Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1908-01-30
Great Growth of Temperance

There was never the slightest
ground for the assumption that, be-
cause the political prohibition move
ment failed in the more populous part
of the country, the temperance senti-
ment of the people was in period Of
decline, declares the Springfield Re-
publican. Attention is being constant
~ called to the signs of strength
ening feeling for temperance, especi-
ally in the south, where so many
state prohibitory laws have been en-
acted. Recently, the fact that the
state of Missouri had become no-li-
cense in half of its counties served to
remind us of the sustained momentum
of the movement in the southwest.
Evidence comes in daily from other
localities showing a powerful trend Of
popular sentiment. On Wednesday,
the no-license advocates carried Ashe-
vile, n. c., by nearly 1000 majority.
North Carolina has few saloons, under
present conditions of local option, and
a state prohibitory law is a not i'm
probable result in the near future.
These results are not being brought
about by the organized third party of
prohibition, which for 20 years and
more has sought political power in or
der to make prohibitory legislation
completely national in it's scope. In
that effort, prohibitionists have en-
tirely failed. The legal foundation of
the present marked advance toward
the abolition of the saloon has been,
in the main, the system of local OPP
ton which now prevails over one-half
of the area of the United States. 1t
substantial changes have been
wrought. Very many northern and
western states are covered with a net
work of dry counties or towns in
which the saloon is outlawed. Pre-
else information on this point is gath
cred by the national temperance So
ciety, whose headquarters are in New
York, and which has branches i'll
most of the states of the union. An
exhaustive statement of the territorial
license and no-license would over
whelm an article of this character, but
certain states may be referred to for
illustrative purposes. Ohio has LAO
dry towns out of a total of 1876. Mas
sachusetts has $50 dry lows out of
$50. Vermont is wholly dry except "a
towns and cities. Kentucky, the home
of whisk distilling, has 81 dry to Y
wet, Or did have prior to the latest
town elections. There are 200 dry
towns in Illinois, and in Iowa IS out
OF SO counties are without saloons.
Maryland has IA counties dry out OF
%. There are 800 dry towns in New
York state. Indiana, out of 1,016
townships, has 40 on the arid list.
Passing to the Pacific coast one finds
much dry territory in other coun-
ties" while Oregon reports II dry
counties and ITO dry towns and cities
in other counties. These exhibits
from different sections demonstrate
that the local option system has ban
areas in all parts of the United
States. And the movement in this di-
rection has plainly been accelerated
during the past decade.
1t has certainly been a decade in
which the prohibition party, as a
state CT national political organization,
has gained no ground. In 1888, Gen
eral Fisk polled, for president, 249,-
907 votes; and, in 1892, John Bidwell
carried the prohibition presidential
vote to it's high tide-264,133. In
1904, the presidential vote of the par
ty had fallen to 258,847 (Tribune al
n1anac fgures), Notwithstanding the
great increase in population since
1892. 1t is also to be observed that in
those southern states which have
adopted prohibition in its compIetest
sense, the result was not achieved
through the rise to power of All or