Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1909-04-01
PROHIBITION
SPELLS RUIN
Arrogant Tactics of Saloon Keepers is
Making No-LiCense Votes.-Dry
Voters Among Drinkers

If, fortunately or unfortunately,
Ladysmith is voted dry next Tuesday,
our saloon-keepers can thank some OF
there own number for the result. The
attempt to have the liquor laws en-
forced during the past year has met
with signal failure three cases start
I'd by the Good Government League
last summer have not been permitted
to come to trial. The organization OF
the Liquor Dealers Protective Associa-
ton, for the avowed purpose of con-
trolling elections, has not met with
favor by the people, although they
have not said great deal. Next
Tuesday they will speak. The growth
of the anti-license sentiment is not the
result of any great moral awakening,
but rather, as one drinking man put it,
because the saloons are ''going it too
strong" Many men who never voted
for prohibition before, and who say
that they will vote the saloons back in
another year, affirm that they will
vote against them next Tuesday. No
argument appeals to these voters now
they are thoroughly disgusted-yet
they blame no individual saloOn-keeper,
as SUCH 1t has come about because
of the laxity of the city administration
of the past year. The liquor dealers
should take warning from this feeling
which their attitude has created, and
in future stand for the enforcement Of
law. If they do not, it is only a ques-
tion of few years until the licensed
saloon will not be tolerated anywhere.
Many arguments are being advanced
to influence voters on the saloon ques-
tion. One is that we are voting the
limit of taxes now and our schools
will suffer if we do not get the license
money. We are not paying the limit
of taxation by 81 mills, which ad-
ditional levy would create revenue of
nearly $300O If the law is observed
in regard to school funds, there is no
possibility of our schools suffering, as
a sufficient levy is made and license
money in Wisconsin does not go into
the school fund.
Some saloon keepers have been
heard to say that they will not con-
tribute one cent toward the Firemen's
Tournament if the city goes dry.
This was an unfortunate remark for
them to make, because neither Firemen
nor any other citizens are going to be
driven to vote one way or the other by
any such threat The saloon keeper
will probably be benefited financially
more than any other business man by
the Tournament, and their licenses do
not expire until ten days after the
tournament No saloon keeper has
any assurance of a license for next
year whether the election goes wet or
dry.
1t is an undisputed fact that the
saloons do "stop" lot of money in
Ladysmith considerably more than
$4,000 per year, which the lumber jack
drops here every spring, and which he
would probably elbow in" somewhere
else if the saloons were not here.
However, even the lumber jack would
probably spend more with the mer-
chant If he did not stop in the saloon
first.
The story is being circulated that
the Sulphite mill will not be built if the
city goes dry. Another story is that
if the town goes dry the railroad
divisions more apt to be moved here.
Neither of these stories is given much
weight.