Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1911-07-18
The Danger Of Over. Confidence.
CORRESPONDENT WARNS SUPPORTERS
OF PROHIBITION AGAINST IT.
YALpARA1so. NEBRASKA.

R CORRESPONDENT WARNS SUPPORTER
OF PROHIBITION AGAINST IT.
q VALPARAISO, NEBRASKA.
d Editor Democrat
The Union Signal OF June contains
}, an editorial by Mrs. Stevens, headt
"Cheering News from the Pine TT,
: State" in which she expressed her b
D lief In q glorious victory for prohibitio
on Sept. II. To the writer who v,
. born and reared among the hills of o,
ford and who has never lost interest an
. pride In her native state % the standar
bearer OF prohibition through 20 man
years, such news was most welcome.
was also greatly rejoiced to hear throug
the Democrat of the "No-License Move
ment" In which the churches, variou
temperance societies and other organizs
tions have commenced active prepare
ton for what will undoubtedly prove Ii
hardest battle the temperance forces Q
Maine have yet been called to fight.
HE laughs best who laughs last.
My greatest fear In contemplating tn
present situation there is that the ten
perance people may feel too sure Q
victory. During residence of twenty
five years in license state, have learn
ed both by observation and study, 8
much of the methods of the liquo
power, of its utter unscrupulousness
above all, of its consummate ability Il
employing "ways that are dark sn(
tricks that are mean to accomplish 1t
purposes, that I never watch temper
ance fight now without many fears, ever
If the odds are apparently all on tn
temperance side.
Recently the cause of prohibition II
Nebraska has received disastrous blow
Two years ago, after hard battle will
inside and outside enemies, our beauti
full capital city, the educational cente
of the state, the seat of our great Uni
versity, now numbering no less thai
four thousand students, went dry by
majority of more than four hundred
votes. Last year after an equally hare
battle, the city went dry again by a ma
jority OF over nine hundred. But on th,
night OF the last municipal election, Ma!
2, the news that went over the wires t
all parts of the state and made man!
hearts heavy vas, "Lincoln has gon'
wet"
1t was generally admitted that the dr.!
leaders had left no efforts untried tt
secure dry victory. The dry com
mittee of fifty with no lack OF volunteer
helpers had worked as hard as ever to
get out the dry vote to the polls. The
white rbbouers did splendid work
The city was divided up among nearly 8
hundred and each one in the territory
assigned her made house 70 house can
vass with printed list of hestions for
ascertsining the wet or dry attitude OF
the voters. Meetings, often crowded
were held in the churches, auditorium
and open air, and lastly there was form.
ed an independent organization Of all
Lincoln women opposed to the return Of
the saloon, who, few days before the
election, in order to show their strength
went in long procession through the
principal streets.
How then was this humiliating defeat
of the drys Accomplished 1 quote a
paragraph that appeared, after the cleo
tion, in the Nebraska State Journal, one
of Lincoln's long established and reliable
newspapers: "There is no doubt that q
policy of saying dry and thinking wet
did the business. During the last two
weeks, it was apparently conceded on all
sides that the city was dry by as large
majority as last year. The dry man
ayers as we'll as the voters were lulled to
a feeling Of false security. The wet
committee conducted campaign OF
whispering and gumshoeing that was
mastery in its conception and execu
ton"
1t was curious and startling feature
of this defeat that while the increase Of
the saloon vote over last year was lest
than three hundred, the dry vote OF las,
year was reduced by over twelve hun
dred. To some extent this result may
have been due to the overconfidence Of
the dry leaders; il has been said here
often with too much truth, that "tht
good pious people never do get out to
the polls unless they are scared" but II
is not reasonable to suppose that Over
twelve hundred registered voters, listed
al dry, stayed away from the polls or
election day because they were all &C
sure the drys would beat without theil
help. One naturally suspects that 10 a
cam paign of the kind described, there
were many bargains made, and thai
while it was known some men voted wei
who were taken to the polls by the Or!
managers, there is no knowing how
many others were induced to stay a
home by the "masterly" methods of tb'
whispersrs. And 80 "boozeries" hav'
come back to Lincoln, after 1t had enjoy
ed, under the dry policy, two years of {
marked increase in business prosperit,
along many lines, after the city hat
stood two years fine object lesson t
this and other states as the only DIR!
capital in any license state.
A day or two after the opening OF tn
twenty-five saloons, June 22d, the Stat
Journal had an editorial entitled "Wh!
1t Lives" from which l make an extrac
that many, I think, will find suggestive
"Opponents of the American salooi
would be more effective, could the!
realize to the full the power OF the 50
loon spirit. Lincoln is city OF stead!
habits. Yet the reopening of the saloon
Thursday afternoon gave the town
holiday appearance. Men consorted IL
joyful, excited groups as though stirreo
by news of surrender of Vicksburg o.
an emancipation proclamation. Thi
opening comes after years struggle II
which strong group of men made every
thing-business, politics-secondary Il
saloons. 1t is saying among politician
that the public man who let's himsel
cross the path of the saloon and its fol
lowers is as good az dead. The enemie
he makes will work while his friend
sleep, so implacsble Is the drink spirit
and will finally put him out of politics
The power of steady, single purpose Il
nowhere more remarkably proved thar
in the way the drinking minority In
community eventually breaks down tn
opposition to saloons OF the vast ma
ljority."
Undoubtedly the drinking minority IL
Maine, increased as 1t may have been b!
the thrush Of foreigners in later years, Il
very much smaller in proportion to tn
number of inhabitants than In Nebrask
But in all these years since 1851, 1t ha
been q disturbing force with the i'm
placable 'drink spirit" and "the steady
single purpose" to break down the pro
hibitory law. OF course 1t has Away
been allied with outside liquor interests
and these in the last sixty years hav
been adding millions to millions with 81
incalculable increase of power. The,
have been alarmed by the great item
perance tidal wave" of later years ant
they are on the aggressive now. It ma
not be q wild guess that all tho liquo
interests OF the United States are takin!