Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1903-04-01
A PLEA AGAINST EVIL
Contribution On the. License Question TO be Ccnsd.
cred by Voters.

The citizens of Viroqua are soon to
have an opportunity to again record
their views on the license question.
The question is. do we want the
saloons III our little city auother year,
or will it be to our best interest to dis
psnse with themG
No one believes but what every voter
lnot himself pecuniarily interested)
votes for what he believes to be for the
best interest of the city We have a
city famed for the Intelligence and So
briefly of its citizens Our schools and
churches are not excelled by any city of
Its size The question is and should be,
will the grog shop in our midst pro-
mote the moral and intellectual welfare
Of our citizens and help make orr boys
and girls purer and better or viii the
contrary be true? Did any one ever
hear of saloon keep1r defending his
business on the ground that 1t had a re-
finlng influence on tha community.
Did any one ever hear of saloon keeper
distributing tracts and hiring lecturers
to convince the people that his business
was elevating to the manhood and
womanhood of the community bid he
ever point Gus to you single man.
woman or child who hgs been made
happier and better, and whose condition
has been improved by the saloon2 Is
there person in the immunity who
does not know Of Il score of whom the
contrary has been true} What then is
the redeeming feature of this menace to
sobriety and good order?
Some well meaning and go)d citizen
viii say, the saloon brings bu- mess to
town. Yes business for the iailer and
police court. Some twenty years ago
orr Ieighboring village of Westby hld
saloons ana many were heard to say
Eve must not vote them out because
they bring business to town Bat they
did vote them ont and have continued
to do so for twenty years and no com
munity in this state has had more
prosperous village in its midst than
Westby. Without the help of license
money (which some argue is necessary
If we have public improvements) the
village of Westby owns its own water
works, electric light plant and has mac
adamized street and business p aces
that would be a credit to a village five
times its size, and it has become a set
tied conviction in the minds of its best
citizens that a saloon instead of bring
ing business, drives it away. Westby Is
cited as an example because it is SO near
by every voter here knows the truthful
ness of these statements. Few men are
attracted tAa city by strong drink and
those who ate usually spend their money
in the saloon instead of with the mer-
chants But many good citizens while
conceding the saloon to be an evil say 1t
must be tolerated because we need the
license money. Three reasons suggest
themselves to our minds as an answer
to this argument
First, It Is always wrong to tolerate
an evil for the sake Of money and when
we do, we ARE always losers in the end.
Second, II there is one man resident
of our city or who comes here for busl-
ness or pleasure whose appetite is such
that he can not pass by an open saloon,
than surely no man wonld vote this
temptation in his way fer the paltry sum
that each would pay to make up the
amount of the license money Is there
one who does not know of many such 2
Third, Are your taxes any lower or the
streets in better condition during IL
cense years. This question every voter
is able to answer for himself Viroqua
is materially temperance city and her
people more prosperous and happy with
out saloons. We started out with two
saloons few years ago and these under
the strictest regulations and now we
have five with lax methods aud more
drinking by far than ever before known
in the history of our city. We have
been drifting down stream in this inn
nOrtaut paTfipnlap- -iat MS turu auOut
and paddle up to high ground again.