The public weal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1906-1908, 1907-06-01

anu udClOu ILLS mOCCO IOT
the year: 1--WE can do it. This is
1906" We urged that we were now
able to rally the people to our meet
ings, to raise enough money to push
a more aggressive campaign than ever
before and to elect some Prohibition
lists to the legislature "for this is 1906,
date nearer the morning than this
sin-cursed, Christ-helped world ever
saw"
All this was realized
Party Ties gloriously realized-and
Shattered. more. We could not
then forsee how many in
| fluences there were upon which we
could lay our hand, how many that
would back us in our fight for civic
righteousness. A large portion of
this state was nightly stirred against
the saloon and kindred evils. News
papers which, if they had not worn
the old-party collar or spoken it's
shibboleth, had at least stood by the
regular candidates heretofore, came
out for our nominees. Money was
contributed as though it's givers really
believed the souls of their brothers
and the welfare of the state were
worth something. While $500 votes
were given the honored head of our
ticket, $4,000 men, the larger share
of them breaking away from party
ties in order to do so, gave their bal
lots to our legislative candidates and
elected three of them. A result of
the campaign which was still more
cheering, because full of promise for
the future, was the fact that ten more
were almost elected. In fact shrewd
old-party politician on the night be-
fore election estimated our successful
candidates at thirteen.
And this is 1907, full
A Still er of achievement and
Grander Year. of hope than even
1906. Graft and
Doodle are being hunted down and
punished. Distinguished titles, good
clothes, elegant homes, and the pos
session of millions of money are no
longer bar to legal proceedings.
The people are catching a new vision
of human government. Higher ideals
are taking possession of their minds.
They are coming to see that evil has
no right to the throne The earth be-
longs to the people who live purely
and work honestly and they are COM
ing to their own.
The idea is becoming prev
A Hot-Bed alent that the saloon, a
Of Crime. hot-bed of lawlessness, is
somehow connected with
all these gigantic wrongs. Those who
have studied the subject know we'll
that such tree could not fail to
bring forth such fruit, the use Of the
drink and the immoral atmosphere of
the saloon lessening the grip of con-
science upon the individual, and the
license system soaring the public
conscience as with a hot iron
Great numbers "have it
The Saloon in for" the saloon. Fam
A Robber. iliar with it as a dis
turber of the peace of
the community, they are coming to
see that it also lives upon their dol
lars and by their ballots, even though
they never spend cent at the bar
or cast license vote at the local
election. It lives by the act of the
legislature and ballot cast for the
candidates of the parties which per-
petuate the saloon is vote for the
saloon. The weekly press and month
ly magazines are telling the truth
about the saloon. Many are barring
it from their advertising columns at
loss of thousands of dollars a year.
We do not hesitate to say
A Live that today there is more gen.
Issue. eral and deep-seated interest
in this issue than in any
other. Nothing will raise a commo-
ton so quickly as the discussion of
any phase Of the question, whether in
a commercial club, political conven-
tion or a church conference. The
saloon itself is excited Some of it's
leaders and journals are predicting its
early death unless it's business
methods be changed. Others unquali-