The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-09-22
COUNTY LOCAL OPTION IS
DISCUSSED BY POLLOCK
Fargo uit, Father Of Temperance in North Dakota, De
Iivered an Interesting Address at the Methodist
Conference at Fergus Falls Yesterday

Fergus Falls, Mann, Sept. 22-
Judge Chas. A. Pollock of Fargo de-
livered a very interesting address on
temperance before the Northern Min
nesota Methodist conference here last
evening
Judge Pollocl's address was largely
upon the lines of his Winnipeg speech
heretofore published in The Forum,
save a discussion of the differences
between temperance people upon the
subject of County Option" upon that
he spoke is substance as follows:
In commencing my address tonight
want to say few words aside from
the general subject; if possible there
by to harmonic friends who consci-
entiously oppose the liquor traffic, and
vet by their mutual misunderstanding
are apparently in conflict.
There are no two words so much
misused as Local Option" l recent
ly read telegram, widely printed in
the daily press, from Eugene w. Cha
fin, late candidate of the prohibition
party for president, which reads as
follows:
Congratulations to the temperance
people of Wisconsin on their escape
from the plague of county option"
1 hold in my hands copy of
speech delivered at Richland Centre,
Wisconsin, May 5, 1910, casting forth
the same implied doctrine.
/ find also that all the brewers of
Wisconsin are glad of the defeat of
county option. You and I know that
the brewers and liquor men generally
OF the state of Minnesota are likewise
opposed to county option, and will next
winter, If within their power, defeat
such a measure.
If you were to come over into the
state of North Dakota, where we have
had constitutional and statutory pro-
hibition for twenty years, and begin
talking county option, every temper
ance man, woman and child, of what
ever party, would oppose it and you to
the utmost.
On the other hand we find the Anti
Saloon league and the temperance
forces in the main in this state and
large number of other states quite gen.
orally working for county or local OPP
ton. The last general conference of
the Methodist church at Baltimore,
after an exciting debate upon the floor
of the conference, upon a day when it
happened that our good Bishop Hamil-
ton, with rare courage and ability, pre-
sided, and by vote of about Z to /,
after referring to the magnificent re-
suits of county option in many states
as a method of banishing the saloon,
recommended that our people partici-
pate in every wise movement for local
prohibition, commonly known as local
option, as a step toward state wide
prohibition
The Direct Veto.
In Canada, in the provinces of Mani
toba and Saskatchewan especially. the
temperance organizations are quite
generally supporting the direct veto,
which is but another name for county
local option.
Why this apparent conflict? Why
are the brewers and our good friend
Chain and his followers apparently
rejoicing together?
Why did that magnificent body of
over 500 representative men and wom-
en- at Baltimore make the deliverance
they did, and which is fully recorded
on page 469 of the discipline?
The charging of bad motives among
temperance people will not answer the
question.
We know why the brewers are OPP
posed to county option. Experience
from every quarter has demonstrated
that their business has been hurt. It
is perfectly patent also that they would
favor county option in North Dakota,
because they believe it might help
their business.
= Confusion of Terms.
Down along the Mississippi river If
a person should say to you that he had
forty acres of bluff land to sell, YOU,
at once, would think of land whose
contour was hi}ly and rugged, while if
q person in Manitoba Or Saskatchewan
should use the same phrase, the land
he would have in mind would be level
prairie land, covered with poplar and
cottonwood trees, together with dense
underbrush of willows and possibly
hazelnut.
Confusion and misunderstanding of
terms used in making of contracts is
The most prolific cause of lawsuits in
our courts.
How can matters be clarified to the
end that the true friend of temperance
reform can come together and truly