Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1908-05-22

the legality Of their acts. AS stated
for twenty-five years this contest 70
prohibition has been going on in Thu
county. Al the present time nine
teen-twentieths of the county is pro
hibition. 1t is not legal to sell liquo,
as Il beverage after the first of thu
coming July except in Perry town
ship. In order to procure this condi
ton of things the people Of this coun
ty have refused at least twelve thou
sand dollars in licenses. If thu
Isaac and the blind pigger and hole!
in the wall is allowed to run, ther
this money is worse than thrown
away for the evil against which the
elections were directed will continue
to exist and our prohibition county
instead of being an example Of sobrie
ty to the whole state it will become
an example of the total inability O
the government to enforce its owr
laws. The claim is made that the
Germans in the west part of the coun
ty do not van the prohibition laws
enforced. l do not believe a word OF
it. The Germans are an industrious,
economical and law-abiding people
and while they may disagree with
the policy of prohibition my expert.
ence is that they are in favor of the
enforcement of all laws. Those
against the illegal sales of liquor as
we'll as those directed against any
other evil. Local option has afforded
them an opportunity to express them
selves on the question of license or nc
license. In Perry township they have
voted in favor of license and In both
the towns of LennoX and Tea. The
saloons in those towns agreeable to
those votes have paid their licenses
and they are entitled to sell liquor for
beverage purposes, except to those
parties prohibited by law, and l do
not believe that there is a German in
this county who favors the selling of
Intoxicating liquors to minors, to per-
son in the habit of becoming intoxi-
Gated or to intoxicated persons. They
are willing and DESTROYS that the laws
be Obeyed and while obeying those
laws, if l am elected. no person hold
ing a license will be disturbed by me
in the orderly conduct of his business,
and | will also see that this legal bus
mess is not interfered with by the
lsaacS. The city Of Canton so far as
the chief of all the Isaacs is concerned,
is in a very demoraliZed condition.
Both the states attorney and the city
attorney are embarrassed by their own
actions. In Investigating and prose-
cutting the corner Isaac, their own
habits have created this embarrass-
mcnt. If | was in their situation l
would o attempt to prosecute this
Isaac. / could not do so without
compromising myself, and l would re-
sign and allow someone not embarras-
sed to enforce the law. If the above
showing is not sufficient to prove that
my opponent will not enforce the laws
as they ought to be enforced and
should not have a second term, I have
yet more to produce when called for.
1t may reasonably be asked what
assurance the people of the county
have that l would be any more vigor-
GUS in the enforcement of law than
my opponent. In reply l will state
that l do not care to blow my own
horn. l have lived in Lincoln coun-
ty for t~wenty-eight years. My record
with reference to the violation of law
and especially the prosecution of the
illegal sale of liquor is we'll known to
the people of the county, and from
that they can easily judge whether or
not l am in harmony with the law,
which should be enforced. I will call
your attention briefly to the times
where l have been tested. 1t will be
remembered that during the consti-
tutional prohibition times in 1890, at
ter the admission OF the state into
the union and the adoption of the
prohibition constitution. 1 was ap-
pointed by the attorney general to
prosecute parties making illegal sales
of liquor. That at that time saloons
were running wide open at Canton
and Lennox and selling liquor under
what was claimed the original pack
age law. l convicted every one of
them, seven in number. 1 was able
to do this because the whole law of
h state could be enforced by me.
Prior to that 1 was city attorney of
n city CT Canton, under the local op-
tion laws, and 1 closed up every sa.
loon in the city and convicted the
parties running them. Two years ago
l was appointed city attorney with
the direction of Mayor Gemmill to en-
force the laws against the illegal sales
of liquors in the city. A party was
arrested for making what was claimed
an Illegal sale. 1 was called in to
prosecute him and on examination
found that there was not an ordi.
rance on the ordinance book of the
city of Canton that could punish this
violation. L tried the party under
the state law and convicted him. A
writ of Habeas Corpus was taken GU,
and Judge Jones held that there was
no law in the state of South Dakota
to punish a party for making illegal
sales Of liquor. That the only Law
l. 4 ,-~,