The record-union., 1899-10-07

had friends in Oak Park who had little
homes and they did not want any sanl-
tary district, nor costly special counsel.
The speaker said the Legislature in
passing the Act never intended it to
be local option law. 1t was intended
for unhealthful communities, particu-
larly those of the southern part of the
State, and not such places as Oak Park.
The latter is not in need of such dis
trict.
A E. MILLER'S ADDRESS.
Arthur E. Miller of this city followed
Mr. Ryan, and said that in his opinion
the temperance clause Of the Act was
unconstitutional because mention was
not made Of it in the title. On the
other hand, if the Act intended to deal
with the question of local option, and
mentioned the same in the title, IL
would still be unconstitutional, mas
much as there would then be two sub
jects contained in it, which was un-
constitutional beyond a doubt.
Mr.. Miller said the persons who were
out to form a sanitary district in Oak
Park had no intention of availing
themselves of any of the provisions OF
the law except that applying TO the
granting of licenses for the conductinG
of saloons. 1t was intended to be a
temperance crusade, nothing more
nothing less. Even if the Act were not
unconstitutional, the Sanitary Board
would not bother the saloon.
With the question of temperance
eliminated, he inquired why the people
should wish to empower five Trustees
to impose all kinds of taxes on them.
Even If it were possible to keep sa-
looms out of the village there was notn-
ing to prevent them being conducted
just outside of the distrfct-nothing to
keep people from buying land just out
side the district, and nothing to keep
the people of Oak Park themselves
from moving outside.
The speaker said that the Supreme
Court passed on the Act of 1891 and
pronounced it valid, but that it had
handed down no decision since the
amendments Of 1893 and 1895 had bee1I
tackled on, and these amendments, he
contended, would annul at least that
much of the Act as applied to granting
saloon licenses, that proposition not be-
ing mentioned in the title.
Mr. Miller drew picture of the laws
delay, and told his auditors that while
they were waiting for Supreme Court
decision the Trustees would be piling
up taxes He inquired whether they
wanted any such white elephant Oh
their hands, and was answered by cries
of mo! no!'
OTHER SPEECHES.
E. G.. Palmer was next introduced.
He scored not only the speakers who
had talked in favor of the district, bul
the people who favored it's formation.
With respect to the church people in
terested in the matter, he advised them
to take the Apostle Paurs advice to
Timothy: Drink no longer water, but
take a. little wine for thy stomach 5
sake and other infirmities." He did
not vouch for the correctness Of his
quotation.
Then Chairman Calderwood called or.
David Higgs, and the speech of the lat
ter was personal to an unusual degree.
He hewed deep, probably deeper than
the line" and did not seem to bother
about falling chips.
The speaker said the people of Oak
Park had ample reason to believe that
a, scheme was on foot to create offices
and give the schemers a chance to put
their hands into the peoples pockets.
Particularly was that so, he said,
when they knew and were conversant
with the people behind the sanitary
district proposition. Those people, he
said, were schemers, and had been dis
H. IN +f7n
community-about seven years.
The Oak Park people, he said, are as
a rule honest, industrious and econom-
ical He always admired good, hon.
est Christians, but when he had to
deal with contemplate, confounded
hypocrisy" he sometimes got angry.
He recognized the proverb, put into
rhyme, that where God erects house
of prayer the devil builds a chapei
there and said that everybody knew
that the scandals of Oak Park eman-
ated from the devils chapel, and not
from the house of God.
The DEVILS chapel in Oak Park, Mr..
Higgs said, had erected starving
rock" for the Christian ministers, and
everybody knew Of the terrible treat
ment the reverend gentleman had re-
ceived at it's hands.
The speaker next turned his atten-
ton to the lecture delivered several
evenings ago by Rev. Mr.. Webb, who
he said must have been confirmed
bigot when he left England, and whom
the light of liberty loving America had
failed to change. Mr.. Webb's chief
argument as to why the saloon should
not be licensed was based on an incl
dent he claimed to know Of, where
man went into a saloon, got into a
fight and shot another man, thereby
entailing upon the county a lawsuit
which cost $4,000. Mr.. Higgs said
if that were the strongest argument TO
be produced it might be offset by the
Durrant murders, which occurred in
church, and the trial of which cost the
county of San Francisco S100,O0O.
Reasoning upon that basis, the church
should be wiped out, because, while 1t
paid no taxes Che possibly meant IL
cense), the saloon paid, according to
Mr.. Webb, SO into the county treas
ury in the form Of license.
At the close of the speechmaking a
vote of thanks was rendered to the
speakers. and the meeting adjourned.
Pictures OF the War.
It r Pussell Jr of Sacramento,