Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1910-10-22
PROHIBITION BEST
FRIEND OF EDUCATION
Governor w. R. Stubs, of Kansas Tells
What Constitutional Prohibition Has
Done for Kansas.

When | was a candidate for COVER
nor in 1908 | made the campaign
formy nomination and election on the
proposition that if elected to
this office every saloon, joint and
Place of every kind whatever, regard
less OF the sentiment of the community
had to be closed This proposition
was made in my campaign speeches
TO the saloon men in wet communi-
ties as we'll as to temperance people
stated publicly all over Kansas, in
| Pittsburg in the mining districts as
we'll as in localities where the law
was enforced, that any man who est
tablished himself in the saloon bust
ness in violation OF the laws and con
stitution of Kansas would be regard
ed the same as any other outlaw and
all the power and force of the state
government would be used to punish
and destroy his business.
| This does not mean that we have
no violation of the prohibitory law
for if there were no violations such
law would not be necessary. It does
not mean that prohibitory law in
Kansas is as Well enforced as other
criminal statutes, and that when
men violate it they are arrested, con-
victed and promptly sent to prison.
Prohibition must be judged by re-
sults-it must stand or fall upon its
merits. The people of Kansas are
very progressive, very positive and
intensely practical in their ideas and
habits. If the prohibitory law had
not given us better civilization and
higher type of manhood and woman
hood it would have been repealed
years ago. If it had increased drunken
ness, crime and perjury, as saloon
men claim it has done, the saloon
keepers would all be supporting tn
Law instead of fighting it, for it woul
increase their revenue.
First. assert that drunkenness
in Kansas has been reduced to such
point that have not seen drunken
man in the city of Topeka, a place of
$4,000 inhabitants during the last
twelve months; that | do not have
any recollections of having seen
drunken man in my home city of
Lawrence, a place of $4,000 people
for several years; that in making a
campaign throughout the entire state
and delivering public addresses in
92 counties | do not recall seeing
drunken man during the year.
Second. / assert that in l05 coun-
ties of Kansas that | do not know
of conviction for perjury growing
out or the prohbltOry law.
Third. l assert tina! the prohibi-
tory law is now as easily enforced
as any other law on the statute books.
Fourth. | assert that crime has
decreased in Kansas under the in
fmence G. temperate legislation
AT the present time more than so
per cent Of our county jals are with
out prisoners under conviction. Last
year 40 of the los counties did not
send prisoner to the penitentiary.
We have only one convicted prisoner
in our county jails for 1000 inhabit-
ants, an almost unbelievable fact in
criminal statistics. And the Attor-
ney General estlmaes rs per cent of
these prisoners are in Jail for the
violation Of the prohibitory law. Of
the $50 convicts in our penitentiary
only l43 are natives of Kansas. And
It is a singular fact that while only |
II per cent of our prisoners are ma
uves have figures from the wardens
at Joliet and Chester, Illinois, which
show that forty per cent of our con-
victs are native of Illinois. We !
have no powerful saloon men in Kan
sas to use their pull in keeping the |
criminals they make out of the hands
of the law.
Fifth assert that the business of .
Kansas has made remarkable pro-
gross since the Punishment of the
saloon and adoption of prohibition.
The records of the State Bank Com
and the comptroller of the
federal treasury which | have with
me, show that in ten years deposits
in Kansas banks have increased from
$50 900, 600 to s1S9O00,O 900 and during
the past ten years under a more
rigid enforcement of the law. bank
deposits, per capita, have increased
from 500 to $113. Since complete
prohibition became effective May 1909