The Press., 1894-02-01
Letter from North Dakota.

For nearly week, now, we have had severe weather ,-some snow, moderate northwest wind, and low temperature. We have had lower temperature than at the present time, but it was with still wind. A combination of low temperature and high wind gives us the severest wealth CT. Usually, when the temperature reg isters thirty and forty below zero there is no wind, and we do not feel it unpleas- antly. This spell of blizzardly weather seems not to have been forecast by our prophets, who usually hit weather changes quite accurately for this region. One reason why we feel the present spell so keenly is because we have been enjoying a most delightful January up to the pres ent. We have had but little snow, not much wind, and a number of days, fol- lowing each other, when there was thaw. On the whole, the winter, though it began early and with severity, has proven thus far to be quite favorable one. We can- not complain. What will come hereafter we do not know. Of this we are sure, it is wearing away and will soon be of the past, whether severe or mild.
 Since wrote you we have had district court, in which several liquor cases were tried. This, as you know, is a prohibit tion state, and am told that in the larger part of it the law is we'll enforced. In this judicial district it seems not to be. In this town opinion is divided as to the effectiveness of the law. About the time of the court we interviewed the business men of the town in relation to the law, and found it was generally favored. This, notwithstanding there is much drinking and drunkenness. We have several blind pigs and the drug stores are not alto- gether innocent. At the same time it is almost impossible to get a case that will hold. We have very faithful county at torney, fully in sympathy with the law :; and the general sentiment is that he would prosecute violations if he could get relia- ble evidence. One trouble with the en- forcement of the law is the difficulty of getting competent men to testify, and the unreliability of the testimony of men who are willing to act as witnesses. Our at torney, by the way, is Maine man, and is now down there to take unto himself wife. We look for them in a few days. No doubt, as she is, by report, most competent woman, he will have his right arm strengthened for the good work. D,,4 T. of bi ie, , ,,IC ic znn as a "whiskey" man, and who well de- serves the title. With this judge it seems almost useless to carry case through to conviction, even when it seems to impar- tial men to be a foregone conclusion. In the court before mentioned one convic- tion was secured in spite of the jury; and another one should have been, and would have been, had the judge allowed the case to take it's course. It was trial by jury. The main witness was on the stand. His testimony was to the point, and cOnvinc- ing. Under the plea of getting clearer statement from the witness the judge took him in hand, and so manipulated him and his testimony that he declared his testi- mony to be insufficient for conviction.
 While manipulating this witness, a busi- ness man, by the way, who drinks more
 or less, the judge made the three follow ing astounding statements: ''The object
 of the law is to prevent the abuse of liq,
 uors in drinking" We venture the as.
 sertion that no man ever before heard
 that prohibition had for it's object the
 prevention of the abuse of drinking. We
 have always supposed that prohibition