Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1908-05-22
taji-r and Effect

t..' .'il.-.- '''f CD, an HN ~. pu..'--
ga. '"r'"'.a' '..S r.,' u Very sHa'. IT,
-'e III SAat ."- t!a a.'~ a. a"w'u"u'
ia"'.r> g o.. r.t.ur TIL" Tread
towards prohibition has .".rn ttrpa- ,
H':3. rr ,or" ....>ua.., arg. o".ug
somewhat TO tac .-,otj- made. IS III.
oG4dr,ouiu. election rolls uruml. al
party .-ad"r>. 80 Envelope issues that
might control do.ht'al VOTES. with
little or RIO Thought e the general
w,..ar.. They found conditions ripe
tomanra id for prohibition support.
Politicians had Instituted unusual
measures Of reform for the sole pur-
pose OF melting overt acts tia; might
be used for establishing an issue.
into which trap few unWiSe dealers
readily fell. UnG"r a mistaken iuprcs-
sion that q license to vcnd spurious
liquors carried with it right to sell
at any time, if to them. seeming pro
prieties were observed. When they
found ii was a violation of spirit OF
The law. ready compliance would have
removed the stigma of lawbreaking
which the average prohibitioniSt was
more ready to establish than the act
otlmblbinS liquid hell-fire and dam
nation itself. This skillfully ar
ranged plan has had a marked effect
in developing prejudice among con-
servative people, who had hitherto
taken no part against a traffic sane
TONED by law and protected by it
in so far as the conditions imposed
were respected.
The saloon men have. however.
failed to realize the fact that it is in
a spirit OF liberation rather than OF
commentator that the license policy
has been upheld, and that while the
Supreme Court recognizes the valid
ity OF the saloon license, it declares
emphatically that the State has q
right to regulate, control, restrain.
or indeed prohibit, the sale of liquor
In most States the only authority ex-
ercised has been to regulate and
control, but the high court has de-
clared that the traffic may be regard
cd in the same class as bowling-al-
leys, slaughter-pens," and 10Th
er nuisances," that may, at times.
harrass the mind and disturb the
peace and welfare of the people. In
this category may be included dance
halls and disreputable resorts of any
kind. 1t would have been the part
of wisdom for saloon men to have dis
cOuntenanced such trend and en-
deavored to promote the welfare of
all by strict observance of law and
the rules of propriety.
These conditions were what Gre
ated the maelstrom that now threat
ems to cngulf craft that had not even
invaded its outer circles. Cunning
politicians have taken advantage of
the fact, and now conservatism is
Ostensibly thrown to the winds and
appeal is made to that principle al
ways dear to the Democratic heart
popular sovereignty-" a rule of the
people, by the people and for the
people"
Local option-nothing more nor
less than an expression of the popu-
lar will-having been appropriated,
as many other cardinal principles of
Democracy, by the Republican party,
what alternative was left but to al
low the people to say whether they
want prohibition by Constitutional
Amendment or not. 1t amounts to
no more nor less than an expression
of the popular will, and it is sur
rounded by SO many consecutive
steps before 1T can be formulated into
law, that the Judgment of the people
is likely to be a deliberate and we'll
considered action, in which all the
merits and dement's of the measure
will be thoroughly discussed. as each
step is taken. All that is asked by
the crest-riding politician is that he
be allowed to ride into Office on the
issue. Those who voted cOnscien-
tiously for prohibition counted only
215,53 in the last Presidential cleo
ton. Democracy has always been
opposed to sumptuary legislation. 4"
which means, a rule that may en-
able one to look down his neighbor' s
throat to see what he has had for