Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-01-05
business was confscated without
seconds notice

business was confiscated without
seconds notice.
We can readily appreciate why you
are so anxious to bring the matter in
to the district court, for there lies the
hope OF delay, and this, to you, means
that the saloons are to remain shut
all the time
And now look at the other side
moment. When the first case was
brought before Justice Melick your
attorneys were invited to attend. You
ignored the invitation. The members
Of this association feel that if you
were absolutely sure that your petit
ton was sufficient you would have
eagerly accepted this invitation. If
you were prompted by a spirit of fair
ness and desire to speedily con-
vince us that you had a majority of
the voters with you, you certainly
could have more quickly have shown it
In this way. than by dilly-dallying
along to the district court.
The opportunity of taking part in
the case now before Judge Kirby is
open to you and your associates, and
your failure to do so can only be
construed as the evidence of a spirit
OF malice rather than a spirit Of fair
ness.
Prior To the filing of your petition
We publicly stated to you that on our
petition of revocation of signatures we
had the names of number of men
who wished their signatures with
drawn from your petition, and we ask
ed you to permit these mems names to
be taken off before the petition was
filed. We received no answer, Was
that an evidence of fairness?
Your complaint of the expense to
the taxpayers. as a result of the pres
ent case before Judge Kirby is ridi-
culous, to degree almost pitiful All
the expense Wapello county has had
to bear in this trial is the amount of
fees due three witnesses, in all not
exceeding $500 per day. Here on one
hand we find you posing as a repre-
sentative of a great cause and a
great good, and claiming to have with
you majority of the voters, and then
when you meet difficulty in your So
called worthy crusade, those Of
your followers who happen to DO tax
payers, let out great walls of what it
is going to. cost you.
We do not believer, and we never
have believed that a majority of the
voters of Ottunwa want the saloons
to go, your claims to the contrary not
withstanding. We confidently expect
to show in the present case before
Judge Kirby that between 300 and 400
of the signatures on your petition are
| nf ma vrbn ho, Tod
in Ottumwa. This one thing alone
will be sufficient to win the case for
US
But we are willing to go farther and
in all seriousness. prompted by all
that is honest. fair and just between
man to man, We make the following
proposition to you:
From the attorneys of Ottumwa, and
many of them are as we'll versed in
law as any judge in the district, we
will choose one, you choose the other,
and these two will choose a third. the
three then to canvass the petition. If
it is their verdict that it is sufficient,
we shall close up until such time as a
petition Of consent can be secured If
they find your petition to be insult
fcent, you are to withdraw it and
permit the saloons to reopen. So
there will be no complaint about
costs, the members of this association
agree, in the event of your acceptance
of this proposition, to pay all the
fees of all three attorneys.
We shall he surprised If you accept
this fair offer, for, honestly, we be-
lieve that you will, in the spirit you
have so far shown. either ignore it,
or come back with the statement that
you have started a suit in the district
court and that you are satisfied to
await developments there. However
you act it will make an ineffaceable
record for you and your associates up.
on which an honest and fair-minded
public can pass judgment. It's up to
! you.
| Ottumya Wholesale Beer and
| Liquor Dealers Association.
| Bv w Y. Silyers. Pres