The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1907-02-02
THE PROGRESS OF
LOCAL OPTION
GREAT GAINS MADE IN SEVERAL
STATES AND IN EUROPE
Probable Attitude of San Juan Leg
1slatOrs on Local Option in This
State = Good Effects of Sunday
Closing in Large Cities.


7HE temperance forces in this
- state are quite hopeful of Sc
curing the enactment by the present
legislature of precinct local option
liquor law, leaving the question of the
licensed sale of liquor to the deter
mination of a majority vote in each
precinct. The ISLANDER has no
doubt that if such a measure, provid-
ing proper safeguards against the
operation of "blind pigs, comes up
for the consideration of the senate it
will have the earnest support of Sen
ator Blair, who, by the way, is refer
red to in an Olympia dispatch to the
Post t-Intelligencer as ''the grand old
man of the Senate It is considered
probable, however, that Representa-
tive Shu!tz, for whose election the IL
quor interests of the county labored
most zealously and effectively, would
look at the matter from different
point of of view.
According to the annual report of
the Associated Prohibition Press,
news service furnishing news relative
to the prohibition movement, which
has it's headquarters in Chicago,
thirty million people in America, or
more than one third of the nations
population, are living under prohib-
itory or local option laws. The re-
port also states that the prohibitory
area in foreign countries has been
greatly increased during the year.
In the United States the territory
gained by the prohibitionists is is large
In Tennessee ! 1886 out of l, ,848 towns
have shut out saloons under the local
option law. and 1,732,7 people out
Of a total population of 2,02O,616 live
under prohibition.
In Arkansas the advance Of prohib-
ition has been equally marked, for
eleven-twelfths Of the territory and
two thirds of the population have pro-
hibition.
In Georgia, 103 out of 1877 counties
in the state have prohibition.
Indiana is reported as having 649
townships and forty cities without
saloops and Ohio has 1900 "dry"
townships. Vermont and New
Hampshire, which repealed their
prohibitory laws, are said to be re-
turning to the fold, Vermont having
but twenty-five licensed towns out
of 40, and in New Hampshire the in
crease for prohibition during 1906 Is
given as Its per cent.
Minneapolis is given as an example
of large city which has enforced
Sunday closing with good effects.
Mayor Jones is quoted as saying that
Sunday arrests since the law had
been enforced were Is per cent less
than under the "wide open" policy.
He estimated that Sunday closing
was saving the people Of Minneapolis
81, 600, 600 annually.
The police records in st Louis un-
der year Of Sunday closing are said
to show decrease of II per cent in
the total number of Sunday arrests.
In Kansas City the Sunday closing
enforcement is declared to have re-
duced Sunday arrests for all causes
Is per cent. Similar results are said
to have been obtained in Omaha, In
dianapolis, Louisville and other cities.
With reference to Chicago, the re-
port sets forth that the agitation
'sbids fair to soon end the wide open
Sunday policy which has continued
uninterruptedly for three decades.
Omer Freel, who was appointed
GOOD a,,r,orvie0Y. nf the Orcas district