The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-10-14
THE WEEKLY JOURNAL. Issued Thursday. One Dollar Year
THE SALOON TOTE.

dL LIl6 pOllS IS tlle llluuelCe or lNe Sa- | loon vote. It has been discussed in | connection with the recent Democratic victory in this city apparently without regard to the fact, that if, as alleged, the victorious party benefited by it's support, the party which has been so long in power must have had its ap- proval all of that time. We confess that we are curious as to the charac- ter of this vote, how it is organized, how inspired and how controlled We shall be under very great obligations to any one, who, from experience with 1t, can tell us and through us the vot- CTS of the city how it is that a class vote, as the saloon vote must be con- , sidered, can exert such a powerful in- fuence in determining the behavior of the electorate
 Tn a general way we can understand how 1t is the saloons of the city have become source of political assistance to parties seeking preferment, but we cannot understand how it is that they may become the pivotal influence about which the actual result turns. As a source of assistance it is plain that as gathering places they assemble to- gether with more or less regularity the residents, or considerable num- Der of them, of a given neighborhood. It is an old saying and true one that the neighborhood saloon, plays the same part in social life that the pri- vate club plays. That was the belief Bishop Potter of New York nurtured when he approved the opening of a saloon in the city of New York, which, while preserving all of the features of common gathering ground, should eliminate intoxicating liquors He did not sec that the frequenters of such places preferred to exercise their own Judgment in selecting their assembly rooms. Tn other words, the lesson which was taught by the Potter fail- ure was that considerable number of men look upon their neighborhood sa- loon as their place of gathering, not necessarily to drink to excess but to play games and talk over matters of current interest. That conceded, we have at once a series of little rnass meetings all over city which are cas- fly reached by political agents and which are sn session every 5ey and night in the week. If that is what is meant by the power of the saloon vote we understand it, just as under similar circumstances we should be asked to understand the club vote.
 If we are on the right track in our attempt to understand the saloon vote, to which such frequent reference is made whenever election results ire under consideration, then what we cal! in the city the saloon vote would be in the village or country town the Willage or country store voc, for iHere the store plays the same part in these connections. There is no essential diff ference in the character of these daily or weekly conferences and in them selves they cannot be regarded as demoralizing. Men will talk however they meet and it is not until their gathering places are made use of to produce corrupt results that any par ticular fault can be found The saloon is recognized by the law as a legiti. mate institution, if the people of giv- en locality see fit to approve it, and that being so it is confusing and mis- leading to speak of the saloon vote as essentially different from any other vote which may be traced to places oi common assembly, even if among those places of gathering is one whose physical comfort Is designed to attract the attention of only professed Chris tians. So that in so far as the cons;d. eration of a given election turns upor the strength of the saloon vote it is obvious that it's charm must be attrib. uted to other causes than the assem, ply of men in given place On tht other hand we can understand how the influence of saloonkeepers among their friends and patrons can be en livened by an act of the police author ities permitting them to evade cartait rules with regard to closing. If 'ls l. what is meant by reference to the sa Joon vote then we have to consider it not from the point of view of a m mon meeting ground, but from tl,, point of view of the malfeasance 0 those in control of the government This gives an entirely new meaning | what is known as the saloon vote 1n, discloses at once the fact that the sa looms have not inherent political pow CTS but that such powers as they hay are dependent upon the favor of gov eminent
 We should be very glad if someon