The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1910-02-24


The Temperance Question.
1t is the greatest question before
the public today. 1t ought to be dis
cussed in every religious and politi-
cal paper. 1t ought to be discussed
in every pulpit in the land. 1t is
high time we were bringing religion
into politics. Politics has been re-
ligion long enough, let us reverse the
order. An aroused church will driy,
every saloon froln the land. An
aroused minister can stir Up an,
church. Some one has said, build
fire in the pulpit and people will
come out to see it burn" They will
also absorb some of it's heat. The
time has arrived when the church
must break with the liquor power.
Many of the churches in the land to-
day have members on their official
board who are in league with the
liquor interests and the result is that
the churches are empty and the
theatres crowded. 1t is time to clean
up. Any man who is in league with
the liquor power is not fit to have his
name on a church roll no matter how
fat his purse may be.
we have said again and again that
it is time to call things by their right
names. If man has his name on a
church book and on a petition of
consent to license saloon he should
remove it from one or the other, Any
man who attempts to carry water on
both shoulders will, as some one has
said, "get it in the neck" and he
ought to. We nave got to get back
| of the man who sells to the man who
gives permission to SELL He must be
dealt with. He must be branded.
The mask must be torn from him.
His face must be thrown upon the
canvass. Men like the mayor of a
great city who would let the people
of his own city freeze for the want of
fuel without lifting a finger, but
would call an extra session of the
council to renew a saloon license so
that the keeper could have one days
profits, must be shown up in their
true light. Officers of the church
who crush the poor and lease proper
| ty for saloon purposes should be
made an example of that will serve as
a warning for years to come. Poll
ticians who have been allied with cor
rupt government should no longer be
allowed to pose as the leaders in
church work.
| About one year ago the Circle
| Magazine published an article en-
titled, Rum on the Rum illustrated
by map showing how each state
then stood in the war between the
home and the saloon. The January
number of the same magazine gives
some striking facts and figures and
from which we quote fully in what
follows. One year ago eight state
had no saloons. Now nine states have
prohibitory laws and thirty-four
states have local option. Seven hun
dred and fifty cities and towns abol-
ished the saloon in 1909. One hun
dred and eighty counties then wet
went dry during the year. Forty
saloons day are abolished. In Mich
igan nine hundred saloons and ten
breweries were voted out in one day.
$4,000 voters in Illinois are signing
a petition asking for vote on the
liquor question next April and Illi-
nois will swing into the dry column
Only twenty counties in Indiana
are wet, sixty-six of the seventy
eight in Ohio are dry, one hundred
and eighty-five counties in Texas
are on the right side of the line
North Carolina has only six wet coun-
ties and South Carolina is dry from
one end to the other. Even New
York has more than 400 cities and
towns which have driven out the sa-
loon. For the first time in the his
tory of expostions, the Alaska Yu-
kon closed against liquor. Only four
states in the union are out and out
wet. and in league with the saloon
They are Nevada, Utah, Pennsylvania
and New Jersey. In these two latter
states the liquor men have resorted
to every possible means to discredit
prohibition. They have had shrewd
writer's concoct the most unheard of
falsehoods in regard to prohibition
and printed them in newspapers, pay
ing advertising rates. These articles
have been stripped from advertising
earmarks so that the unsuspecting
public would really believe they were
| news.
The Circle Magazine brings out
some awful disclosures in regard to
the corruption in the Pennsylvania
capitol, which we will give our read
ers. In the new state house at Har-
risburg there is a large upstairs
room that no tourist ever gets to Wis
it. 1t is locked securely and no one
would suspicion it being anything
but store room. But it is we'll
equipped saloon filled with the best
brands of liquor. 1t is maintained by
the saloons and breweries of that
great state and each member of the
Legislature has a key and can get all
he wishes absolutely free. He may
take friend with him into this sa-
loon ii he is sure the friend will keen
silent. This has been going on for
/ wears and woe to anx temnaranao