The Rathdrum tribune. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1903-1963, 1909-11-12

SACSe Suot tuC abatement Oh the
whiskey traffic will lower the
moral, threaten the educational,
render our politics more.- corrupt
and arrest our financial progress.
In other words the saloon is a
means OF social, educational, po
litical and financial grace. So
much for the first paragraph Of the
address.
BY the next paragraph we are
told that prohibition has been tried
in New York. New Jersey, Penn
sylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan, Wisconsin,. Massa.
chusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont
and New Hampshire, and rejected
as failure. There is not a word
Of truth in that. Local option has
been adopted in all or nearly all Of
these states and still stands as law.
The laws are much like our own
and / have not been advised OF any
desire to repeal them. For all
practical purposes prohibition may
be adopted under those laws just
as prohibition may be adopted
under our law when a community
SO desires. These gentlemen for
got to tell you that prohibition
prevails all the way from Virginia
to Texas with the exception Of a
few counties.
An open confession is good for
the soul, and We are told by para
graph three that 1.-THE liquor evil is
a great evil" But all hope we
might gather from this confession
is blasted by the very next sentence,
"Prohibition," SO the address re-
cites, sis worse than the disease. "
Prohibition, we are warned, breads
deceit, trickery, hypocricy,-ah,
worse, 'sneaking' hypocricy, po
litical corruption and general con-
tempt for all law" Then follows
significant query. "Do we want
this in Coeur d'Akne and Kootenai
county?'
Behold the signers OF this sancti-
fed address. Bless you, it bears
the names of some of the most
hardened political manipulators in
our county, past masters in politi-
cal deceit, trickery and corruption.
! Some of the signers are perfectly
Indifferent to public morals OF
! personal characters. They have
not contributed by urging any
public measure to the improve
ment of public sentiment. The,
are for the saloon because they
argue it will give wild, careless
money spending aspect to thei'
town.
Paragraph FIVE tells us that il
Maine prohibition is not and can
not be enforced. That is false
1t is enforced just as all laws ar
enforced E,ery state has a Law
against horse stealing yet hors
stealing goes on all over tn
United States. 1t is nonsense t
talk of repeating that law or an
other law because they are violated
The way to do is to select bette
men to enforce them. Prohibitio
. legislation can and will be enforce
, lust as other laws are. Violation
will occur and will be punished
Wherever tried, prohibition ha
been successful and never hear
of prohibition laws being repealed
I except in this address.
t We are assured in paragrap
, eight of this philanthropic an
: godly address that the signers al
e Gas deeply interested in the NOR
welfare of our young men as ar
n one." Yet they are for thrown
: open the saloon door to them ar
i. withdraw all the safe guards v
r seek to throw around the young
Il we'll as all others. What the
! signers meant to say was; "lo Il
il devil with the Young men, let Il
;. temptation OF the saloon surrour
n them, we want the revenue IN
a comes to our town from the sa
d of liouor." 1t is that awful al
e ever present temptation we WI
n to remove. Away with it and 4