West Virginia freeman. (Parkersburg, W. Va.) 1881-1886, 1882-01-06

dspera"-(to the stars through diff
culties) come true. So she is the
first to try constitutional prohibi-
ton.
Owing to the fact that from the
Atlantic to the Pacific and from the
Gulf on the South to the Lakes on
the North, two contradictory stories
have been and are yet being indus
triously circulated, | shall, in what
| say here, be as careful and une-
quivocal as if | were on the stand
as sworn witnsss.
My first stop in this State was at
Marysville, the county-seat of Mar
shall county, place of some 1900
inhabitants.
On entering the place | was
greeted with the sight of score of
beer kegs on the platform, and soon
learned that eight saloons were in
full blast in open defiance of law.
1t is a German settlement, and
l learned that when the amend
ment was passed petition asking
the saloons to continue business
was circulated and signed by all
but ten citizens of the place. The
town gets license fee of S25 per
month from each saloon, and these
people seem to think it would
break up the country to try to en-
force the law. One saloonist, when
told that Gov. st. John was coming
said: "Pll not stop if der tuyfel and
his Grandmother comes"
eve ask our exchanges not to
garble this letter by quoting alone
the portion about Marysville.)
In the two largest towns in the
next county East, no place would
confess that liquor was kept or sold,
though there were two places
in the county seat, and one
in the other town where smuggling
was charged.
In Brown county, next East, is
Hiawatha, the county seat, a place
of 1900 souls. 1t has a magnifi-
cent hotel, two banks, and is q
wealthy, snowy town, but there's
not drop of liquor to be had in it
Atchison is the Metropolis OF
Kansas, and is the easterly termi
nus of the Atchison, Topeka and
Santa Fe railroad, which is merely
the eastern end of the great South
ern Pacific railroad. / did not can.
vass the saloons there, but they are
open without any license as is moi
the case in Marysville. They now
observe the Sunday laws well
while prior to the Prohibition
Amendment they cared not fol-
them.
There was a hope among the tenn
perance folks there that they coulC
elect a temperance sheriff, but
have not heard whether they sue
ceeded or not. If they did the sa
looms will close if they did not
"their day is coming" for they are
at work, and tell a man or party
they aoiU not vote for any ore who
is not known opponent of the
"traffic."
The rum interest is making her
culean efforts to elect such legisla
ture next time as will repeal the
present law. The temperance PEG
pie think they cannot possibly de
it, for there are but few counties
where there is not a large temper
ance majority, besides, it takes {
two-thirds vote to undo what is now
done.
All the decisions of the Court o.
Appeals have sustained, to the
fullest extent, the constitutionality
of the Amendment Those cases Sc
widely reported as decisions against
the Amendment | enquired into
particularly. They were cases
where there was want of evidence,
or irregularity in the action.
And they believe that in few
years, just as soon as the present
struggles and test cases are over,
that prohibition in Kansas will
prohibit more effectually than the
law against murder prohibits.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year, as well as
a successful one in the temperance
fight, l bid you goodnight.
|