The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909-05-06

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PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS SECTIO
MUNCIE, Ind, May 6.-Has
your neighbor the right to prevent
YOU from eating pie because pie Is
harmful?
Tea, Coffee, tobacco, hot bread,
tight corsets, hair rats are also
agents of physical degeneration,
but can l say that you shall not
have them?
BY the same token shall one
man restrict another In regard to
the use of alcoholic liquors, which
are also harmful?
lisa dry" town a dead" town?
Are more men driven to drink
by poverty than are driven to pow
erty by drink?
Hasn't the state gone into the
church business? Thos. Jefferson
declared that the church had
usurped the power of the state and
the nation legislated this evil
down. Are prohibition states now
usurping the function OF the
church?
Here are some of the questions
that have stirred this city OF more
than 80, 900 people during the past
month. Muncie went into the sa-
loon question on broad lines.
While IS of the 92 other counties
of the state were rushing In for
prohibition, Delaware, in which
Muncie is located, held back until
both sides had been heard. Then,
the other day, by substantial
majority, the people voted that the
so saloons must go. AS the ques-
ton of personal liberty" had
been considered from all sides, as
fanatical prejudice was not the
spirit of the dry campaigners and
as the election was, SO far as can
be proven, clean of fraud, this To-
cal option fight is considered
conspicuous feature of the national
Temperance movement. Muncie Is
one of the few cities of more than
10000 people to vote dry"
The city has two newspapers.
One was "wet" and the other
dry" This insured a Thorough
presentation of the arguments OF
each party.
The "wets" (made up of the
drinking population, liberals, bust
ness men who fear the effects of
prohibition upon property values,
the state brewers association and
men otherwise financially interest
ed argued that to prohibit the
sale of intoxicants is in violation
of the spirit of the constitution,
which guarantees personal free
dom. They did not say that liquor
was not harmful, but they did
contend that other fads and drinks
were also harmful, and that peo-
pie had the right to indulge their
appetites even If they did do them
selves harm. One wet leader, in a
speech before great and respect
full audience, made up from both
sides, was applauded when he said
that the saloon was the poor mans
club, that the poor man gets little
enough out of life for his hard
labor, and that If he could have
any fun from whisky he ought to
be permitted to indulge himself.
He also said: "Some men drink
and do not beat their wives, and
some men beat their wives and
do not drink"
The vets argued that 1t was
Just as reasonable to say that rich
drinkers get rich from drink as
ii is to say that poor drinkers be-
come poor through drink" Men,
they said, become what they will
and you cannot legislate bad out
of them or good into them.
In regard to the states usurpa-
ton of church rights they said
that the Influence of the church
was waning because legislators
were making laws which pre-
scribed personal conduct, whereas
this used to be the function Of
the church.
And, of course, they went in for
statistics, alleging that temper
ance hurts business, depreciates
property values, increases the tax
payers burden, causes men to
sneak to drink, induces the sale OF
inferior liquors in drug stores and
'blind TIGERS" and results In
more whisky drinking because
whisky is easier to procure under
cover than Is beer
The wet campaign was carried
on by distribution of literature and
public meetings.
Women were the active leaders