Omaha daily bee., 1910-07-18
FirAt Article.

'
First Article.
To the Editor OF The Bee: With your
permission It is my purpose to write Sc
ries of articles upon an issue which some
people seem disposed to force upon the
voters of this state in the coming cam
pagn. This issue is what is known as
county option. IL Is with no vain boastirg
that 1 now speak for myself More than a
quarter Of a century ago the present writer
went into office as district attorney Of
the Sixth district. The so-called slocumb
law had just gone into effect 1t was
looked upon as a temperance measure; and
1 say, and challenge contradiction, that l
have prosecuted more men, civilly and
criminally under that law than any man
I'M this state. 1t was the writer who OBJ
tanned the decision of the supreme court
that a sale Of liquor on Sunday or on
election day should be prosecuted by in
dictment it was the writer who obtained
the decision that that part of chapter so
which punished intoxication was consttu-
tional; it was the writer who obtained the
Interpretation of chapter 90, known as the
Slocumb. law. In 1890 1 made seventy-nine
speeches in this state in favor of the pro-
hibitory amendment to the constitution.
have been where added eggs flew, smelled
and tasted them myself, for one struck
me in the mouth lived on the border Of
the state and fought shoulder to shoulder
with State Senator Robinson of my home
town to keep the sandbar saloon out Of
this county. Dakota was prohibition, Iowa
was prohibition, Kansas was prohibition.
Nebraska was a vertable valley of
Gehenna for the prohibition Jerusalem
about 1t. 1 thought, as q matter of de-
Tense, that we ought to have the same po-
lice regulations as the states about us.
But today thank Almighty God from the
fullness Of my grateful heart that prohi-
bition was not adopted In the short space
of twelve months 10000 of very valuable
citizens and a large amount of capital
sought an asylum with us. The nomads
left when prohibition was repealed In
South Dakota. This state never had such
boom in its history.
Progressive Prohibition.
expect to be called a renegade, a Judas
a brewery capper and everything but q
gentleman, but 1 will say as Themistocle:
said to Eurybiades. Strike IL you WILL bu
here" expect to be criticised for send
Ing these articles to a republican paper
am not writing as democrat, but as
citizen. Never for one hour of my morta
existence, did 1 believe in prohibition a.
an abstract proposition. Now 1 freely con
fess that much can be said for county op
ton as an abstract proposition. The argu
ment against 1t does not lie against tn,
mere enlargement of the option unit, Il
embrace rural district adjacent to a city
The objection is that 1t is cowardly ant
progressive prohibition. Its advocates d.
not deny that prohibition is the plus-ultr,
of county option. No time will be waste,
upon county option on its own merits. But
e l hear a lion in the lobby roar:
Say, Mr. Speaker, shall we shut the door
! And keep him there, or shall we lie
: him in,
: To try If we can turn him out again?
II county option passes the next Iegisla
ture what would be the result? Then woul
, follow the harvest of the prohibition orator
A campaign would be started in ever
county in this state with, probably, tn
q exceptions of Boyd. Cunning, Platte. Col
Z fax. Hall, Dodge and Richardson. 1t woul
: cost the people OF the state $4,O25, 900. A ma
II tority Of the counties would go dry; cor
cede #. You are familiar, Mr.. Editor, wit
the fox in the stable who had lost his ia
and who went into an assembly of fox,
and tried to persuade them to have the
=
; lature in one of the dry counties. wou
be compelled to declare for statewide pr,
i hibition. Statewide prohibition would |
! enacted. Then what?
+ An Experience.
II will tell you little OF my experience
A town in my own district, in one OF tn
, counties which have named, had gone dr.
by a small majority. fellow thought h
o knew what the citizens wanted better tina
they knew themselves. So he started
. tiger, which was not blind His saloon wa
70 open and above board, in defiance to tn
u law. Oh! How Jealous and optimistic
youth! On the trial, I proved, first, Il
e venue; that this man was the proprietor
. the place; that on its front was displaye
u the sign, "Krug's Lager Beer" that insiC
70 was a bar with beer glasses and the .usu
peraphernalia; that OH the first day of Il
d week, commonly called Sunday, five me
n entered his place Of business, one of the
u threw down a silver coin, Csc, and Gale
&c for five drinks of beer; that the proprietC
set out five glasses known as beer glasse
. and filled them with brown liquor cover,
= with white froth and having the gener
"a appearance of beer; that the men drar
the liquor; that the proprietor swept Il
msney into his drawer. The defendant to-
] the stand to contradict some unimporta
matter But he was hot-headed; and 1 g
is him rolled; and he testified to more than !
meant to say. / insisted that he waived h
constitutional right not to testify again
himself by taking the stand. The court he
y with me. Then by a merciless cross-exa1
K. ination, extorted from him the dire
II statement that he sold the beer. The Jul
A. retired at D. m; they were out the +
w mainder of the afternoon, all night and u
D. TIL 10 o'clock a. m. the next day and WI
lg
as