The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1907-08-08
REMARKABLE OBJECT
LESSON In PROHIBITION

A remarkable object lesson of the
futility of trying to enforce In thickly
populatd communities such a law as is
contained in tho provision for state
wide prohibition in the Oklahoma con
stitution was found lately at Dallas
Taxas
For months the business men Of
Oklahoma CITY have neen organizing
a state fair association involving an
expenditure of many thousands of dol
lars. This fair will be statewide. and
will be conducted upon a scale OF no
less magnitude than the Texas stale
fair at Dallas. II is intended 60 pay
substantial diyidcndh upon all stock
issued For this reason one man, liv.
ing in a northern city bought $1,000
worth OF stock as am Investment
To establish this fair upon the firm.
est possible foundetion. committee
was appointed to visit other states
where there were state fairs IN sue.
cesslu operation and get all possible
data that would enable the manager
of the Oklahoma state fair to avoid
mistakes
one of the problems was whcther or
not intoxicants should be sold on the
fair grounds The managers were not
moved by sentiment for or against
4 liquor. They looked at the question
| from cold-blooded business stand
point If the fair would be injured by
the sale of intoNicants, they were pre-
pared without moments hesitation
/ TO forbid their sale On the other
hand. il they found that the suppress
sion of the sale OF intoxicants brought
about conditions less desirable than
! would prevail with bars operated m-
der the strict supervision of the fair
management they would recommend,
/ with no less hesitation, the sale of IN
toXicants
The committee decided tha, no bet.
ter place than Texas. where the TEN.
perancc movement has made such pro.
gress. could be found for an answer
10 this question. The secretary OF the
state fah at Dallas. Sidney Smith, is
known throughout Texas as man OF
integrity. and fine business Judgment
/ Ha has been identified with the fair
az Dallas SO many years that ne Is in.
/ tlmately acquainted with every detail
OF its managements, and knows the ben
ehts and disadvantages of all policies
that have been undertaken The
! Oklahoma committee asked Mr. Smith
II it would be best 20 sell intoXicanta
at the new fair
by all means he replied
But your mere statement, is moi
convincing evidence said the com
mittee. What Is your reason
simply this, answered Mr. Smith
I'VE had permitted the sale of intoXi
cants for a number OF years, and were
prepared to continue along this line
when agitation was begun for 2 dry
fair The management was not dis
posed to run counter to public sent
mcnt and agreed that the following
fair should be dry That was the
only dry year in the history of the
Dallas state fair, and no man. who a.
tended that fair, whatever his opinion
on the liquor traffic, wah willingly
thereafter 10 stand sponsor for "A dry
fair The increase of drunkenness was
astounding. There were more drunk
en- man on The fair grounds than had
ever been seen there in any previous
year In looking for the cause,
found that patrons, knowing the sale
of liquor was forbidden on the grounds
came supplied with whiskey In bottles
knowing that they would meet friends
and that their supply might soon bC
exhausted they brought Il by the
quart and gallon In drinking it, thcs
consumed o great deal more in d
short time thaa they would hayt
done had they gone to bar Th,
result was that men got drunk who
otherwise would have remained sober
Had they been able TO 90 TO bar
they probably would have drunl
beer. or. If whiskey they woud have
measured their drinks temperately
and escaped ntoxicalion with n
creased drunkenness. there naturally
was increased disorder The manage
ment never repeated iis experiment o
a dry fair
What happened at the Dallas fair
happens in every thickly populated
community especially ia the largei
towns where people are thrown
closely and constantly together The
same argument may be made for
county or state as Wa made for th'
Dallas fair lnloXivants are drank n
smaller quantities, and more tempera
tely, In wet than in dry cOmmuni
ties But In dry communities ther,
is far more drunkenness than in wet
communities citizen of Oklahoma
said lately that inc saw more drunken
ness at Wich,t@. Nas. ON thu las
fourth of July than ne over saw before
in his lie in a Town OF the same size
/ Yet Wichita is ia The vaunted prohi
billion state OF Kansas. aud at thi'
time the prOhibitionists assert tha
the I'D bad been screwed down. ant
the sale OF intoxicaats actually stop
ped iu Wichita. LeavenwoHh Topeka
and Kansas City Kas
In the submission of statewide pro
hibition the people OF The new statl
are asked By the prohibitionlsts 10 ac
cept iur Az ume sucn : condition al
! prevailed al the Dallas state fair dur
ing its dry year, and which has pre-
} vailed throughout Kansas ever sine
that state adopted prohibition. Th
statewide ordinance withhods an on
portpnlty 10 employ local option ant
high license Thousands of sensibh
z persons who formerly gave little al
tention 20 the liquor question are be
coming convinced that the statewid
ordinance should be defeated 20 en-
able the people of each community q
decide these questions for themselves
Adv