The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1883-03-23
THE FREE PRESS. TEMPER
ANCE, ETC.

STERLING, Num-, March II 1883.
Editor Free Press:
have been n subscriber to the
PRESS from its birth and followed il,
as u subscriber, through all its v:cis
STUDIES aud different names. When
1t left the cold. flowing waters of
Repuhlicanism and went into the
Greeley puddle, would have dropped
II hut for old acquaintance with the
editor. But it, came aroucd all ri.h,
again, | came very near DOING the
same thing an account of its anti.
prohibition principles; but there
seemed to be degree of candor and
honesty in the argument. 80 l con.
cluded tn hold on, and send you u
dollar on my subscription.
And now, Mr.. Editor. as the legis.
lature is all over, and there will he
no more for two years, and hope no
more like it on temperance for two
hundred years. l want to show you
the fallacy o. your argument--that is
OH high license instead Of prohibition.
Don't you know that il is just az
really a sin to injure the community,
or rob, or kill a man, for thousand
dollars rs it is for ten Suppose you
make the saloOn.keeper responsible
Tor the uan"s" and he makes a man
drunk and he freezes to death. He
may support the widow and orphan
afterwards, but does that make it
right!
But the high license bill before the
legislature was never intended TO he
passed. 1t was only introduced to
head off prohibition. In fact, with
all its restrictions. it was no license
at all. 1t was like The play of Hamlet
with Hamlet left out. The license
was to be confined to good moral
character. But good moral character
is very indefinite thing. 1t is said
that IN the early days of st. Louis,
when they licensed gambling houses
and brothels, that evidence of good
moral character was always demand.
ed. But some Of us. Il mean you and
l. Mr.. Editor,) would he led to hest.
tate u little in view of the business to
be followed, but perhaps Others would
not.
view license to make or sell in.
toxicants, rs sale of Indulgence"
to do wrong, to injure community:
to destroy social happiness. to en-
courage drunkenness, to impoverish
the country, to make widows and or
phans, to imperil human life, and the
source of almost every specie of evil;
and 1 contend that no amount OF Il.
cense wrong can make it right In the
sight of God or Christian men. And
IN, just rs much opposed to thou.
sand dollar license rs one dollar
license. am decided prohibition
ist, and want a law to that effect as
soon rs we can get one on Republican
principles; that is by majority vote.
And how any legislature, claiming
citizenship In Republican Govern
ment could take the responsibility to
prohibit a test vote on prohibition.
beats me worse than my mother ever
did.
SO far as our own representatives
are concerned, ] suppose that Messrs.
Spaulding and Cook can prove their
innocence by an abb, and Mr.. Brown
by non iiqaet. Mr.. Fletcher-well l
have known him for long time, but
do not know HIM yet. But Morris
was on hand and voted all right, and
ought to have credit for it. After
sticking to that rattle.te.bang a0ater
prohi6itiOn Cole until he was political.
ly dead oil buried alive, he could, like
the man among the tOmbs, burst the
chains and be clothed and in his right
mind and vote in opposition to the
man that had buried him. lsay give
him credit for it. J. f. CONRAD.