Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1904-08-10
An Issue in County Politics.

An Issue in County Politics.
For many years q paramount local
issue In this county has been the tenn,
perance question-whether or not the
selling of whiskey and other alcoholic
poisons as . beverage shall be toler-
ated as lawful business. The senti-
ment throughout the county is over
whelmingly against the traffic, but by
the peculiar laws Of the state only the
small fraction of the voters living
within the limits OF the incorporated
cities and villages are permitted to
vote upon the proposition. Being
thus kept disfrsnchised by the lngis-
lature, the friends of s0briety, law
and order in the county at large are
in position where they cannot deal
effectively with the evil in a direct
way. The strong temperance senti-
ment at the county seat and in several
villages has kept up gallant fight
against great odds and have been sue
cessful in outlawing the traffic. One
of the greatest obstacles to the success
of the no.license policy has been the
fact that the whiskey element and their
sympsthizers have so effectively made
their influence felt in county politics
that the men charged with the enforce
ment of the law have not dared to deal
with this class of law breakers in the
same effective way as they would In
the case of other crimes committed.
Further, they have secured the elec-
tion of men friendly to their traffic
and whose main ambition as public
servants seems to be to see how we'll
they can serve the liquor interests.
Thanks to the efforts of Martin A.
Anderson of Gennessee, the last re-
publican county convention had the
opportunity to adopt an unequivocal
anti whiskey plank in its platform,
thus committing the dominant party
to the temperance policy. This plank
of the republican county convention
reads as follows:
WE BELIEVE THAT THE ONLY
SOLUTION OF THE SALOON PROB.
LEN is NO SALOON, and We earn
estly request that our senator and rep
resentatlve use every homo, able means
to secure q county local option law.
Let no one think for moment that
the adoption of this plank, however
great victory it may have been over
q lot of timid politicians In the con-
vention, has sett'ed the matter. It
now remains to select candidates who
If elected will stand squarely upon
this platform and who will execute the
same In letter as we'll as spirit. Just
now there ia lot of chuckling and
glee because the temperance vote is
thought tosbe 10 danger of being d.
vided and thus assuring the success
in the primary of the man who stands
for the kind of law enforcement We
have witnessed in district court dur
ing the past three sessions. Also
there are certain deputies, famed for
their work as court officers, who are
mighty pleased that there has as yet
appeared no opposition to their chief.
If the rank and file OF the republican
party of Kandiyohi county desi their
party to maintain consistent atti-
tude upon this temperance issue, now
is the time for them to act. Concerted
action Is necessary. The TRIBUNE
does not pose 40 republican organ.
We have no desire to name candidates
for that party. But as an independ-
ent newspaper, Jealous for the success
of the cause of sobriety and the re-
sultant dimunition of crime, corrup-
tlon and misery, We have thought it
within our province to say this much