Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1911-05-17


public issues).
There is a writer in late number
CT the Ossian Bee who writes about
self sanctified cyclists as though he
had nothing left to learn about that
subject. He charges that every
member of the Law and Order Lea
que, and the president in particular,
are all of them past masters in the
fine art of self-sanctified egotism.
Let us lcok into this matter for a
few moments.
The Law and Order League began
its work with practical confession
OF ignorance, and such confession
is not supposed to be particularly
characteristic of self-satisfied ego
tism. The members of the league
realized that they did not know what
the laws of the state of Iowa were
about the sale of liquors, gambling,
pool and billiard rooms, slot ma
chimes, cigarettes, minors, etc. They
therefore made careful inquiry and
printed the result of that inquiry in
"a little pamphlet. They then knew
what they had surmised before
that the laws in these matters were
not being enforced. A single indi-
vidual making such an inquiry and
asserting lawlessness would not
necessarily prove a self-sanctified
egotist Every man in Winneshiek
county has at some time charged
lawlessness, in private if not in pub
lie, against some other individual or
the community at large. If such an
act implies self-sanctified egotism,
then the whole community is COM
posed of such people and the writer
of the article in the Bee in acting
as censor of the Law and Order Lea
que ought to feel very much at
home.
But now suppose this writer in
stead of rejecting individually upon
the Law and Order League, had gone
and associated himself with 80 or
40 other people of kindred mind,
would such association make of him
any more of self-sanctified egotist
than he was before? But no, the
writer might say you have not yet
come to the main point in my
charge. The very name Law and
Order" is an insult to the commun-
ity. The president of the Law and
Order League lays down the law and
all people must submit" What nom
sense. 1t would be difficult for any
writer to crowd more untruth or
Misrepresentation into a single SEN
tence, if he tried The president OF
the Law and Order League has just
as much and just as little to do in
laying down the law as the writer
of the article in the Bee. We are
both of us citizens and voters and
have our little part to do in form
ing the laws under which we both
live. Presumptively, the writer in
the Bee has pleaded and voted for
the open saloon, and, in doing so,
has pledged himself to stand by the
closed saloon If the majority of his
fellow citizens so decree. The presi-
dent of the Law and Order League
has argued and voted against the
open saloon and In doing so he has
pledged himself to regard all the
rights of the open saloon, II the
majority so decree. The Law and
Order League simply strives to let
the people know what the laws are
of their own making, and create a
sentiment and conviction behind the
laws to assist the public officials In
their enforcement. II such a work
as this is an insult to the commun-
ity, then there are thousand and
one societies of every type all over
this country which are engaged in
insulting the people all the time
When a man is insulted because
called upon to obey laws of his own
making 1t would be we'll for him to
inquire into the nature of his own
particular brand of self-sanctified
egotism.
REV. M. WILLETT, &
President of the Winneshiek
County Law and Order League