Omaha daily bee., 1910-05-22

are great on meetings down there. some
of our people were very anxious that these
men should not feel that they had not been
we'll received. IL was sort Of matter of
local pride with them They Wanted to
show the hospitality of the city. And so
600 women, dressed in white and wearing
badges with the legend, NO Saloons oc-
cupied the front rows OF seats In order
that the house might have an inviting APP
pearance, and when one of the speakers
said that he would start with the PROPOSE
ton that whisky tasted good as 1t went
down. n lady rose and asked him how it
tasted when II came up. u-aughter) And
then when he got along a little further he
said that II you would ask any criminal
lawyer he would tell you that liquor was
not the cause Of murder. A man rose in
the audience and said 1t was the cause of
the last murder committed in this county.
And he says, well. that is an exception.
QIaughter) And another man says l know
that is SO because 1t was my cousin. And
then another man says the one before that
was also due to drunkenness. Another man
said. one of our criminal lawyers said he
had eighteen criminal murder cases and
everyone OF them was due TO liquor. And
then the speaker passed to another phase
of the subject. Gaughter) And they didn't
have anybody to sit on the platform. They
were almost as bad there as l am here
Q4aughter)
1t is a fact my frienus, that there was
not a man of prominence in the city Of
Lincoln who would sit on the platform
and by his presence give his support to
what these men were TO say. And when
the three from the outside had spoken the
people voted and the majority was some
thing over 500 against saloons. After a
years experience our people said they
would rather tax themselves $4,000 year
than have the saloons come back, even il
it would release them from the payment
OF that $4,000. "a Voice Good) Not only
that but Havelock went dry. CLaughtcr)
Oh. no. my friends l do not want you
to misunderstood me-the temperance peo-
pie of Lincoln claim no credit for Have
locks going dry. 1t was not their fault.
1t was the fault of the other fellows. After
Havelock had one years experience with
the people that went down there it said
for heavens sake deliver us! applause and
laughter) Their saloons were said to have
made $4,000 during the year, but as soon
as Havelock had a chance to vote they
went Oul anu IldNClOCk Is now uIy also.
The saloon is not really desirable thing
DO you know how bad the saloon is? Let
me tell you. L saw a clipping the other
day about some man who had kept a saloon
in Lincoln and had lost his privilege; said
that he was going to get even with Bryan
How was he going to do it? He said that
he had bought an option on some lang
next to my home and If Lincoln went wei
he was going to establish saloon there
Laughter) DO you know of anything
worse, against a saloon, than that? Wher
a man wants to get even with another mar
the worst thing he can think of it to put q
saloon near him. O4aughter)
If any of you had time l wish you would
go out and see how near your brewers liv,
to their saloons. Do they live right nea1
them? They are willing to put them neal
| poor peoples homes. They are willing 4
stick them under the noses of poor peo
pies children. They are willing to oper
these man traps in the presence of tn,
people whom they would debauch, but wher