Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1888-01-05
AS TO "As to LOca, Option
To the People. of Iron County:

issued by the local option people, and
| headed ''As to Local Option" This
I circular comes to you bristling with
misstatements from one end to the
other; and for setting you right we
D 7blish this answer, and what we say
he re we expect to prove.
1.-THE Committee in that circular
und ertake to convince you that there
is no politics in this matter, but the
caref. II reader of the daily papers has
not failed to note the fine Italian
Hand" of The Prohibition leaders in
shaping things for the coming state
campaig q. Then cast your eye oD Iron
countv: look at this canvas: what do
YOU see? Politics at every turn. "No
one ever d ,enied that the Local Option
Law was passed by Democratic Leg
islature in q Democratic State" say
some.
The questions for the people of Iron
county to consider, are, DO we want
local optiono What will it cost us?
How much better off will we be with
local option? Will it stop the sale of
intoxicants? Those are the questions
for the people to answer, and that in
terest every taxpayer in Iron county;
not great lot of clap-trap about DEM
ocratic party, Republican party and
knights of Labor.
In that circular they say that we
will tell you that "there will be more
whisky drank if we close the saloons,
and at the next breath we will say, it
may be to the same man, if we close
the saloons you can't get it for sick
nessn Both of the above assertions
are true. There will be more whisky
drank illegally, and you can not get
one drop LeQalIu.
''The Committee publish the opin-
ion of Judge Carter upon section six
of the Wood Local Option Law, which
law reads as follows:
SECTION 6. That if majority of the votes
cast at any election held under the provisions
of this act shall be ''against the sale of intox-
icating liquors." it shall not be lawful for any
person within the limits of such county Uy-
ing outside of the corporate limits of any city
or town having at the date of such order of
election population of twenty five hundred
inhabitants or more) or city, as the case may
be, to directly or indirectly sell, give away or
barter in any manner whichever any kind of
Intoxicating liquors or beverage containing
, alcohol in any quantity whatever under the
| penalties hereinafter prescribed
Voters, read this section six careful
| ly! 1t says but one thing and can
mean but one: that is, that neither
druggists, pharmacists nor any one
else can sell or give away liquors in
any quantities whatever or for any
purpose. Judge Carter says they can,
| but Judge Carter is the only attorney
| in the State of Missouri who does say
so. Banton G. Boone, A Attorney Gen
eral of Missouri. says they cannot
| State Senator u. P. Wood, who drew
and introduced the bill, says they can-
not. U. S. Senator Geo. @. Vest says
they cannot; and if they could, why
did Judge H. G. O'Bryan. of the 10th
Judicial Circuit of Missouri, at the last
term of the Mississippi circuit court,
instruct the grand jury to specially
inquire into any violation of the Wood
Local Option Law, and to indict for
each and every violation of said law
by the druggists and pharmacists of
Mississippi county?-it having adopt
| ed local option some time prior to said
court. Do you think he did not know
what he was doing when impaneling
that jury?
| Fellow-citiZens, that committee know
full well there can be no sale of intox
icating liquors in any quantities or for
any purpose whatever within the linn
it's of Iron county, if local option is
adopted. They want to mislead you;
they know that section six killed local
| option in Bollinger and Butler coun-
ties. They know that there are large
number of people in Iron county who
would vote for local option if they
knew that they could get liquor for
medicinal and other purposes after it's
adoption; therefore, they wish to blind
ion. Read section six: GA wayfaren
man, though fool, need not err there
| in.n They talk about the amendment
to the druggist law. That amendment
was approved March 24th, 1887, while
! the Wood Local Option Law was ap-
proved April 5th, 1857. and is therefore
| the latest, and is the laap
"The Committeen take up next the
calculation made upon the increase in
taxes of Iron county, in case of the
adoption of local option, contained in
{. circular issued by the ''wets" some
days ago. They undertake to make
you believe that the calculation is not
correct, and that in case of the adop-
tion of local option your taxes will not
be any higher. Taxpayers, we say to
you in all candor, and stand ready to
/! prove it, that in case of the adoption
of local option in Iron county, if the
county court raises the same amount
of money next year for county pur-
poses, from the same valuation as a
basis, and with an average school tax
of forty cents, it will increase every
mans taxes s. 50-1O0 per thousand
dollars valuation; or, in other words,
the tax on $1,000 for 1888, with school
tax of 40c will be S19. 50--a difference
4 Of IS and so centssper thousand dollars
valuation. Taxpayers, think of this!
1t Is for four years. Can you stand lt'
This is no wild assertion of ours, but
any one who knows anything about
the levying of taxes will tell you that
it is correct.
1.-THE Committee tells you that af-
, ter the war this county had an indebt-
edness of many thousands of dollars
hanging over 1t. and that with levy
of only forty cents on the hundred
dollars they Maid off this larsra ssIirr,