Mexico weekly ledger., 1888-06-21
THE QUESTION FAIRLY MET.
Representative Citizens Calmly
and Intelligently Discuss
the Local Option
Question.

and Intelligently Discuss
the Local Option
Question.
The citizens meeting at the Court
House Monday night was a rousing
success. The large Circuit Court
room was packed from one end to
the other with representative citi-
zens. The objects of the meeting
were to give tax paying and inter
ested residents of Mexico an op-
portunity to discuss calmly the
question soon to be decided by bal
lot, and to enlighten those who
were In the dark on the subject of
Local Option. Both of these OBJ
Jects were attained by the meeting
in the highest degree. Ofthe large
audience present a number knew
little II anything about the merits
OF either the wet or dry side of the
Local Option question. They left
the Court House with a full under
standing of the matter and enabled
to vote intelligently by a mere ex-
ercise of judgment.
AT s o'clock, upon motion of J..
9. Bassford, j. F. Llewellyn was
made chairman of the meeting.
Mr.. L~lewellyn stated briefly the
object of the gathering of citizens;
In a few words he drew a picture of
the evils of "free whisky" by the
Local Option plan, and the benefits
by a high license system, the plan
that has proven SO effective in
controlling the liquor traffic of this
city for several years. When he
had concluded, there were calls for
Nj. Y. Duncan and that gentleman
responded.
In substance, Mr.. Duncan said:
have gathered together to dis
cuss our rights and interests in the
matter ofthe Local Option election.
This law, if carried, tramps upon
individual rights. We ought to
be careful how we are led by those
who have no interest in our well
fare, or those who are here but for
a season; we, whose welfare is at
stake, do not want free whisky in
our midst; we do not want blind
tigers, low dives, hidden, irrespon-
sible drinking places; but our moral
and material welfare demands that
whisky shall be sold under bond
and license by responsible men.
The true temperance method is
high license; under high license
drunkenness decreases and the
young are saved from the terrible
temptation of secret drinking. 1t
is not necessary for those who have
lived here twenty-five years and
seen the town grow from 200 peo-
pie to 5000 to be taught by stran-
gers what our interests demand.
L hope every man in the house will
as a matter of right and temperance
go to the polls and vote against
this %pernicious effort to degrade
our morals, to tempt our young
men with free whisky. We have a
sober, temperate, orderly town,
let us endeavor to keep it so. Do
not stray away from successful tenn
perance laws into new and untried
devices, which may plunge us into
a quagmlre of di~sreptuable habits
and drunkenness. Let us vote for
that we know to be tried and sober"
FROM A PROFESSIONAL STAND.
At the conclusion of Mr. Dun
cans talk, the audience went wild
with enthusiasm. The next speaker
called was DR.. 7. P. Rothwell.
The doctor said he intended dis
cussing the point at issue from a
professional standpoint. He look
ed upon the present excitement
throughout the State on the Local
Option question as being an cpl
demic. 1t could be we'll compared
with measles, small pox or yellow
fever. 1t passes over the State in
a great wave but is soon gone.
Like every man in his audience;
the Doctor thought that if passing
the measure under discussion
would do away with the drinking
ofintoxicating liquors, a man would
be foolish 10 raise his hand against
its passage. But it would have no
such desirable effect. 1t would on
ly promote the far more disastrous
practice of club room and alley
drinking. He could not see that
our present well balanced system
could be improved upon. Our
well regulated saloons, under the
existing high license, were hard to
beat. The speaker explained that
under the law now in force here, no
minor can drink at a Mexico bar,
whose proprietors r under heavy
bonds to keep orderly places; well
known drunkards, continued the
speaker, could get no liquor in a
Mexico saloon. DR.. Rethwell then
said that he could not c%onscien-
tiously vote for a law that came be-
tween him and his profession.
"Were l called tonight" he said,
"to visit some one dear to you--a
wife, a sister or an only child, and
would prescribe ardent spirits, I
would be laid liable to a fine OF
900 updar tho law of the Local