Mower County transcript., 1908-03-04

Tho NEXT issue want TO. arouse the e
attention Of the people Of Minnesota
to IN this campaign is the so-called
County Option law" for licensing
the sale Of intoxicating liquor. The
people of Minnesota have asked for
this legislation for some time by Pc
titions and otherwise, with the object
in view of that being the best method
available for the present for the sup
preston of intemperance, but they
have always been turned down in the
legislature. 1t has been argued even
in our legislative halls that zone
locality in a county has no right to
say what another locality shall have
or not have" This argument does
not hold good in this case at all. II
the saloon business had any redeem
ing feature connected with it there
might be some logic in the argument;
but as it has no merits whatever,
but is only menace to society, lead
ing to drunkenness, vileness and de-
bauchery, it should be suppressed,
and the people of the county, at least
as a whole should have a right to say
whether or no the saloon traffic
should be allowed to exist within its
borders. A county is the natural
unit in home rule of its internal af-
fairs. It is 50 in many other matters.
The people of the county as whole
have to pay the taxes and foot the
bills, including drunken paupers,
court expense of criminal prosecu-
tions, keeping of jail-birds and other
expenses as a result of the nefarious
liquor business. The farmers pay the
main share Of the taxes and they
should help to fl the rates. When
they are subject to the heaviest part
of the taxation they should certainly
have representation in governing
public affairs. They are the true
backbone of the nation, and are fur
nishing bread and meat and raiment
on which we subsist. They have
modestly turned over to their fellow
citizens engaged in other pursuits,
the task of running the government.
I should think they were getting
tired of carrying the load without
any proper and equitable voice in the
direction of public affairs. 1t will be
a most auspicious change for the bet
ter when the grangers shall assert
themselves and assume their right
full and necessary share in regulating
the politics of the country. They
have the power if they want to use
it collectively. Intemperance and
|overindulgence of Intoxicating
liquors is the greatest enemy with
which our civilization has to contend
Il will not go much into dry statistics.
but it has been estimated by emil
|nent statisticians that to be born
costs the people of the United States
$225,000, ,OQ0 annually getting mar
Eried $500, 100000 annually; getting
buried $75,000,000 annually; get
ting drunk $1,744,447,672 annually,
besides vast army of men going to
the drunkards grave, thousands of
homes broken up, the hearts of
women and children broken, leaving
despondency and crime and ruin and
poverty in it's path, and paralizing
the productive energy of man. In
dollars and cents the whisky and
beer bill of the nation costs more
than two and one-half times as
much as getting born, married and
buried all put together, and it. costs
six times more for rum than it. does
for our public schools and eight times
as much as for preaching the gospel.
This is a CHASTITY spectacle, and this
monster should be taken by the horns.
Could we Danish this monster of evil
from our midst, the millennium would
seem to be near at hand. But we
license saloons to make criminals and
paupers, and take a bribe for it in
the shape of a license fee, and then
hire sheriffs, policemen and consta-
blees to watch them, and establish
hospitals for inebriates. 20 consist
ency, thou art jewell Great is
our present day civilization along
this line. CD This is stupendous
question that is confronting the
American people. It should be made
national issue and be infused into
the Republican party. It must be
taken up by the progressive wing o1
the Republican party sooner or later
as the .'stand-patters' will stand pal
i on the old forms and customs or
this question, as well as other ques
tions and stagnate all legislation il
the line of progress and reform, ant
! merely look at the revenue derived
from the liquor traffic. We should