Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-04-05
The Temperance
Question in Canton

| those IN FAVOR OF Saloons IN lnt
city have filed with the city auditor i
petition asking that the question OF
selling liquor at retail for beverage
purposes be submitted to the voters
of the city at the coming city elec
tion. This means saloons or no Sa
looms for the coming year Last
spring the question was submitted
and the people by the largest major:
ity ever given in the city voted
against the saloon and elected Mr.
Gemmill mayor under the specific
pledge that he would enforce the
laws against the illegal sale of liquor
in the city. To say that Mr.. Gemmil
has honestly and faithfully kept his
pledge needs no confirmation by any
citizen Of this city. No mayor in the
history of the city ever made such
strenuous efforts to enforce the law
He lodged no responsibility and
avoided no personal antagOnism in
his efforts to give the city a clean
and honest government. He, himself
took the initiative and SwOre to the
complaints and ordered the actions
brought to suppress the illegal traffic
and that he succeeded in giving the
lefty the cleaneSt government that
has ever been in Canton is up to the
citizens who are informed OF his ef-
forts.
Not wishing to give Mr.. Gemmfll
any credit to which he Is not honest
ly entitled, l will! say for the informa-
tion of the people that Mr.. Gemmill
has shown himself to be an honest,
conscientious and fearless official, and
if the people desire clean government
in this city | do not think there is
another man in the city who is as
able and as determined to enforce its
laws as Mayor Gemmill, and all that
is necessary to have a clean govern
ment is for the people to hold up his
hands.
In order that the people may con-
slider the question on it's merits 1t
will not be out of place for me to re-
view the efforts that have been made
during the year to enforce such laws
as we had or thought we had.
The great contention Of those in
favor of saloons last spring was that
in fact the drug stores were saloons
and if they were allowed to run wide
open and pay no license it would be
better for the city to have saloons
and receive a license than to allow
just as much liquor to be sold under
the name of drug stores. The drug
stores were all in favor Of no license
| Those in favor of saloons claimed
that the reason the drug stores were
i'm favor of no license was because
when there were no saloons the drug
stores had free hand in the sale OF
Intoxicating liquors. This year we
find Messrs. Helmey and Mold signing
the petition for saloons. In a review
of the work done during the year it
might appear why this change OF
front on the part of the drug stores.
| Trrrn1irttaI Mr. Ean,n,i III n aSEnH n
to be city attorney. l did not desire
the office, could not give it the time
it required without sacrifice to my
lown interests, but in view of the
urgent demand on the part of many
good citizens l accepted the office and
resolved to do my duty.
Intoxicating liquors were being
sold by bootleggers all over the city:
A party was arrested and convicted
under the state law before Justice
DeLong. Habeas Corpus proceedings
were brought before the circuit
court to release them on the claim
that there was no law in the state OF
South Dakota prohibiting the sale OF
only prohibited the pursuing of the
business. That one sale did not con-
Istitute any offense. Under this con-
tention there was no law in this
state to control boot Logging or holes
in the wall unless it could be shown
that the parties were actually in the
business, which could never be done
and hence we we're at the mercy OF
the boot logger and the hole in the
wall with no law to control or punish
them.
l then made careful investigation
OF the law and found that the legiSla-
ture of 1901 had empowered cities
wherein the people had voted
it themselves. An ordinance was on
the book to enforce this statute but
it was in such shape as to be en-
tirely unenforceable. The city council
reenacted this ordinance, SO amended
as to make it operative. This new
ordinance made every place where in
toxicating liquors or beer were sold a
nuisance and provided penalties for
it's violation. The statute also pro-
vided that all places where intoXicat-
ing liquors were sold made the place
u nuisance and the supreme court OF
the state had held that places could
be closed up under this law without
any ordinance on the part OF the
city. Under this law actions in
equity were brought against Helmey
Son sold out and that drug store was
finally closed up and removed from
the town. Helmey contested the
suit. his attorneys claiming that the
nuisance law did not apply to drug
stores and that there was no law in
the state making drug store a nui
sance. The circuit court sustained
this contention. This was knock
out blow. The attorneys were
astounded at such decision but Of
course the ruling of the circuit court
was the law until reversed and We
could not hope to get a reversal fol
about two years in the supreme court
that court being about that time be
hind with it's work. This decision
was a paralyZer as it struck out from
under us all state law with reference
to controlling drug stores. Mr.. Hell
mey was arrested for keeping nui
sance caused by his illegal sale of in
toxicating liquors and in the trial o
this case which lasted a full week i
developed that Mr. Helmey was re
filling prescriptions and that the pre-
ScriptionS were used to procure liquo
to deliver to other parties.
This was a hotly contested case
Mr.. Helmey'S attorneys contendet
that it was legal to refill prescrip
tions. Mr.. Helmey was convicted
the verdict being returned on Sun
day. Mr.. Helmey appealed and th
circuit court held that the judgemen
was void because the judgement wa
not entered Immediately on the re