Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-06-02

majority of all the people; fort this rea-
son, the people must be ready for a law
before it can be enforced. When the
masses are educated to the point that a
majority ask for a prohibitory law.
then there will be no need of such Il
law as each n will be alaw untohim-
self. If a law be made that in a COM
munity is r%epugnant to a majority. it
will be impossible to enforce it. The
advance made by the abstainers in the
last thirty years has been a grand one.
and we trust that it will not stop until
prohibition prohibits throughout the
length and breadth of the land; but
until this shall be an accomplished fact
what are to do with the liquor traffic as
we at present find it? In our opinion
the best way to curtail this traffic is by
passing local option laws so that COM
munities desiring prohibition may
have the full protection Of the law and
a community that does not so vote
need not be so protected; let prohibi-
ton start from such a beginning as
this and spread from to%wnshipto coun-
ty until the whole territory becomes
prohibitory. Do not refuse a part of a
loaf because the whole loaf cannot be
had. Those now living may possibly
live long enough to see local option
laws in force if all will work together.
Were this county allowed to vote on
this question to-day, we believe that
prohibition would carry almost unani-
mously, and that the surrounding coun-
ties seeing our prosperity under such Il
regime would speedily fall into line.
In connection with the local option
law we would have what is termed a
high-l1cense law, the minimum to be
100000. and to be hedged about with
all possible restrictions. Wherever
tried this system has proved to be in
advance Of any other, as the following
reports show:
In Nebraska, where high license pre-
walls, peace and prosperity reign
drunkards and. minors are excluded
from the saloons, and the $1,OOO.W IL
cense fees paid not only adds to the
municipal treasury but tends to enz
large and increase the school houses
and the means of education.
Ottumwa, Iowa, Courier: We have
hid some experience in Ottumwa. We
had iii 1881 sixty odd saloons at asmall
license, and all did not take ont license
but run without 1t. In 1882 the license
was $1,000, and all paid cash in advance
and we had twenty-one saloons and no
more, and we think it is the general
verdict of every citizen here that we
had far less drunkenness than we had
under the low license or under attempt
ed prohibition. The high license is
continued this year, and It is our can-
did opinion that we have less drunken
ness than we would have had if the
constitutional amendment had stood
and was to-day in force with all the
possible legislation that could have
been enacted to carry it out.
We will close this subject for the
present with the views Of Miss Gym
thia E. Cleveland, President of the
Womens' Christian Temperance Union
Of Dakota. In an. Interview published
in the Huron Times she says that pro-
hibition parties are a damage to tenn
perance progress, and are besides a nur-
sery for soreheads, rogues and fanatics
picked up by prohibition praters from
the dump piles Of all other parties. She
further says that prohibition as a party
measure has always been a failure and
always will be; that it is a delusion
and a snare; that she endorses the ac-
ton of newspapers in denouncing the
project; that while she respects many
Of the individuals and pities their po-
sition, she condemns the party.
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