the signers
were in sympathy with the sale and
use of liquor" he simply lied. Its
true, the meeting could do nothing
but show to this vigilance commits
tee" that they were acting against the
wishes-ofa majority fthe citizens Of
Eaton in their imprudent and arbitra-
~ arrests by dragging persons before
a Justice, who, according to the lam
guage ofthe statute,should beF0UND
intoxicated, but on the contrary, were
arrested when sober and pursuing the.
peaceful pursuits of their business at,
their own homes. A majority of the
meeting expressed themselves against
the arbitrary acts of the committee
in the following preamble and resoIu-
ton: aeaR vtzEaafsseranB
WHEREAS, The arbitrary and out
rageous name in which the Vigil
lance Committee are enforcing the
Liquor Law in this commandments
culated to do great ilj1Iyto the bust
ness of the town, n~IerefOre5
Resolved. That while we are in ia
vor of the enforcement of-tlIe, law
against all persons found Intoxicated
within the limits of the Corporation
of Eaton, we ask.-that the -VigiIanca
Committee discontinue their actions
or be more moderate and reasonable
i'll their arrests. @ : .
The votingedown of a long pream-
ble of muddled manuscript, offered by
T. j. Larsh, endorsing The acts of the
smelling committee" and requesting
every man, woman aud boy in Eaton,
to-resolve himself into a :'smeller" or
"pimp"against his neighbor, was also
evidence that the citizens hook upon
"self-constituted XigHe2Ga &omHH-
tees" as out of placeaa us asfaHo
the welfare and prosperity OF the
town. Eyeryzgoed citizepan Eaton IS
in favor OF faw, bride, aud sobriety,
and of the IN forcement Of the laws.
We have legally elected Officers to
performs these dutf rho are paid for
it, and it is only among Mexican
"Greasers," Border Rumans12 and
"sTexas OutIaWs,H that wegKear Of
Vigilance Committees and "RegsnIa7
tors" and they are the other extreme,
and bede no good because thegSare
always indecent and ungovernable in
their proceedings. There is not anoth-
or town in the State of 0hio, of1the
size of Eaton, that is more peaceable
and quiet, and where less crime is
committed, and yet we have9a few
bigoted interlopers and carpet-baggers
here, resolving themselves into a%Yig-
lance Committee to correct the NOR
ais of the town; getting theeimpres-
sion abroad that we are nothing but q
bandit, and they ale that is holy and
pure! AS we predicted in the begin
ming their self-wilied, pertinacious,
opinionated fanatieism, would do more
injury than good. They are not the
kind of men to successfully worka
reform, and as a majority of our citi-
zens are decidedly avefse to theiraac-
tons, let them NOW HsfoB,g and the
proper officers of the town Wi4tuttend
to any breach of the peace or disor-
derby conduct
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