The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-05-29

vention which met at the First Metho-
dist church last evening. A temporary
organization was formed and commit
tees on resolutions and plan of action
were appointed. Papers on high IL
cense, local option, constitutional pro-
hibition and the dispensary system of
South Carolina were read.
The attendance at the first session
of the convention was not very large.
The meeting was held in the room on
the ground floor of the church and
hardly more than one hundred persons
We're present. These, however, in
/ cluded most of the representative lead
ers of the movement in Salt Lake and
a number from the outside territory.
Among those present were: Rev. E.
NJ. Knox, of Kaysville; Mrs. S. NJ. Dey
and Mrs. E. ]. Skinner, of Ogden; Rev.
j. A. L. Smith, of American Fork; Rev.
and Mrs Ct. w. Martin and Miss A. G.
Nelson, of Manti; and Rev. W. S. Hunt,
of ogden.
Rev. Dana w. Bartlett called the
meeting to order at o'clock and in
vited Rev. E. NJ. Knox to offer prayer.
Then he read the call of the meeting
and called for nominations for the
temporary organization. DR.. Bartlett
was unanimously elected temporary
chairman and DR.. Knox temporary
Scribe.
Hon. George NJ. Goodwin moved the
appointment of committees of three on
resolutions and five on permanent or
ganization. The motion was carried
and the chairman took the matter I'M
der consideration.
Merits of Local Option.
Rev. j. a. L. Smith spoke on Merits
ana Dement'S of Local Option" He
said the meeting came together to
consider the most serious of all finan-
cial, religious, social and political
! questions. 1t will be in these depart
ments so long as it overshadows all
| others. 1t will never be solved until 1t
| is solved in the right way and will
never be solved in this country unless
it is settled at once. The best founda-
ton for settlement of all other ques-
tons will be found in the settlement
/ of this. The cause holds the destiny
| of the grand old church and beloved
! land in it's solution. Local option is
only one Of the antidotes suggested for
healing the open sore on our nation.
Generally local option is simply synoni-
nous with local prohibition.
Local option does emphasize personal
responsibility. That is a merit. It
brings the question home to every
man, woman and child. The quasi
temperance men say they are waiting
for the government. like some great
machine, to take up the question and
settle it. Until we get temperance
instilled in the constitutions of men
and women before it will do good to
get 1t into state and national consti
tutions, we must have general sentf-
ment to uphold constitutional prohibit
ton and this comes from individual
sentiment.
Temporary Panacea.
Local option is a measurable, tenn
porary panacea to tide the people over.
In any town where a majority of the
people favor prohibition, they can put
down the liquor traffic as well as they
can any other evil He had seen more
men and women drunk in American
Fork in any one week than he had in
Springville in the five years he had
lived there. Springville Is a local OPP
ton town.
Local option is a, rational basis and
incentive to national prohibition. The
best men are against prohibition be-
cause they have not seen it work. In
Springville the people would not be
contented with prohibition in Utah
county, but they hope ard pray for
national prohibition. The claims made
is more liquor drank in Springville
with local option than without, are
wrong.
Its Overwhelming Dement'S.
But there are dement's. Local option
lacks a valid civil basis. The constitu-
ton guarantees life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness. Those three
things are more intimately woven with
the suppression of the liquor evil than
with any question. The liquor evil is
general. A local option town becomes
the butt of ridicule, the laughing stock
of the nation and the prey of the liquor
men of surrounding towns. The gener-
al evil should be cured by a general
remedy.
Local option was never suggested by
q temperance advocate as a prescrip-
ton or anaesthetic. It is the enforced
strategic concession of the liquor men.
The most persistent advocates of it
when prohibition is being forced are
those engaged in the liquor traffic.
They say it will reach the desired
end. The temperance men compromise
under an enforced truth and then the
press and ia rmer and even the pulpi-
are turned against local option in ridi-
cule.
A Temperance Boomerang.
Local option is a temperance BOOM
erang. 1t strikes CONSERVATION into
the ranks of the liquor men, but later
it returns and strikes the temperance
advocates. If it is not successful it
not only creates public sentiment
against it but demoralizes the temper
ance people. If it is successful, it is an
anaesthetic and prevents the people
refusing to reach out to other COM
munities. 1t establishes prohibition
locally, but only a selfish prohibition.
He said he was surprised to see the
local press arguing against constitu-
tional prohibition and saying local op-
ton was the practical thing, when,
for twenty years, that some press has
been ridiculing the idea.
Evils of High License.
Rev. H. B. Steelman spoke on High
license as q, remedy for the curse of
the ssloon.' If all the water on the
world were made ink and all the trees
brushes and the heavens huge can
vass they. would not be great enough
to depict all the horror that has come
on the earth because of the drink
habit. The saloon is responsible for
most of this. This is held open for
the enticement of men into drinking.
Where the saloon is abolished 8 per
cent of the drunkenness and its at |
tendant evils are abolished.
Stimulating the Deadly Virus.
Is high license a remedy? Is it a |
to slash as a cancer with a |
knife and cut off a piece here and |
there? No, you only stimulate the |