Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1888-10-24
The SALOON sIDE.

10 the Ptess END DadofaiBh: Monday
nisht | he'd the pleasure to listen 10 The
remarks OF several OF our honorable sea,
tlempn Of this city en- the question OF
local option.
L was greatly Surprised by The iair and
.gentlemanly discussion of the matter
with q few exceptions to which l will
take upon myself to reply.
The orators omitted the usual abusive
and insulting style of oratory, which as
q rule characteristics the general run of
temperance orators and who Usually feels
very brave in making assertions and
statements before several hundred OF
their friends and sy~mpsshizsrs. One
point which the Honorable j. H. Teller
made in regard TO the saloon business
was as follows:
Suppose that IS cry goods, 81 gro
'ceries aud % hardware stores we're start
ed here in Yankton providing there was
business here for them, everybody would
be pleased to see ii. But suppose 70
saloons should start here at once and do
"a good business, would that please the
people, would it not be detrimental to
the town and would the city pot 90
down instead of prospering?
Such q condition would beimEossible,
ss the saloon business like any other
business is regulated by the law of sup
ply and demand, and as most of the sa-
looms in Yankton are not making any
money over and above their expenses,
there would be no occasion for any sp-
~prehension IN that direction, no more
than If rs lawyers would sweep down on
this town at one time and destroy the
general peace and prosperity OF this
community.
The Honorable r. J.. Gamble made one
statement IN his speech, which seems to
be very much out of place for a gentle
man to make. He says:
Suppose that the local option car
sries on Nov. 6 b, the saloon men say
they will run anyhow. Ii we can't run
with the law we will run without the
law"
By what right has he to presume that
the saloon keepers will do anything OF
the kind. Has hi asked them about it
Have they told him &c? l know that
they have not done SO, aud he has nc
more right to make any such statement
than they would have in saying thRt Mr..
Gamble is going to commit some crime
after election. Has he no better argu-
ment to advance than mere supposItlon ?
Does he think it is popular with the
people to abuse any class OF ita citizens?
The saloon keepers of Yankton are obey
ing the laws CT tie country practically
IS we'll as the merchants, the lawyers or
any class of its citizens, and it appears to
me to be uncalled for of MIR. Gamble to
accuse the SELDOM mel OF offences or
crimes which he thinks they may com
NIT in the future.
The Honorable Geo, r. scougal,
chairman, volunteered to make the as
sertion that a certain merchant had made
the statement that day, that of ell his
bad accounts, SIS per cent were drinking
men and Is were temperance people
The EXP eriences ofmost Of our merchants
are generally to contrary. The dead
beats are casually on the other side Of the
fence,
R.y. Mr.. Ward stated that people who
have vested rights ought to have more
protection than those who have no vest
ed rights. He claimed that as a general
thing saloon Keepers did not own theiE
owa business property, but rented OF
some good citizsns which he was sorry. &c
see. To which / will state thai the req
son some of the saloon men do not own
their own business property is that very
sew are making any more money than tc
pay their honest debts and their living
out of their business as we'll as theij
heavy licenses to the government thu
city and the county, besides taxes and
everything they beve, and instead o
| building business houses the merchants
laborers and mechanics OF this city ar,
getting nearly every doller they take ii
over their counters, except what the,
| pay for taeir goods, which to a large ex'
tent is manufactured here, and nearl,
all this money keeps circulating througl
all the business channels OF this city an
in SO doing in time revsrts back to thu
consumer.
This is the fret time 1 have heard tina
the poor saloon keeper has been tount
fault with, bscause he was not rict
enough to own his business property
Bat the saloon keeper as a general rul
pays his debts, he minds his own bus:
ness and let's other peoples bushes
alone, provides for his wife and children
and endeayors to be as good and up
right a CITIZEN as those VINO are fortu
nate enough in being in other business
Let me assure the reverend gentletna
that If he thinks the saloon keepers pat
is strewn with roses or that he is maxim
money very easy he is badly mistaken
1 venture to say that there is not
saloon keeper in this city who woul
not be willing to sell out and quit th
business here, providing he could &c
his money invested out of it. Does th
temperance advocate think that Il
saloon keepers have no capital inyeste
in their business. Would any class