The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-07-13

NEWARK, o., July 13-The Newark
K 1ynching was tragedy OF errors.
This seems to be the consensus OF
unbiased opinion.
First. II seems, the people Of Ohio
erred In making a county option law
that took home rule away from GER
tain cities, among them Newark. This
was the fundamental error. It's an err
ror that might be made In any state;
II raises the question OF whether town
option Is not better than county
option.
Then there were a number OF In
cidental errors. People here idenu-
ied with neither faction involved in
the wet and dry feud. and who can
weigh the facts soberly, agree:
That the vets have erred In fragrant
\ violation of the law.
That the tirys have erred in blum
dering and untactful efforts to enforce
the law.
That the mayor of Newark has err
(. red In failing strictly to enforce the
law.
That the police erred In failing TO
make any determined effort to pro-
tect the threatened man.
That the sheriff erred In misjudg-
ing the temper OF the mob and In
falling to call for troops or TO make a
real defense Of the Jail when the at
tack came.
That the Anti-Saloon league erred
in hiring mercenaries OF low type
to do its spying.
That the dry detectives erred in dis
playing silly bravado in making their
raids
All these incidental plumbers, how
ever. bark back to and have their
basis on the big blunder that deprived
Newark OF home rule, that made the
. town subject to so-called local
option law through the votes of peo-
pie who do not live in in Newark.
The county option law deprives the
wet element Of real local option on
the liquor question. When county
& goes dry, that settles the matter till
another election can be held. The wet
element has no recourse. But II a
county goes wet, the drys can still
Invoke the old local option laws and
vote the. county dry by piecemeal,
township by township, and district by
district in the cities,
Thus the cities that are wet In popu-
rule I'm the dry counties. while the
drys In the wet counties are given an
advantage not given to the vets I'm
dry counties.
The aRti-saloon people argue that
the liquor traffic Is wrong, and that
the end iustifies the means they use
In lighting IT,
The vets, feeling that injustice Is
worked them by the fact that the drys
can drive the local option laws tan
dem while they themselves cannot,
are naturally indignant. The injus-
uce seems to them to afford good
ground for fragrant violation OF the
law. Thus they lose such respect as
they may have for the laws of the
state.
The trouble in Newark has been
brewing for nearly two years. The
county option law has engendered a
bitter fend between Licking county
and its county seat.
The city voted wet by a majority
OF 1900.
The dry vote OF the county. outside
the corporation of Newark, was strong
enough to wipe out Newark's wet ma
jority and carry the county by ma
jority OF 745.
Thus the city OF Newark went dry,
nominally, a year ago last January
Home rule had been taken away:
the city has made subject to law
that q majority OF its citizens didn't
indorse.
Result Anarchy. Newark was
'wetter' than ever before.
The wet element, urging that II is
rankly unjust. In the nature OF things.
FOR one community to impose its will
upon another In a matter OF personal
liberty, refused to obey the mandate
OF the rural districts. The city ad,
ministration, being frankly wet in
sympathy, made only perfunctory eff
forts TO enforce the law
so for year and a half Newark
has been an open town, "a hours in
the day, seven days in the week.
The dry element, arguing that the
people OF county have an equal right
with the people OF the county seat IN
determining how their county seat
shall be run. have made various ef-
forts to enforce the law over the head
Of Mayor Atherton
These efforts have been ineffec.
tual. They have served only TO 90
gender greater bitterness between the
two factions.
The last OF these efforts. to date re.
suited In the shooting OF VIM. Howard
'near-beer" saloonkeeper and ex-cap-
tain OF Newark police and the hanging
OF his slayer on the public square
within stones throw of the Licking
county court house.
So much for county local option that
Z isn't local option.
II Newrk had had home rule there
would have been no lynchlng.
For then there would have been NJ
plausible excuse for the breaking OF
little" laws. no circumstances tend.
Ing 10 breed contempt OF law. and
finally anarchy--and mob murder
BOYS FOOL WITH LIGHTS.
ANN ARBoR. Mich, July 13-CIyde