The Owosso times., 1910-02-04

wassee county, I notice an article was
recently published on local option,
which was written by L G. Wheeler OF
Manton, Mich. Manton is in Wexford
county. 1 live in Benzie county which
is in the same judicial circuit. AS
these counties are very near each other
and as both are under local option ad-
ministration, should be pleased as a
very interested reader of the article
before mentioned, to reply to it
through the columns of the Shiawassee
| county press
went into the local option campaign
in Benzie county in dead earnest, as
believe in going into anything one
undertakes, and I only wish was 60
ing to be located in or near Shiawassee
county during the next two or three
months so could give what aid 1 am
capable of to the same good cause in
this my old home county.
Mr.. Wheeler divides local optionists
into two classes, those who oppose the
manufacture and sale of intoxicating
liquors for any purpose, and those who
oppose their manufacture and sale as
beverage. Wexford county must be
more or less an exception 10 other
counties in this respect as l have not
run across the two clssses in Benzie
county where am quite familiar with
the conditions and with public senti-
ment. Certainly the physicians pre-
scription feature of the druggist law, to
which he takes strong exceptions, does
not go 80 far as to prevent the use of
intoxicating liquors for medicinal pur-
poses In fact the provision was
framed for the very purpose of making
it possible to use them for this purpose
and at the same time prevent druggists
from selling them as beverage. Any
one who knows anything about the
matter at all and who is willing 10 be
fair. minded and honest in his views
knows that under the old law many q
drug store has done rather enviable
liquor business from the saloon keepers
standpoint, and without having to pay
saloon keepers license This was
quite as true in dry counties as in wet,
and caused no end of criticism upon
the local option movement In coun-
ties that adopted local option last year,
the law went into effect on May l, and
the doctors prescription law went into
effect September 1, or ninety days after
the close of the last legislative session.
One druggist in Benzie county reported
from 25 to 40 sales of liquor per week
between May l and September 1 after
which time he reported from FIVE to ten
sales per week. According to the in
ference to be drawn from Mr.. Wheel
er's pen, the undertaken in this drug
gists locality must have enjoyed a
marked increase in business after Sep
tember when such large percentage
Of the sale of this very necessary ar
ticle of medicine 80 suddenly stopped.
Think of the parched throats affected
by this abrupt change! The increase
in mortality must have been tremend-
GUS. Shades of hades-the liquor peo-
pie themselves were as much the cause
of this prescription law being passed as
any one know of. The last legisla.
lature did not pass this law until after
the close of the last local option cam.
paign. The hardest argument we had
to meet, in fact about the only one
that had any weight with voters, was
the one raised by the liquor forces that
by voting dry we were simply voting
to transfer the sale of liquor from the
saloon to the drug store when we
would lose the license money in the
bargain. The anti-saloon league sim
ply proceeded to frame bill intended
to prevent this condition which had
been altogether too true in many local
option counties, and the stsunch, reli-
able members of the legislature, with
the aid of the cartloads of petitions that
were sent in from all over the state
were able to pass this bill as they did
several other bits of desirable temper
ance legislation. I have yet to meet
an Intelligent American citizen" Of
Benzie county who feels himself in
suited by the prescription law. Either
the people here are not 80 easily
insulted as elsewhere or else their grade
of intelligence is not so high. know
of at least one druggist in Benzie
county who does not intend to even
take out druggists license to sell
spurious liquors during the coming
year anc although there is no other
drug store within six miles, the people
Of that locality haven't given this ter
rible calamity a passing thought,
They don't seem to know enough to
even be worried about it.
While have no obje ction to the sale
of liquor for medicinal use, men of
scientific knowledge tell us its value in
medicine, or as medicine. has been
greatly exaggerated. Mr.. Wheeler
l