The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1909-12-13
FARGO, CITY WITHOUT SALOONS,
AS SEEN BY A CANADIAN
winnipeg rree Press Runs Series Of Articles Concerning Pro
mDatiOn in Different States Of u S.--Gets Opinions
Of Fargo Citizens Oh Prohibition

The Winnipeg Free Press recently
sent man to make a study of cities
N the prohibition states of the United
states, Ever prohibition state wa,
visited and The Free Press IL now
running series Of articles telling OF
conditions at this special correspond.
eht round them. Fargo was amonr
the cities visited and the FOLLOWING
article, captloned: No Saloons in Far.
go For Years, appeared in The Free
Press as article No. 10:
Fargo North Dakota.--Tbe state =,
North Dakota has been under 4 nro.
hibitory law since 1889 when nro1,l
Ditlon was adopted by the people In
tne shape or an amendment to the
constitution. The city OF Fargo. visit
ca py the writer, has not had open sa-
ICONS Tor years. As you get the story
tnere, the enforcement Of the law was
poor until about twelve years ago
When 1t became stricter. At the pre-
sent time the law is being well en-
forced, You can bring all the liouor
you like into your home but you have
TO buy 1t outside the state. Intoxi
cants are not sold la drug stores.
Fargo has a population of $4,000.
having grown from $500 In 1890 III
is impossible to secure any record OF
the arrests made by the city police
department prior to the time that the
saloons were abolished. Gabriel Grant
the present chief of police, who was
on the force when the saloons were
IN operation, states, however, that the
police then made many. more arrests
IMAM they do now although at that
time the population was only about
one-third Of the present figure. In
his opinion, prohibition cuts down
drunkenness, disorderly conduct, fell
onious assault and murder Fargo.
he declares; now gets most of its
DRINKS from Moorhead where there
are numerous saloons Moorhead is
only about half a mile from Fargo
and there is a street car connection
between the two places. There were,
the chief says, about fifteen men on
the Fargo police force when the sa-
looms went out and the number is
about the same at the present time.
Moorhead, which Is on the Mime
sofa side of the Red river, does a
rushing business in the wet goods line
and several establishments there are
kept busy shipping whisky into North
Dakota, the shipments being protected
by the inter- commerce law.
Comparing the police arrests in Moor
head with those in Fargo, you find
that In 1903 there were 1879 arrests
for drunl1enn IS in the former city
with fits population of $500 and it's
forty saloons while there were but
25S arrests for drunkenness in Fargo
with its $4,000 population and it's no
saloons.
1t cannot be denied, OF course. that
some Fargo people are among the
drunks arrested In Moorhead nor
would 1t be fair to say that even FIVE
per cent OF the DRINKS arrested there
are Moorhead people. They are for
the most transients who come in for
the harvest season, get too much IL
quor and get into trouble.
Has Reduced Crime.
Judge Pollock Of the district court
declares that prohibition has undoubt-
edly cut down the amount of crime
and disorder In Fargo. Ii has also cut
down the number of felonious assaults
and murders In Cass county. lie was
attorney when the saloons
were in operation In Fargo and has
been Judge Of the district court since
1897.
During the four years, 1858,
when I was prosecuting attorney ini
Cass county" said the judge, II found
that the majority of our criminal cases
were the outcome of the sale OF liquor
This refers particularly to crimes such
as assault with a dangerous weapon In
addition TO other crimes which follow
in their wake, such as grand larcency,
highway robbery and burglary. At
that time the November term OF the
court would take six or seven
weeks Now 1t takes from two to
three weeks at the outside. In this
business than in other counties farther
too, 1t must be remembered
that there Is naturally more criminals
from the main lines OF rail-
ways. In the fall harvest hands flock
TO Fargo because 1t is on the main
line and that causes more crime. In |
Trail county and Steele county, which |
are not on the main line and are in |
my judicial district. there is practic |
ally no crime at all now clean UP thel
business in those counties in i
a very short session of court"
Martin Ryan, police magistrate, says
that the only drunkenness they have
in Fargo is caused by the saloons be-
ing in operation in Moorhead. He be-
lieves that prohibition is a good thing
although he voted against It He
would vote for it IL there had to be
another vote. If prohibition were re-