The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-09-17
THE MOLINE RAID on SALOON KEEPERS
AND TIE PEOPLES TREASURY.
WILL THE CRUSADERS FOOT THE BILLS 7
Or was their Pretended Stock Association q
Fraud and a Lie?

To the Editors Of the Rock Island Argus.
The Moline local reporter of the Daven-
port Gazette with great 'gallantry, rush
es to the defense of the ladies who are sup
posed to be the complainants in the liquor
suits about to be instituted at Rock Island
for alleged violation of our city ordinances,
and the state laws. Without any desire to
champion either side in this contest, per
NIT me to call attention to the business
points involved in the contest, in their re.
lation to the crusade, or moral points OF
this movement. We now haye, by COM
mon consent of fair minded liquor men,
and of consistent temperance men, the
best liquor law this state ever had and a
very stringent one it is, In the beginning
of this movement the speakers declared
that the law was openly violated in the
sale of liquor to minors; INDUCED in the
the most personal bitter assaults on the
reputation of the living, and even played
the part of resurectionists to find frightfui
examples to fire the temperance heart
among those whose memories were yet
dear to the living in our midst The next
step was an appeal to the City Council not
to grant any licenses, in face of the fact
that the city treasury was empty and the
streets needed every dollar that could be
raised for their improvement, and that from
license alone large sum had before been
realized, The council repealed the ordi-
nance under which the license system was
inaugurated, and those who desired liquor
organized private club rooms, bought their
liquor at wholesale, and the city lost the
usual receipts from licenses.
At this juncture the leaders of the
movement were appealed to to consider
the practical result of their labors, and
their reply was that they labored for 'prin-
ciple )" and when reminded that one might
do that and still direct his efforts to some
practical end, and their attention was
called to the fact that while they had
charged frequently that the laws were
violated in selling to minors" and they
'KRe,o ii, none of them had seen fit to eX-
ercise the plainest right and duty of every
citizen by complaining to the proper law
officers and having the offenders punished
At length, apparently convinced, or
dimly seeing that something more than
talk was needed, they organized league
for the prosecution of violators of the law,
with subscriptions amounting to $4,000
to assess against, to bear the expense Of
the SUITS Meanwhile the council, com
PEELED by the condition of the city treas
ury, again licensed the sale of wine and
beer, surrounding the sale with restrictions
never before known, and where the traffic
was as perfectly open to public inspection
as the sale of groceries or dry goods. And
yet the devotion to principle OF these
self constituted guardians of public NOR
ais and private appettes were not salts
| fed, and after careful espionage, on COM
plants lodged by them, half a dozen
suits were commenced against sa-
loon men, all of which were
decided against the city or withdrawn, and
knowledge" was developed by some of the
witnesses for the prosecution which comes
as near being questionable morality as the
liquor traffic. And no one has get heard
Of the Temperance league paying the esr
penses incident to these suits. achich, II they
| fail to do, fdir-nlinded men aotu De d6te u
nudge oftheir general honesty and sincerity
/ Still unabashed, they summon 1870 o
our citizens before the grand jury, withou
any pay for their time, to see If some one
has not done something Of which they car
be convicted by witnesses whose evidence
cannot be impeached. And when, at last
these cases shall be tried, if evidence b.
found sufficient to convict some one, i trus
that the ambition of these ladies to serv
the cause of public morals and of ''pri
e vate virtue" will be gratified, and tia
. thar League aciU relie6e the city and count
E Of all expenses incident to their acts, an
= that they will retire to their homes, con
! fdiug to the charge of the properly con
, stitutcd authorities the care Of public at
3 fairs. L. DO
4 Moline, Sept II, 1874