Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1882-02-25
A Voice from Kansas.

TIs
f,r the following letter from Gov. St. John
to the Womnn's Christian Temperance
Union in convention at Washington, ID. c.,
which was read before that body October
81, 1884, and refutes a statement recently
made by correspondent of the Press, that
the Kansas law was virtually dead letter.
Topeka, KANSAS, Oct. 22, 1881.
WoMAN's CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION:
Knowing that you are soon to participate
in the proceedings of the Woman's Ma
tional Christian Temperance Union, shortly
to convene at Washington, have thought
proper to briefly state to you the result of
prohibition so far, in this State.
AS you are aware, our constitutional
amendment prohibiting tho manufacture
and sale of intoxicating liquors in Kansas,
was adopted by n vote of the people at the
general election in November 1880, aud the
law to enforce it was passed by the legislo.
turs in February, 1884, and took effect the
first day of last May. | have reports from
nearly every county in the State, which
show that, with the exception of the cities
of Atkinson, Leavenworth, Topeka and
Dodge City, the law is not only working
WELL but as a whole, is n grand success.
The whiskey.ring pay for, publish and cir.
culate reports to the effect that prohibition
in Kansas is failure and point to Leaven.
worth, Topeka, Atkinson and Dodge City
rs proof of the fact. These reports fail to
state that the cities above named contnin
only about one.twentieth of the population
of Kansas, and that in the other nineteen.
twentieths prohibition against the manu-
facture and sale of intoxicating liquors is
MS etiectual in suppressing the evil at which
it is aimed as is any other law prohibiting
crime.
We are getting a splendid immigration
now; the best in quality that the State has
ever had. The increase in the assessed
valuation of personal property in this State
is little over four millions greater for the
year 1881 than for any year previous, and
our people were never SO prosperous and
happy rs they are to day.
Newton, n city of 5000 population, and
the connty-seat of Harvey county in this
State, has not had case for drunkenness
in the police court since the first of last
May, and the district court for Harvey
county that was convened there last week,
for the first time since the county was or
ganized has not a single criminal case on
the docket. Every city officer in the city
of Olathe has signed n statement setting
forth that under prohibition, which has
really been In force in that city since jan
uary l, '7S, the financial and moral condi-
ton of the city has greatly improved; the
streets and sidewalks are in n much better
condition; the trade of the city has greatly
increased, and that with population of
ut least 1900 the city has no policemen,
and needs none, the city marshal alone per-
forming all the police duty of the city,
which does not occupy half his time. There
is rarely a case in the police court; the
calaboose is without inmates, and that any
proposition looking to return of the old
system of licensing dram.shops would be
defeated by vote of at least 2 to /. This
statement of the city officers is Endorsed by
all the ministers and large majority of the
business men of the city; and the county
attorney adds that what is said of the sue.
cess of prohibition in the city of Olathe
holds good throughout the county of john
son. Ottawa makes substantially the same
showing. In Parsons, with 5000 popula.
ton, the records show AZ cases for drunk
enness before the police court during the
last five months under the old license sys.
TEN, against only ten cases during the first
five months under prohibition. Winfield,
in Cowley county, city of 5000 popula-
ton, shows 81 cases of drunkenness IN the
police court during the last five months
under the license system, and only 3 cases
Il ba Gra he nf
and it is safe to say that Parsons, Winfield,
Ottawa, Newton and Olathe are fair rep
resentation of a large majority of the
towns and cities of the State.
Even in the rum-cursed cities, prohibit
ton has been blessing. The last four
months under license shows log cases for
drunk enness, in the Lavenworth police
court, against only 70 cases during the
first four months under prohibition. Dur
ing the same period in Topeka, license fur
nished l59 cases for drunkenness, and only
90 cases were before the police court under
prohibition, while in Lawrence, whore tho
law has been only partially enforced, there
were, of all grades, 2l4 cases in the police
court during the last FIVE months of license,
against only 100 cases during the same
period of prohibition. But the record in
our penitentiary, it seems to me, is concu-
sive proof of the beneficial results of the
law in this State. For ten years or moro
the population in that institution continued
to increase until it reached 725, on Decem-
Der 80, 1880. have compared the num-
Der of prisoners sent to the penitentiary
during the first eight months Of 1880 un-
der license, with the number sent their dur.
ing the first eight months of 1881 under
prohibition, and find the following to be the
result:
| January, $780,. "a 1881,
February, 49,. II 800. 3
March, 800. % 500. 10
April, ....., IL ..,,.. %
| May, ...... IS ...... 10
June, ...... ~ ....,. 20
| July, .,..,. 80 ......
| August, ...... 49,.
| Total. .Nt-'sO. lOO-'sl.