The Seattle Republican., 1908-12-04

bo basis of all ouor traffic legislation and regulation
The people of The State of Washington with their homes
and schools and churches with their manifold pursuits OF
lawful trade and busness-they here with inherent
rights enjoying privileges which theirs by virtue
of their American citizenship To the people, thus
gagged and endowed gathered together in organized So
ciety-vage town. county, statecomes the saloon with
its brewery and distlery backing, without any inherent
rights enjoying traffic privileges by virtue OF ct
zenship and asks admission toeraton protection under
special permit license for year only, and for
stipulated price Who shall say whether these requests
for special privilege permits made by this otherwise out
law traffic shall be granted or denied? The liquor inter
ess with their experiences in politics. say Let city and
town councils and boards of county commissioners, be
arbiters Let them grant refuse licenses as they
will Local option replies and demands Let the peo
pie give their to the liquor traffic for themselves
in the old-fashoned American way-at the baot-box" "
Ideally the people of the sovereign state whose authority
must first be granted before any invasion continuance
of the liquor traffic within state borders be tolerated.
should first be given option to for the state
whole "Yes'' or ''No." Practically, under present
conditions is assumed that the people of state
yet prepared Danish the liquor traffic from bor
ders altogether deny the saloon the privilege of
licensed existence anywhere in the state Without con-
cedng arguing this point, but accepting it as safe
common basis progressive action by conservative and
radical alike Local Option then comes into play. The
county the law enforcement unit the taxation unit for
the purposes of maintaining criminal courts county
jas amshouses county hospitals etc. Statistics over
wheming that two-thrds to hreefourths of crime and
poverty raceabe directly indirectly to the liquor
traffic Even though there be general state authority
permitting the licensing of the sale of liquors. the people
of each county, who taxpayers must pay the costs OF
courts and jurie sherfs and prosecuting attorneys and
deputies of prisoners in jais patients in hospitals pau
pers in amshousesthe people, who in other words must
foot the bills for the natural and inevitable products Of
the saloonsurey for this economic reason if there
other and greater the voters Of each county
should have the opportunity to accept to reject the
license bargain and its economic and social burdens. But
vote in it's large city towns should refuse to say Mo-
to the saloon plea for admission and toleraton shall all
the communities in that county be open to saloon invasion
a result of that vote? true local option law fur
nshes the only adequate Let the people of each
precinct community city, speak for themselves for the
instruction of their local officers this question.
ty unit law with provision for lesser communities to pro-
tect themselves by majority against saloon INVASION
notwithstanding adverse action by the county whole
this is the only reasonable local option law which
will stand the test Of reason applied to experience Any
thing less would be local and optional that it would
be useless to its friends and harmless to it's foes
GEORGE F. COTTERILL.