Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1905-09-29
Friday, Sept. 40, 1905.
TIE BURNING ISSUE.

Friday, sept. 40, 1905.
THE BURNING ISSUE.
There never was time in tho his
tory of Cedar City when public feel
ing was stirred to such depths as it
has been during the past week Knots
of excited men have congregated
upon the streets and freely discussed
mobbings, lynching, etc. Officers as
we'll as others have lost their heads,
and either added fuel to the flame by
indiscreet remarks or have become
insulting to citizens who did not
altogether coincide in their views.
Attempts to intimidate certain parties
to the fight have been made by the
firing of fire arms i'm the vicinity of
their lodgings, and public feeling
reached its heighth when a criminal
lible was perpetrated aginst the may
or of the city by the posting of an
insulting notice in a number of pub
lie places during Tuesday night. The
stress has been nerve-w recking and
it is time that some better solu
tion was found for the trouble.
~
The storm that has just burst upon
the community has been gathering
for several years. The burning issue
is that of controlling the liquor traffic
which prior to the municipal cleo
tion of 1905 had become we'll nigh
unbearable. In that election the
citizens combined and carried the
day for Prohibition by strong majoity.
From the time the votes we're count
ed, the fight has been on in greater
earnest than ever before. The op-
ponents of prohibition have made all
the capital possible of the violations
of the law In the hope of showing that
prohibition was impracticable, aud
the officers elected by the people two
years ago have. waged persistent
fight for the enforcement Of the law.
The ak fell last Friday when two o
the local dealers were arrested on
charges of selling intoxicants withou
license. The evidence was furn
ished by two individuals brought her
for the purpose of getting cases, anC
the opponents of prohibition hav
made capital OF the report that thei
equation was not the best. I
offset this the officers of the cit
have held that it is impossible to ge
ministers of the gospel to engage il
this class of work, and that the recor
of these men is perhaps on par wit
that of others who engage in thi
class of business.
The individuals in question hav
perhaps brought part of the storm
on themselves by their own indiscre
tion. On the other hnad there is
certain element here that tries to in
timidate all persons engageud in tn
enforcement of law, and especially /
giving evidence in these liquor cases
Last year two young men from Sa
Juan county swore to complain
against a local dealer and we're threat
ened with lynching, and gang of tb
toughs went so far az to invite one {
the young men out of his lodgings
with the intention of mobbing or il
timldating him. These facts tend I
bring the fight between the aw-abiC
ing and lawless elements of the con
munity.
Any person who dares to furnis
evidence in these cases is held in Il
deepest contempt and loathing by
large per centage of the population
~
The fact of the arrests coming {
the eve of on important election adj
to the infiammatory condition. III
motives of the city officers have be,
impugned and is pronounced by son
trick to gain votes. Public fee
ing was considerably wrought up ov
the coming election before, and
was an easy matter to fan the smoul
ling embers into flame. In fact
county official is quoted as sayin
only tap was needed to precipitatG
lynching.
A number of solutions are offer,
for the situation. The straigh
jacketed prohibitionists, who star
ON this pedestal strictly, believe tht
if the fight is presistently maintain'
the sterntgh of the opposition wi
soon be broken, and while there wi
probably always be liquor for thol
who seek it, the condition will stead
ly improve.