The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-01-02


it be at the expense of defying all sober
peoples notions of law and order. She
is terribly in earnest too. How otherwise
could she be expected to remain in jail
even when the doors stand wide open
inviting her to freedom? She is bound
that prohibition shall exist more than.
nominally in bleeding Kansas, even if
the contraband saloon-keepers be bled
to death in the operation. She will
smash things and keep on smashing
them unless the contraband traffic is dis
continued.
Mrs. Nation is ambitious, emphatic and
specific, as the following selections from
her public utterances show:
AN want is people to help me cut
of these scrapes when L wreck saloons.
L need money to pay my fines, so |
! can get out and go at it again. instead
of lying in jail. can now get out on
again. and | rnay yet decide to do such
work. but l want to make a clean
sweep as l go. and not have fines hang
ing over my head. Aidais what is need
ed Money to prosecute this work mTst
be forthcoming. [ must make the saloon
men sorry. ard in three months there
L
point with pride to what work | have
already accomplished in Medicine Lodge
and KioWa. Both towns are devoid of
joints because of my work. and no one
viii deny it."
A man of this type is hard enough to
deal with either in public or private.
But, woman! Such woman can make
more trouble for herself and others in a
given period of time than score of men.
The law against smashing windows and
generally cleaning out saloons is usually
enforced save in communities in which
that form of activity is treated as a
pastime. OF course Mrs. Nation is
slightly inconsistent in wanting the law
against the sale of liquor respected
while she herself proceeds to set all laws
of personal and property rights at
defiance. But such a consideration cuts
little figure, especially when a person is
in dead earnest, as this worthy lady
seems to be. Liquor dealers are not
allowed by law in Kansas, and therefore,
they should not be allowed to possess
windows or any other form of destruc-
tible property.
There is only one really weak spot
in Mrs. Nations armor. She revels.
in going to Jail herself. Indeed all she
wants is the amplest opportunity to go to
jail and get out again. Money is neces-
sary to enable her to accomplish this
double purpose. She can only get money
from those who constitute themselves
her confederates. Accessories before and
after the fact the law would call those
who furnish Mrs. Nation with the sinews
of war. Are those disciples of law and
order, the adherents of the prohibition
cause, ready to commit themselves to a
programme which makes them access
sories to crime? Do they then really be-
lieve that the end justifes the means?
Are they willing to share Mrs. Nations
cold prison sell with her? If they are
they have the amplest opportunity to
show their devotion in this peculiar way.
Why does not Mrs. Nation enlist the
entire army of the w. C. T. U. in her
war if destruction. There are so many
saloons TO be smashed, WINDOWS, ocean
ters, glasses and all, that the work would
seem to be beyond the efforts of one
lone woman, no matter how jealous she
might be in the cause. No; Mrs. Nation
should invite all her sisters to joinsh in
her crusade, and by and by there viii be
so many of the delightful sex in limbo
that the entire male race in Kansas will
rise themselves in rebellion against the
saloons, and prohibition will triumph
once and forever even in the famous
prohibition state of Kansas.