Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1909-12-02
RESPECTABLE SALOON
A DRY" RESORT
Rev. Watson's Position is Clearly
Defined in Temperance Address
to Saloon Nsen

Never before in the history of Lady
smith was there congregated at tenn
perance meeting 50 desirable an audi
ence as that which assembled at the
Congregational church Sunday evening
to hear Rev. j. E. Watson's address on
"a Respectable Saloon" The some
what sensational advertising of this adj
dress had reused the curiosity of many
citizens of all classes and the church
was crowded to its utmost capacity.
Several saloon-keepers and bar-tenders
were present, and a large number of
the advocates of license
But if they expected to hear a Meth
odist preacher publicly defend the sa-
loon, they were doomed to disppoint-
ment. What they did hear was a sym
postum of the more important argu-
mepts advanced by the prohibitionists
against the liquor traffic, presented
fairly and without rancor to offend any
of his hearers.
Preliminary to his discourse, Mr..
Watson expressed his regret that there
is so much contention over the subject
of the liquor traffic, after the fashion
of cock-fighting, the victors Growing
over the vanquished after each election
in which the issue had been raised. He
thought it more seemly that we meet
together and talk it over, as they were
then assembled, with brotherly kind
ness. The sentiment expressed by some
people, eff you don't like the town as
it is, you can move OuS, does not rep
resent true American spirit.
There appears to be misunderstand
traffic and the Church. To illustrate
this, the speaker read an extract from
an organ of the liquor interests which
claimed that the united movement of
the Churches against the saloon was an
attempt to control the government and
tended toward the union of church and
state, and denounced the prohibition
zealots in the Church as a menace to
free government.
Mr.. Watson admitted that there are
zealots in the church who carry their
sentiments to extremes, but made it
clear that an American citizen, wheth-
er in the church or not, has voice in
our government and whenever any or
ganized body of citizens choose to unite
in the support of any movement for
better government, that is their con-
stitutional privilege. To this extent
the Church is justified in 'going into
politics. -
Beginning back in the time when
liquor was part of the stock of every
grocery store, the speaker reviewed
the various methods tried for the pur-
pose of regulating the sale of liquor,
both in this and foreign countries, all
of which have proved failures-even
Bishop Potter's respectable saloon"
in New York.
The soloon has been put under the
ban by all Protestant Churches and the
Catholic Church has pronounced against
it. In society all connection with the
traffic is looked down upon, also in edu-
! cational circles. All our great athletes
are abstainers. In business the drink
ing man is not in demand. Twenty
seven great railroads have adopted
stringent rules governing their en-
ployees, which practically amounts to
a boycott of the saloon. Rule 9 of
the 500 Line was quoted as an example.
The argument that the license money
reduces taxes is not taken seriously
enough to cause real estate men to
brag about the number of saloons when
talking of the advantages of the town
to prospective buyers; they know that
saloons do not attract the best class of
citizens.
Many leading magazines and news
papers are refusing liquor advertising,
amounting in some cases to several
thousand dollars a year. The leaders
[Continued on page 81