Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1901-06-14
he Mayer s Saloon Foli &.

Ihe. Mayer s Saloon folicy.
On the eth day 81 May q,
cHlled upon By tn ow omen, residents
.of the city, one OF ~ ON handed mi
pa per Y hich I found to be q petit
ton addressed to me as ma, or Of the
city Of Little Falls, requesting me t.
keep the saloons of said city closed
all hours on Sundays. Upon exami-
nation, find this petition contains
l61 names, q few Of the signers not
being residents Of the city. Several
have said to me that they signed it
to please the ladies who were circu-
lating 1t, and that they did not APP
prove OF the object but were well
satisfied with my policy in not clos.
ing the saloons during the afternoon
onsSunda..s. + notice also on the PEE
tition the names Of some that fire.
quently break the Sunday laws; such
names carry but little weight. 1t is
claimed that some names appear as
signers that am certain have not
been in the city for several months
and also that the names OF sotne OF
the stgners are minors. II the petit
tion Is in any way fraudulent 1 can
hardly believe. that the good ladies
who delivered it to me knew of the
fact. Besides presenting the petition
to me, one OF the ladies eratuttously
informed me that was responsible
II the saloons were not closed all OF
the Sabbath day. A newspaper slip
was made fast to the petition, pre-
scribing a penalty for any that
should violate any Of the provisions
of the act. Ireally do not know the
object of circulating this petition. II
1t is to show to me that the majority
of the voters of the city wish the
saloons closed up all day on Sunday
it is a signal failure, as only one in
about five has signed it. But If over
one half of the voters had signed the
petition I, under the existing condl.
tons, could not conscientiously al
low myself to be controlled by it.
believe long before the last electic n
for mayo or was held that it was gen
orally understood that my opponent
and myself would pursue the same
policy as to Sunday closing of sa
looms. While 1 made no definite
pledges as to the matter, I expected
to allow them open all day on Sun.
day. But, considering the matter
carefully, thought best in the inter
est Of harmony and perhaps fair play,
to divide the Sunday and keep the
saloons closed until one o'clock p. m.
on Sundays. submitted the propo-
sition to some OF the leading church
people to be considered by them, and
also submitted it to the saloon ele.
ment. The response was that ma:
jority OF the saloon people wished to
run their business all day on Sun.
days, and from the church people the
response was that it would be salts:
factory to them to have the saloons
closed until one o'clock on Sundays.
I therefore announced my policy to
be as I had proposed. have no
power to protect the saloon keepers
from being prosecuted for disposing
OF liquors on Sunday and shall not
attempt to do SO. Ii l understand
the law it is very radical. If a per-
son should keep wine at his home
and give glass to a visiting friend
on Sunday he would be liable to ar
rest and fine. Further do not see
how wine can be disposed Of at a
church communion without violating
this law. 1t is a recognized fact that
a law that is not in accord with the
sentiment of the majority of the peo-
pie in community is not lived up to
and strictly enforced. have. known
great injustice and outrageous acts
done under the guise of law. The
right to rebel against laws that are
unjust and tyrannical is a natural
right. LIDO not claim that the law
requiring saloo1.s to keep closed all
day on Sunday is outrageously
wrong. But in my Judgment it is OF
doubtful utility and the majority Of
this city do not wish 1t TO be strictly
enforced; and as have otreverence
enough for it to enforce it upon an
un willing people, therefore, while
trying to exercise q due regard for
the wishes Of all the bona fide signere
Of the petition under consideration,
do not feel 1t my duty at present to
interfere further with the saloon
keepers than I am now doing.
+. = Very respectfully, ~ ;.
~ ~. - 4. r. N. RICHARDSON,
| a. , ;r.s4U Nfovor