The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1881-03-03

the friends of Temperance in our
State to inquire into their truth,
and among others, Mrs, Thompson,
Of our city, wrote to her friend,
Mrs, Hudson, of Detroit, the Presi-
dent of the State ". @. T. o. Mrs.
Hudson promptly and fully replied,
and Mrs. T. has kindly permitted us
to publish her letter in full. It is
as follows, and will well repay a
careful reading:
LETTER OF MRS. HUDSON.
70 STATE ST, DETROIT, Feb. 10, 1881.
DEAR Mrs. THoMPsoN:-Yours of the
8th is received. had last evening a card
from Mrs Woodbridge in regard to the
same matter, which I have answered very
fully Mr.. Duffeld is not president of
the Mich. Red Ribbon Society" iffor no
other reason, for the very good one that
there is not, and never has been, any such
organization. We have in the State a
great many Red Ribbon Clubs, but they
are all local, and have no State Organiza-
ton. They hold yearly Conventions COM
posed Of delegates from the local Clubs,
and do public business though a commit
tee chosen at the Conventions, called the
estate Central Committee of the Red Rib
bon Clubs" I think Mr.. Dufield has nev-
er attended one of the Conventions. I
know he has never been an officer of
one, nor a member of the Central Commit
tee. So much for his being president of
the State R. r, Society" More than this,
he is not even a member of any Red Rib
bon Club. When our Detroit Club was
first organized, he Joined it and was made
its first President, but for three years he
has had no active connection with it, and |
for a year and half has not been a mem
Der. He is theoretically, and L presume
practically, a temperance man, but he
does not believe in prohibiting the traffic.
Mrs. Woodbridge wrote that it was
claimed in Ohio that he represents the SEN
timent, not only of the K. R. clubs, but
also of the W. c. 7. U. of the State, in re-
gard to the legal treatment of the traffic.
This is the farthest possible from being
true. A belief in the necessity of the le-
gal prohibition of the traffic has always
been one of the fundamental principles of
our w. S. c. T. T., and the more we have
to do with the matter the more firmly do
we adhere to that principle.
DR.. Reynolds, in his work in the State,
organized the Red Ribbon Clubs on what
they called a non-sectarian and non-legal |
basis. By non-legal he meant to exclude !
party politics, but the Clubs took it to
mean that temperance must be kept out of
law, and forso time It was worth mans |
life nearly, to mention the word "prohibi-
tion" on one of their platforms. But their
temperance work has taught them their
mistake. They have learned that if they
would save the drunkard, they must shut
up the saloon, and now, as a body, they
are thoroughly committed to the princi-
pie of legal prohibition, The movement
for Constitutional Amendment, bill for
which is now before our State Legislature,
has been effected by them, through their
State Convention and by their Central
Committee.
might tell you a great deal about "this
tax law and its wonderful results" =" but it
amounts to little else than license law.
I suppose the tax is somewhat higher than
licenses usually are, being for retailers
5000 per year for distilled, and $50 for malt
liquors. The police regulations are very
strict, and if they we're enforced, would
somewhat limit the evils, but they are no
better enforced than the restrictive por-
tions of the license laws are in other
States.
The law forbidding sale to minors and
drunkards, is violated in almost every sa-
loon every day in the week. The Sunday
closing law is violated almost every Sun
day in the year. The utmost pretense Of
observing it is closing the front door. The
side and back doors are open, and sup
pose there is not a saloon in our city which
does not sell as freely on Sunday as on any
other day in the week.
It is now but three or four weeks since
one OF our saloon-keepers called early on
Monday morning, to settle heavy bill for
furniture. The furniture merchant ex-
pressed surprise that his customer should
have so large an amount of money so
early on Monday morning, &C" says the
saloonist, "I had very good day yester-
day" On the merchants questioning the
propriety of making Sunday a day of
business, the saloonist explained that Sun
day was their best day of ell the week
Drunken men, and even boys drunk, stag
ger over our streets Sunday as on any
other days, and yet the advocates of the
tax law advocate it because it gives US
"quiet Sundaysw
Our daily papers report Tor last SUNDAY
two shootings, which have terminated IA
tally, and one fight, in which one Of the
parties had his nose bitten off. To be sure,
one of the shootings was in what is called
a hotel; it differs from a saloon only in that
it furnishes meals and lodging; and the
other in what is called a restaurant, but
the man who did the shooting himself
stated that they went there for the drink.
In regard to the fight and the loss Of the
nose, there is no pretenae that the place
where it occurred is anything else than
saloon.
II a saloonist is arrested for violation
of the law, it is almost impossible to Sc
cure a conviction, and the penalty is fine,