Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1890-06-25
Temperance Column.
mo license and total abstinence"
MRS. C. J. sHORTT AND MRS. Il. u. CRANE,
EDITORS.

MRS. c. J. sHoRrr AND MRS Is. b. CRANE,
| ED1TORs.
Not many years ago mere youth was
seen reel'ng on one Of the streets in the
outskirts OF our town, probably on bis
way home to his mother. The lady who
witnessed the sad sight said in telling of
1t: 1T sent pang like a knife through
my heart when l saw him. If total
stranger is thus affected by seeing a
drunken boy. what must be the anguish
OF the mother that bore him and cared
for him through all the perils of his baby
life and childhood years2 But the point
now is (for this is not a solitary instance),
where do the boys of this town get liquor,
and who is responsible for the rising gen.
Grafton OF drunkards? For the latter
part of the query I would say, prima-
rlly the voters who license the places
where the poison IS sold; secondly every
citizen, man or woman, who knowing
that the laws regulating" the LIQUOR
traffic are thus violated are too Indifferent
to take the matter in hand and bring the
offenders to justice. It is that the diff
cultles to be encountered in doing such a
work are very great and quite peculiar,
Tor there is no class of criminals harder
to detect and prove guilty than those who
in violation of law, sell to minors and
habitual drunkards. But united and
persistent effort have accomplished much
elsewhere, and there may yet be seen the
necessity of forming league for the en-.
forcemcnt of law and the promotion of
order here.
Another silver medal contest will take
place next Friday, June ~, at the Bap-
fist church.
"A few weeks ago there was para
graph in this column telling what the
liquor habit would do for any man, and
for all classes of men. The following is
striking illustration OF the truth of the
statements then made a number of
years ago a Boston firm of four young
men were rated in the mercantile regis
ter as "A IT, One of them consulted
the register and found written at the end
of it: But they all drink" He reported
this to his partners and they all took it as !
good joke. But today two are dead
one is drunkard, and the other is SUP
ported by charity.
1t is often asked. and many times IN
skeptical way, what does the Womans'
Christian Temperance Union accomplish
in the way of practical reform? Here is
what union in Worcester, Mass, did
after the city voted prohibition for the
current year. They went into part of
the city that corresponds to the old Five
Points of New York, took possession of
one of the vacant saloons and converted
it into coffee house, dedicating it by
Sunday afternoon prayer meeting:
Honor to whom honor"
The advocates of high license, and they
are many, would do we'll to watch results
where 1t is being thoroughly tested. A
year ago the state of Massachusetts fixed
the lowest license at $1,000, and from
that on up to $4,000 paid by the prop,i-
etor of the establishment at Dracut, and
also limited the number of saloons to one
for population of five hundred. Now
what has been the result? Just this.
The arrests for drunkenness were double
those of the preceding year. 1t would
almost seem that the dealers IN the traf.
fc were trying to revenge themselves on
the people for the high license they are
made to paw. At any rate they are de-
termined to get their money back and
can only do this by selling all the liquor
possible.
Where can be found a more powerful
argument in favor of wise prohibiting
laws, and in fact prohibition has been
voted in several of the large cities of this
state because high license has proved
such failure.