The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1904-10-07
LECALIZED EVIL, NO. 1O2,
BY John Danner.

BY John Danner.
In discussing the liquor question in
Ohio, we find many Republicans love
to use the term whisky Democrats"
and take unto themselves the praise
of being the friends of temperance.
They wish to convey the idea that
the Republican party are favorable to
temperance but that the Democratic
party are not
In Ohio the recorded facts are the
other way. More than fifty years
ago. when our state constitution was
adopted, they put a clause in said con-
stitution that mo license for liquor
selling should be granted" The two
representatives from Stark county in
the constitutional convention were
DR.. Harmon Stidges and Hon. Joseph
| Thompson both of them firm Demo
Gratis, intelligent men, and good citi-
zeus, and both favorable to prohibit
ing license or permit being granted
for liquor selling for beverage pur-
poses. The liquor men throughout
the state we're opposed to the clause
in our constitution that forbid a IL
cense or permit being granted for
liquor selling, but the people on two
occasions after the adoption of our
state constitution, did by their votes
confirm the present prohibitory clause
in our state constitution; and this
fact should have induced our state
legislature to have enacted law in
conformity with the state constitu.
tion. which would have been q prohib-
itory law, not a tax law.
A few years after the adoption of
our state constitution, the Republic
ans became the dominant party in
Ohio, and they at once manifested a
willingness to protect the liquor in
terests, and adopted several laws to
legalize liquor selling for beverage
purposes in Ohio. The first were
known as the Pond law and the
Scott law, both of which were pro.
nOunced to be unconstitutional; but
finally the Democratic party lost
much of it's former power in our state
politics, and within the ranks of the
Republican party were many of the
large brewers and distillers of the
state, and also of the saloonkeepers
Among the latter was George B. Cox,
Of Cincinnati, who was proprietor
of saloon in Cincinnati, very COM
monty known among the church peo-
pie and temperance workers as MUIR.
derers' Corner Saloon" This man
Cox had very great power and In
huence among the Republican poll
t!cians of the state, and the pressure
was brought to bear upon the party
In Ohio to give the saloons some le-
gal protection. and the prayers of Geo
b. Cox G. Co. were needed by the
Republican party in Ohio, and the
first two attempts to evade our pro-
hibitory constitution, was the enact
ment Of the Pond and Scott laws, both
OF which were declared to be uDconsti-
tutional. Finally the Democrats were
becoming weaker in our state legisla.
ture and the Republicans became so
strong that they could carry almost
any measure they attempted, and then
it was that the third attempt was
made to enact tax law for the pro-
lection and legalization or saloons in
Ohio.
Among the prominent saloonkeep-
ers in Ohio at that time, was Geo. B.
Cox, Of Cincinnati. This same man
has made a fortune by the saloon
business, and Is now on the state COM
mittee Of the Republican party in
Ohio. The preachers, elders and dea-
cons who stand by the G.. o. P. can
see the kind of political "bedfellows"
they have In "the only party that
ever did anything for temperance in
Ohio"
Truly the old adage is true, "None
so blind as those who will not see"
The progress and intelligence of the
people on this liquor question, is
bringing the question to every man
and every political party to decide
which side they will uphold, and If
the resolutions passed by the various
churches be truly the expression OF
the voters in both the Republican and
Democratic parties, they may both
expect a great falling off in their sup
port. The M. e. church in their gen.
eral conference have declared, "The
liquor traffic cannot be lesalized with
out SIM" and nearly all the churches
of various denominations have quite
heartily said "amen," to such SEN
timent It is well that the people are
waking up on this great question, 1t
is a question that involves the death
of hundred thousand citizens every
year. and the waste of more than one
hundred million dollars annually, by