The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1906-03-23

An Appeal to the Voters of Van
Buren, County.


saloons shall be licensed to sell intoxi-
eating liquor as beverage in the coun-
ty; four times for state prohibition, and
this will make five times under the
county local option law. The local OPP
ton law was enacted in 1887, and adopt
ed by the county in 1890, and for 10
years has been in force; although tho
friends of the saloon have four times
succeeded in having the question sub
mitted to the voters Of the county. In
the present campaign they will endeavor
TO convince the voters that because
some men, who have no regard for
law, morality or the welfare OF the peo-
pie, will smuggle intoxicants into the
county and hide them in dark, secluded
places and sell the same at the risk OF
arrest and conviction for violating the
the law, and being disgraced by fine and
imprisonment, and that some druggists
will take the same chances and sell 10
bottles to be drank and the bottles
thrown out where boys may get them,
and, by sucking the remaining drops in
them, form appetites for strong drink.
Also, that there is as much liquor sold
and drank now as there would be il sa-
looms were opened and men licensed to
sell; and that the license fee will help
pay the taxes; therefore the restriction
should be removed from the "blind IL
gers and men licensed to sell in the
open light. The force of these argu-
ments should be seriously and candidly
considered by every elector before cast
ing his vote. If it is true that there is
as much liquor drank and as much
drunkenness under present conditions
as there would be under license, why is
| it that the liquor interests, not only of
the county but of the state, are so anx-
ious for the change? / have it from the
best authority that one of the largest
brewers in the state was heard to say:
"The liquor interest is organized
throughout the state. We have the
money and are gong to put enough into
| Van Buren, county to overwheim local
option and then we are going before the
next legislature and get the local option
law repealed"
To show the futility of the argument
that there is as much drinking and
drunkenness under present conditions
as there would be under license, a single
illustration will suffice: kalamazoo
county has 1872 inhabitants with ~ IL
cened saloons In 1905 there were 1875
arrests for drunkenness, or one for every
- of her population. Van Buren, county
has 34965 inhabitants and no saloons.
10 1905 there were l03 arrests for drunk
enness, or one for each 367 of her popu-
lation." Is anyone credulous enough to
believe that the boys get more bottles
now with drops in them than they
would with licensed saloons? Is it not
fact that saloonkeepers have a stock
OF well-tilled bottles on hand for their
customers and sell more by the bottle
than by the drink, as it comes cheaperY
Can anyone believe that saloonkee pers
care how many bottles are thrown out
where boys can get them or how much
they get out of them? They must plant
the seed and feed the appetite of the
boys to make them drinking men and
drunkards, or their customers would
in time run out. No one will claim that
closed saloons will prevent men who
have appetites burning beyond the con-
troll of their reason, from obtaining drink
to satisfy it. But if the temptation is,
10 measure, kept from the boys and
young men who have too much respect
for themselves and their parents to creep
about in the dark or have their names
recorded in the drusgists' books to be
reported to the prosecuting attorney to
obtain it, the result of the local option
law in this county is victory over which
the people ought to be proud.
1t cannot be disputed that the use OF
intoxicating liquor as beverage is the |
piinoiy Oduoo VI CTltEe, pduperlSm, H. |
sanity, idiocy and family jars and sep
arations, with all of the misery and |
wretchedness resulting from them, and
that the saloons are the hot beds of vice. |
in which the seeds of ruin are planted
and matured. If that is true, it does
not seem possible that anyone can want
the saloons opened And yet, upon the
petitions presented to the supervisors
calling for the election, are the names of
some of our best citizens. Is it not pre-
sumable, at least, that they signed in |
good faith, believing that another reviy.
al campaign is needed to stimulate the
people to be more active 10 trying to
have the law made more stringent and |
better enforced, and more determined in
nominating and electing men to Office
whose duty it is to enforce the law; and
that, 10 the campaign, they will be found
on the side of rightY
Who of our fellow citizens, do not
want the saloons opened, is a pleasing
question to answer Truly. fathers