Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1899-09-06

but he also possesses the ability to ex-
plain them. And then when the SEN
ate voted on the question of the two
reports7on the county option bill
Grue voted mo-" that is against kill
ling the bill. That, Mr.. Editor, is
his temperance record. The bill was
killed! Not even the pleading of Mr..
Jepson nor the versatility Of Mr..
Halvorson could save it. 1t died on
a committee report. 1t wasn't dig
nified even by going before the SEN
ate committee of the whole. And
then my friend Vic would herald to
the world the success of his man
Grue as temperance legislator. Of
temporal! O mores! No, no, dear
Vicky; when you parade the honora-
bic senator to me as a great and sue
cessful temperance legislator you'll
have to adduce at least a few facts
OF what he accomplished! Don't
palm off what he sought for
what he did or ought to have done.
The only temperance measure of note
beore the the last Legislature was the
county option bill aud as far as this
bill is concerned pupil of the primal
ry department of the Willmars school
would have performed the same SER
vice as Mr.. Grue. In leading up to
this matter you allege that "while
temperance work may not be recog.
nized by Feig as reforms" etc. Now
Mr.. Editor, this is a personal fling at
me and shall briefly set my friend
Lawson right on this proposition.
Generally my position on the tenn
perance question is pretty we'll
known. 1 am no prohibitionist, nei-
Their am a total abstainer. 1 rec
ognize and hold that the constitu.
ton OF this country vouchsafes every
man and woman certain uninfringa-
BILE individual liberties, and one of
these is what to eat and drink. And
again am convinced of the nOn-suc-
cess of prohibition. But I hold, and
always have held that the liquor
business has certain elements of dan
ger different from other business
that makes it a proper business for
municipal surveillance and regula-
tons.
Such laws have always had my
earnest and cordial support. I am
not and never have been a crank on
the liquor question. l believe there
are some just as good men engaged
In this business as the country aver
ages among it's business men. The
trouble is there are some real bad
ones and they bring the whole bust
ness In ill-repute. l know, Mr.. Edit
| or, that there are men and women
who believe honestly that the saloon
il the very pit of hell and that every
saloon keeper is simply the hired man
OF his Satanic majesty. There are
people who really believe this. And
then there are such as proclaim this
doctrine although they know it's
false. The first class I mention are
honest while the second are misera-
bic hypocrites. Again some will use
the temperance cry as method of
boosting themselves Or their friends
into office. And last but not least
the temperance cry is resorted to by
lot of sham reformers to gather in
to their party embrace lot of hon
est temperance people. And this
practice is not entirely obsolete with
the reformers (?) of Kandiyohi coun-
ty. The saloon as I'LL institution
may stand as a source OF danger and
the average saloon keeper may he
justly held responsible for this condi-
ton, but were to designate the
greatest source of danger to our citi-
zens l should unhesitat!ngly reply,
"Just beware of sham reformers and
sham reform Sheets" Now MIR.
Lawson put that in your pipe and
smoke it.
| And inasmuch as you attempt to
glorify Grue for what he "didn't do"
in the cause of temperance and at
least by innuendo assail my temper
ance record perhaps it may interest
you to know that 1 voted for a coun-
ty option bill in 1897. And l didn't
quit there either. The bill was re-
ported for indefinite postponement
by the House Committee, but that
report was not adopted by the
House. In five minute speeches
Messrs. Staples, Jacobson and N.Y.
self knocked out this report and the
Bill went on General Orders. did
not sit there like our friend Grue and
silently allow q measure demanded
by a majority OF my constituents go
undefended to it's death.
And this work in the interest of
the county option bill, and my subse-
quent vote for the bill itself, incurred
for me the opposition of most of the
saloon men at the last election.
But, that didn't hinder you in
spite Of your alleged temperance SEN
timents to ally yourself with these
men whom you profess to abhor, to
defeat me, by decrying me as an ene-
my of temperance reform. Amt
you proud Mr.. Victor Lawson, you,
who decry the saloon as a hell-hole
to form such coalitions. Now, Mr..