The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1885-08-27
PROHIBI ION " DENTON.
WAS 1T GIVEN A FAIR TRIALq
Wac the Ordinance Repealed According
to the Wishes of the Majority ofthe
People, and Was the Narshal
Seconded in His Efforts to
Enforce tho Law?

DENTON, Aug. 25.-[ Editor HERALD
Believing that the article from Dem
ton appearing in yesterdays HERALD,
together with other articles appearing
at different times in the HERALD and
other papers do net fairly represent
the working OF prohibition inDentoR,
L ask space IN your paper 10 state
the merits OF the case from the pre-
hibttion side of The question.
Your Denton correspondent would
have you believe that owing to the
fact that the city of Denton polled a
majority vote in the precinct and
county election on local option, that in
obedience to the will OF the people the
local option ordnance was yester.
council. Now L would ask
the aforesaid correspondent il
the true object in the repeal of the Or
dinance WIS not to thwart the efforts
of our very efficient city marshal, Mr..
Fry, to enforce tho ordinance? And
furthermore was the repeal not affected
to meot the wishes Of the honorable
mayor, city attorney and majority of
the aldermen present at the session in
their endeayor TO defeat the will of the
people recently expressed at the ballot
box, and to render null and void tho
local option law?
Is it not fact that the reason, "not
a single case could be worked up" as
your correspondent says, was because
the mayor and city attorney were OPP
posed to enforcing the local option or
dinance, and that they used their Off
cial inf uence to 2cquit every offer
der arrested by the mar
shsI for violating the law7
Ia it not fact that Mr.. Fssthoff took
tho oath of Office before the city coun-
oil had met and counted the votes and
and before the city secretary had
served him with notice of his elec-
ton, as required by law, and did not
the city council install the new mem-
Der into Office within two entire
days Sunday excepted) after the
cleo ton, in violation OF the law re-
curing five days to. intervene be-
tween the election and installation?
And further, did they not seek this
opportunity TO install him and to re-
peal the local option ordinance at a
time when a member of the council,
who was supposed to favor the ordi-
nance, was absent from the city, and
his absen CO, together with the vote of
the new member, would give them
majority in favor of the repeal of said
law?
Is it not fact that they straightway
passed an ordinance for tho purpose of
reBtrainin g the city marshal in the ex-
ecuti0n of mis- duties in the arrest of
parties for drunkenness?
notice your correspondent from
Mckinney in reporting the speaking
on local option in said town last Sat.
uIday, says that Colonel William
Woods, OF Denton, stated in speech
that more whisky is now drank over
the bar in Denton than before locsl op-
ton went into effect. Now, Mr..
Woods is city attorney In and for the
city of Denton, having boon elected
last April, and If said statement is cor.
rect (which, however, 1 deny),
then is Mr.. Woods, being cog
INFANT OF these violations, doing his
duty as city attorney in not bringing
tho Offenders 20 account?
Now, il matters not what the private
opinion OF officials may be a5 TO the
benefits or disadvantages OF the local
option law. The people have enacted
the law in this county by their ballots,
cast on election day, and officers who
have sworn to execute the law ehould
do so to the best OF their ability, ana
there should be ne attempts TO
defeat the will OF the peo-
pie by any eVasions or
failures to execute tho law upon tho
part of our officials. While local OPP
ton, during its brief stay among us,
has not entirely stamped out the
whisky drinking and drunkenness,
yet their evils have been greatly miti-
gated. And we believe il our efficient
city marshal, Nr. Fry, should receive
from city and county officials the aid
and assistance he deserves that very
soon dru nkenuess would DO almost or
entirely unknown and forgotten in the
limits OF Denton, at least,