Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1908-07-15
WEDNESDAY, JULY Is. 1908.
COUNTY OPTION ATTACKED.

william b. OCeWafC, secretary OF
the Manufacturers and Dealers
Club of St. Paul, writes the Trib-
une a nice letter, enclosing suit
able literature for proving that
county option is wrong--that it is
not county option at all. The liq-
uor dealers who have associated
themselves under the above respect
able title, are making desperate at
tempts to counterfeit the tremend-
Gus sentiment against the saloon
turnout the state. If they cannot
produce anything better than the
letters sent out to the editors. they
may as we'll close up shop. No ad-
vocate of county option has ever
contended that it was not measure
to restrict the saloon traffic, or in
other words, that it is temperance
measure. The point which this
Liquor Dealers Club tries to bring
out as an unjust provision of the
bill is that if the county votes wet
each municipality still has the op-
ton to declare against the saloons
for themselves, while if the county
votes no-license, no-license must
prevail turnout the whole county.
At the first glance it might seem
that there was some reason to this
objection, but one does not have to
consider the matter long before
one sees that the nature Of the liq-
uor traffic is such as to make it the
rankest injustice to force saloons
onto any village or town against
their will. Without the provision
leaving the option open to the viii
lagos and townships to keep out the
business, even if the county as a
whole voted wet, such a bill would
not be a temperance measure. LID
uor business is peculiar in tina
there are no benefits to be derived
from the same, except the money
made for certain individuals
Were it not for the license money
most villages and towns would not
tolerate it tor minute. 1t is OBJ,
vious that no law could be devised
that could compel a municipality
to sell privileges to the liquor deal
ers and accept money as price o:
the moral welfare Of the town, l.
the citizens did not wish to do it
The Dealers Club need not fea
that county option will be adopted
under any misrepresentation on tn
part of the voters. They are gen
orally we'll informed that it is
temperance measure and would b
a fearful blow to the liquor inter
ests of the state. Their contentio
that county option would not b
, home rule is entirely erroneous
The county is the smallest unit tia
has the legal machinery necessar
to punish criminals and collect tn
taxes. The saloon is most prolif
source of crime and if the count
as whole must pay the expense
connected with the courts it seen
. that it is not more than fair thu
the people of the whole county, VIII
pay the taxes, should have the rigl
;. to say whether or not they wou|
permit the business to exist With
the county. The people of tt
Z country districts have long felt tt
injustice of little villages or nun
} cipalities thruout the county sci
ing licenses which directly effe
! the morals and we'll being Of tt
entire community. the proceeds G
ing into the treasures Of the vi
g. lagos and cities and the costs
= prosecuting criminals and takir
IS care of paupers, resulting from tn
traffic, to be saddled onto all Il
taxpayers of the county. This
the phase of the question tn
= makes the issue distinctly a rur
" one. And while this is true, the
are thousands of citizens in the "
NJ lagos and towns who vote licen
Of under the mistaken idea that licen
Sc controls the traffic, hut at the sar
m time would welcome county opti
~ as the means of settling the que
" ton in the community. Und
G. the present laws the license que