The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1898-03-10
NO:LICENSE
TESTIMONY.
How Window PrOspers Under
NO-license Administrations


The issue OF license must he set
tied at the polls, and at this time it
looks as though the anti-license peo-
pie would carry off the victory. In
spite of bad blood that arose over
the liquor prosecutions the Reporter
has information leading it to believe
that nearly every leading citizen
heretofore against license will be
found on that side of the question.
Differences of opinion as to methods
in the prosecutions do not appear to
to have gone farther than applicable
to the questions of that time, and it
looks as though the conservative tenn
perance men will be the last ones to
be found to jump overheard on a
question which every consideration
of morals and business sense appeals
to them to stand by. Of course there
are men who honestly believe that
license is the best method of handling
this nauceous traffic, and their mo-
tives shall not be questioned by this
paper, for many Of them are good;
men and citizens against whom no
i'll thing can be said. -
Around us have been towns that
have jumped back and forth on tho
license issue, some years giving it .
black eye, and again putting it in the
saddle. We have no statistics which
show their progress, but we can show
something of the progress Window
has made III her twelve years without
saloons.
Take the banking business, for in
stance: Twelve years ago the bank
deposits in the only bank reporting
to the state, were $4,000, while in
December last, at the date of the last
official statement, the two banks
showed deposit of over $4,000,
the last year of license gave US build
ing improvements amounting to over
$4,000, while one year during the
season of no license they ran up to
nearly $15O,OO0. Then we had three
departments in our school, with an
enrolment of l39 pupils and 8 teach
ers, now we have about 500 enroll
ment and II teachers. Then we had
an assessed valuation of about $l2O,
600, now nearly half a million. In
the spring election of 1886, we polled
81 votes and had red hot scrap over
the license question, giving II votes
against license to 21 for. At the last
general election issues were warmly
contested and we polled over $50
votes. We have built our school
house, our water and light systems,
and borrowed money with low rates
Of interest without trouble. The
town has more than doubled in pop
ulation, in wealth many times more
than doubled, and material prosper:
ity has abounded around US. This
has all been done without saloons.
What saloons would have done we
don't know. Liquor has been sold
and will always be sold, saloon or no
saloon, in violation of the law, until
the law of universal brotherhood
teaches mankind that it is a crime
against humanity to drink it. With
out license we must not expect too
much of human kind for the caprice,
good fellowship and circumstances
which men in business where liquor
must be more or less handled, have
to contend with, we tetctlars knew
little about. But we believe it vastly
better to have the present conditions
than those we do not know of. Our
recoh has certainly been as much al
we could have hoped had license pre-.
vailed. We can be satisfied with
our growth and developement, and
above all with our citizenship, un-
equalled for sobriety and intelligence
in any town in Minnesota. If any
think Of voting for license who have
heretofore opposed It, we implore
them 70 stop and think twice. Il
mistakes, = you think have been
made, i methods Of prosecution,