The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1910-11-04
HON E R ULE
County Option Does Not
Violate Its Principles
ri'>,ltn1)


The L'quoY Dealers association of
South Dakota seek to hide their iden-
tity under the title "The.Home Rule
League" and are basing much of
their opposition to county option up
on the plea that it violates the prin-
ciple of home rule, that the matter
OF granting licenses for the sale of in
toxicating liquor should be left en-
tirely to the local community.
Just little investigation will re-
veal the fallacy of their claims.
There is a perfectly safe principle
that may be followed in determining
the matter In all things that per-
tain exclusively to the inhabitants
within the corporate limits of any
city, toWnor village, home rule should
apply and all persons outside of the
town limits should be denied any
voice in these matters. For instance.
whether or not a new street Shall be
opened, or some street paved, whether
it shall be paved with Belgian blocks
or asphalt; whether the town shall be
bonded for water works, or a sewer
age system. All such questions are
purely local and do not affect anyone
outside the town limits and should
therefore be left entirely to the de-
cision of the voters of the town. But
any question, the determination of
which affects people outside the town
limits, is more than local and should
be decided by the voters of the unit
that will be affected. For instance,
whether or not town shall maintain
q quarantine or allow smallpox
patients to run loose i'm the streets is
a question that may affect many out
side the town, SO in that case state
health board may step in and lay
down the law to the people of the
town. Whether or not a factory in
the town shall be permitted to turn
out adulterated food is question
that may affect people in any part of
the United States, so the national
government steps in with it's pure
food law. If the licensing of the
liquor traffic in a local town affects no
one beyond the town limits then the
proposed county option law is unjust.
If, however, the open saloon in a
! local town does affect the welfare of
the public outside the town, then
the larger unit should have voice in
the matter. We believe this is per-
fectly fair proposition. None will
seriously deny that the licensed
saloon in the local town has harm
full effect that reaches far beyond the
town limits. In the first place, the
saloon causes crime and the county is
the unit in taking care of crime, and
the farmers pay taxes to support the
courts and penal institutions, the
taxation without representation is as
unjust now as it was in l776. Further
more, the farmer and the farmers
boy must run the gauntlet of the
open saloon in the nearby town, with
all its temptations, and in many
farmers home in South Dakota today
there is sorrow, heartache and misery
caused by the licensed saloon in the
town
Whilever the liquor traffic in the
local community has power to affect
the welfare of the citizens of the en-
tire county, the true spirit Of home
rule demands the entire county be
the unit in deciding the question of
, license or no-license. After all, the
highest type Of home rule, the SOW
ereignty of the home life of, the
people in governmental affairs would
result in the overflow of the entire
liquor traffic. When the home really
rules the saloon will die.