The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1911-11-09
SURPRISING an Outlaw Liquor
Traffic.
What the California Town of Bakersfield
is Doing.

What the California Town of Bakersfield
is Doing.
A copy of the Tribune of Los Angeles,
California, received from F. R. Daggett,
gives an interesting sketch of Bakers
field, Kern county, its past, the character
of its population, and its future pros
poets. OF special interest in this State
and section is the successful war upon
the saloons inaugurated by single in
dividual. We quote as follows:
In the day Of the big ranches when
Los Angeles was cattle town, the
Angel City had superabundance of
saloons and hanged twenty-five Chinese
in a night. Bakersfield is an anachron-
ism because of the reckless atmosphere
of the Oil fields, because of the survival
of the big ranches. Within the limits OF
Kern county lie three of the largest in
dividual land holdings in California. The
CHIEF output Of these enormous ranches
consists of cattle and stock. Is it to be
wondered at that the atmosphere of the
COW and oil country pervaded the streets
of Bakersfield?
OLD SALOON REGIME.
Until about four months ago the doors
of Bakersfield saloons had never been
locked for minute. Year after year
they had remained open for business
twentyfour hours a day and seven days
in the week, with the usual accompani-
ment of wine rooms and gambling tables.
By virtue of the State law open gambling
ceased few years ago, but the saloons
continued in the same old way. They
were fixtures. Their clutch upon the
towns throat seemed unbreakable, their
sway supreme. Apparently it was be-
yond the power of the community to curb
their rule. AS well might man try to
smother the power of gusher under a
straw hat as to attempt to keep the
saloons in proper bounds; to drive them
out seemed no smaller task than to
blow out burning gas well by the I'M
aided breath of pair of lungs.
DECENCY BROUGHT ABOUT.
And yet one determined man did the
seemingly impossible. Single handed,
one man, backed by the power of an
aroused public opinion, without assist
ance by the authorities, curbed the ira
ditional lawlessness of the liquor vend-
ers, forced them voluntarily to pick up
the key they had thrown away decades
ago and lock their doors four hours out
of the twenty-four. Even more. His
example aroused the prohibltionists, who
organized year ago, started them into
action, with the result that on October
31st next an election will be held to de-
eide whether the saloon shall be bundled
out of Kern county and Bakersfield in
its entirety, bottles, barrels and bars,
and the chances for victory of the
''drys" over the 'Wets" are exceeding
ly bright.
NOT DRY" ADVOCATE.
Charles P. Fox never was a prohibi-
zionist. He walked into Bakersfield
nineteen years ago, carrying roll of
blankets on his back. A few years ago
he founded a weekly oil paper that made
reputation for itself because its
columns were closed to the tainted money
of the stock grafters infesting the oil in
dustry. Like thousands of other men,
Fox drank, when, where and what he
pleased. He loved Bakersfield, the town
that had given him his start, the COM
munity in which his wife and children
had been born, and it hurt him to en-
counter the reputation which the lawless
saloon had given the city of his choice
throughout the State. But it never
occurred to him to change conditions.
He accepted his surroundings as matter
of course, was almost Indifferent to
them, until one evening late in April of
this year.
WHAT STARTED FOX OFF.
A few blocks from his office he noticed
woman with girl barely IA years old
walk through an alley into the rear en-
trance of a saloon. He followed them
and saw that they were occupying a
small private room with the curtains
drawn. He demonstrated with the
saloonkeeper, who, struggling his should
ers, maintained that nothing could or
would be done about the sale of liquor to
young girls. That incident aroused Fox.
1t showed him the situation in its true
light. The more he considered the saloon,
its influence, arrogance and power, the
hotter his indignation became.
The following morning an advertise
ment appeared in one of the Bakersfield
papers, an advertisement that set the
town by the ears. Such a commotion
did it create that the afternoon paper,
despite the intense rivalry with it's morn
ing competitor, reproduced the adver-
tisement as a piece of news. The an
nouncement read as follows:
A MILITANT CHALLENGE
II am going to make Bakersfield dry.
This will cost some money, and in order
to play even l will post $500 in any
bank of this city on the proposition that