Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-02-10

tory bill feeble prohibition iaw] they ' mad
1 Just maturity OF one. s.
NO tempe rance man expected any very great
Ii itssi without Birthstone Snn fos
the apprehension Of offenders its penalties
Wefe not tommensurate With the crime that
wss isoIes e g g and the pnaIms
4 harmony With any reasonable expectation Of
ssHs sSms for the
4 ew was pot wholly q failure. In the interior
81 the ,Sate, where thu people more generally
f AZ me lay, very much was accolnplished.
i 70 prohibition but very little change resnItd
frum the passage Of the law.
Il. Hany q our people began to think that the
Jaw was necessarily q failure, for IL very mild
law could not be inforced, It would be useless
e enact seyefer measures. Still the wiser por-
stlon1 demanded the increase q prohibisory
ties, knowing that afeebIe law is much moro
sdiMcultt0 enforce than strOngerono; fhat "a
the law - 90 control the lawleas and the DISC
f enlargement. IA this condition We came to
I We elcction Of 1885,, when the divergence b.
tween the Two old parties became more appar-
license and the Republicans said ii their
platform that we ought to let the law live
until - would have better chance TO wndicate
Was too strong Tor the dr,n INK mem a
OF that party, but too weak to win prohibition
Democrats from their old moorings or to conn
mand the respect OF the more ultra prohibf.
/ tionists. After the many half measures Of that
party and failure In fulfllment and the killing
OF the constitutional amendment by the Sn-
C1nst the third party continued opera
majority Of Republicans In both houses who
4 felt that II was necessary not only to prevent
the repeal Of the law, but to remove as many
Of the elements Of weakness from 1t as possible.
The hight was q severe one. The zephyrs say
that large moneys were obtainable for q very
few votes In the House. but men would net or
dared not sell. The result was the passage Of
what 10 known here as the Clarke law, bill In
tToduced by Senator Clarke. This Law was o
great Improvement on the former, and twas
hoped that 1t would prove at least to be the be-
ginning OF the end. The enactment Of this law
greatly emboldened the friends Of prohibition
i in the State, and measures were; at once begun
ming was not very promising Tho officers Of
the Law, many Of them. were on the other side
OF the subject. This was especially true Of the;
city oMcerS In al OF the larger towns. 1t Is not
too much to say that nine policemen out Of
! every ten in the State would make haste not to
see any intraction Of the law. and many Of the
men who assisted in. their former nomination
The law, however, that passed early in the, Gus,
that made the constable a county officer. gave
of the surrounding precincts to assist IN the en-
Sforcement OF the law in the cities. This, OF
course, brought q breeze, and has accustomed 81
cerning the working 81 tho prohibitory law.
Still, By the Aid Of q few fait hfui sherifs and
country Justices, constant inroads have been
with the beginning that had been made In the
two years before, have brought us great relief
.Afew Circuit Judges were In the way Of tho ems
70 Ty
law or not And in those districts n which our
judges were fatthfulsto the Law. and the people,
and their oaths, slmost everything has been sp-
MAit for the citing OF the Supreme Court. that
they might know whether they were tnjurings
the rum trade or only hs e, up costs Tor
were not careful to follow up the business with
prosecutions and indictments. In tn n way
more than three ourths Of TIE cases that might
have been prosecuted have been allowed to;
PASS without notice. ssFs IA
H. In the Communities thGt have been more ia
vOrable, q, better state Of things hos prevalent
Ana " has seemed t. many that e.. after Al.
was that which can be had through some form
OF local option. and that the proposition OF the
party this year was nst %
save litigation in those districts and counties
whore the people did not want 1t, and would se-{
cure for the othors Just what they would obtain
many men in that party who are really PIohib-
itionists remained in their old party. Compar-F
atively few lett It for the difference between
the two old parties. On the other hand, most
OF the third party men believed 1t to he Their
duty to support the Republican party. This
made up Tor the loss OF g large number TINT
left that party for the Democrats ranks on
account Of prohibition. It is believed by
some that the prohibition sentinent is not as
strong In the State as 4 was when the amend
for this lposiyion. And yet it would not be-
strange II such were reilly the case The
friends Of theiaw have Worked ct r great dis
arc many god people kho do mot seem To
know that q law will not enforye itself, and
that many preliminary questions have alwa sI