People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1894-12-27
A Communication.

| little thought when | began this
article in your paper that il woul be
o Snch length, but during the time
that | have been mayor uf this city
have bee, me so interested in her wei
fare. and it seemed 10 NE when |
have heard remarks that have been
made about the liquor selling 10 Well.
lngtOn, that great many people
would allow themselves to think that
Wellington was one of the worst
towns in the state in that respect.
when the act is she is the best. We
all remember about the by who was
told that there was pot Of guild
where the rainbow touched the ground
and his foolish and vain search for
h. same. Several times speakers
from abroad have deplOred our fallen
condition aid said nearly as mean
things about us as some Of our own
people have. They always conclude
their remarks by telling Us uf some
other ,wn in The stale where every
one was temperate-made so. | sup
pose, 10y the law enfurcrd by some
good mavnr, Of course. This town
the SPEAKER would held mp as a model
for the people of this benighled and
drplorrd community to follow, Just
like they used to tell ME in our Sun
day SrhoOl books when | was a boy at
sunday school, of those wonderfully
e I'd boys that were so awful good
that they couldn't live but little
while-fOr they all died before the
story ended. used to 90 back to my
home IN top Of the mountains and
try and be like little Johnnie, and my
efforts in that direction would often
end in a failure before | had even
GIT my Sunday school clothes off. |
used 10 in my hour of despair and
wretchednesS think what a pleasure
and Comfort it. would be if / had little
Jnhnnie before me to gruSp him by his
long and sunny ours and bump his
head. Well, during the last two
ye RS | have had the pleasure Of Wis.
Hing some Of those model towns, but
like the bOy never found where the
rainbow touched The ground, for when
| got there it was always the town
further on. Where is this model
t wn? Is it Topeka, where you get
six glasses of beer for quarter, when
in Kansas City, Mo-. it is five cents
straight and no discount? Is it in
Kansas City, Ks, with its scores Of
sIlOons? Is it Arkansas City, where
there were Goze4: paying 500 per
month when | was there a year ago?
Is 1t in Newton, where her eight drug
stores pay S25 per month for the priv
ilege of dispensing those standard aud
popular remedies for the relief Of
their sick and afflicted people? Is il
at Caldwell, Kiowa or Winfield? Is
it at Chanute or Fort Scott, where
they have fifteen saloons that pay
SlO5 per month, and where at the
Interstate hotel which belongs t.
their mayor you will find everything
that the tired and thirsty traveller
may require? Is it in Wichita, where
few days ago l saw place that had
just been fitted up at cost of nearly
$1,000? No, my friends, the model
town is not there. Shall | tell you
where it is? AaS, there is no model
town, But the town that comes the
nearest to the mark is your own fair
city. Will it ever he perfect? No.
Will it be better? YeS-while we are
living in the best age that history
gises any account of, there is a golden
era yet to come.
What is to become of the prohibi-
tion law? | cannot tell you. AS a
private citizen | voted for this law.
was not at that time teetOt'ler, and
am not today. had a family Of chill
dren growing up and wanted to see
the law enforced. And why was it
not enforced? Simply because its
friends became cold and Indifferent.
Well do | remember how surprised
was to learn that men 10 active church
work, men who were teetot'lers, would
rent their rooms upStairs-rOOms that
we're not actually worth over $40 per
month for any legitimate business-for
$50 and S35 per month. And when
asked what business was being con-
Quoted in their buildings they would
say that they did not know. For ten
years the rooms up over my old store
building have been vacant. Time
after time have men during these
days come to me and tried to rent
them, aud when l refused would say
to me that Deacon So-and-So rented
their rooms, and why not |? Is it
any wonder that with this state of
affairs existing tnat thousands of men
who voted for this law would today
vote for its repeal?
Is it any wonder that this law to-
day is like an Orphan child naulactad