The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1908-10-16
What is County Option.

At the election in November the
people of South Dakota are to vote
upon county option.
But what is county option? Some
do not clearly understand.
In the first place let it be distinctly |
understood that county option is not
prohibition as some affirm.
Prohibition aims to destroy for all
time all the saloons in the state.
The word ''option' means a kind
of choice. No kind of choice remains
where prohibition has been adopted
We now have what is called local
option, under which the people of
NEST towns in the state vote each year
upon the question of granting or
withholding saloon licenses in the
town.
But under local option the farmers
cannot vote. Only the people OF the
towns can vote under local option.
The most distinct feature of county
option is this. that it permits the
farmers to vote upon the license aues-
ton just the same as any other cls SIS.
1t is unreasonable that the farmers
should be deprived of the right to o
upon the saloon question, or any
other question of general interest.
The force of this statement will be in
creased if We consider that more than
two-thirds Of the people of this state
reside upon the farms. And in ad-
dition to this the farmers pay more
than t~wo-thirds of all the taxes.
Iftwo-thirds of our people may be
deprived of the right to vote upon a
question of this kind, why may they
not be deprived of the right to vote
,nnn nfhor nnostinnCr or oil nllos.
tions?
Farmers, do q be deceived into
voting against your own enfranchise-
ment at the election in November. To
adopt county option will not be to
adopt prohibition. County option
will merely restore to the farmers the
privilege of voting upon the question
Of granting or Withholding saloon
licenses in the county where they re-
side. The opportunity to vote will
probably recur about once in two
years.
Those interested in the liquor bust
ness are opposed to permitting the
farmers to vote upon the license ques-
ton, because they know it will be
difficult to deceive and corrupt such a
large, independent, intelligent,
patriotic class of citizens. But no
good eason can be given why farm
ers should remain silent when a ques
tion of great public interest is to be
decided. Saloons affect farmers as
directly as they do any class OF peo-
pie in the state.
Some criticism is made against
county option because it provides that
even though a county may vote in
favor of saloons the saloons in such
county shall be confined to the local..
ties that Want them. But there is moth.
ing unfair in this. Who is mean
enough to insist on forcing saloons
upon communities that do not want
them?
The advocates of county option do
not deny that they believe the saloon
to be q bad thing. Most men agree
with them in this, though some think
1t to be what they call "a necessary
evil" County option will give to all
the counties that believe the saloon to
be q necessary evil, the right to
license 1t. 1t will give to the counties
that think they 81 keep the evil out
side their borders, the privilege of
making the attempt. In case opinions
should change in such q county after
. trial Of the no-license policy, it will
be the privilege of its voters to vote
the saloons back again.
In view of the above facts, what fair,
minded man al object to county
option.