Valdez daily prospector., 1912-11-12
NOVEMBER l2, 1912
UP AGAINST IT.

'ltN l''lllltll tl is up against il. It has tackled ihc social problem of the city. and it's days and nights will be full of trouble until the council drops the discussion.
 Some time since, politicians butled into the social problem in Fairbanks and attempted to ad- just it to suit all classes. The town was running along upon the lines of other cities and towns in the United States, lining pro- pie who kept diSOrdcrly houses and using the fines tn pay the cost of policing Ihr city. The politicians made a grandSland play and elected a council plcdg- cd to remove the fines from the Inhabitants of the rrStriclcd dis irirl. saving them a certain rX- prnSr which did not read nice In the town papers. and at the same time attempting lo even things up by restricting the bad girls from selling liquor. There Is nothing in the DecamcrOn of the Sisters of the Scarlet Letter which provides for any rcSlric- lions along the pathway of sin-- they have always paid the fine imposed upon them by society and the city administration, but they have always jand always -wilN furnished to their visitors the joy water which makes the red lights and the barbershOp music seem the best there is, and they know no other way and have no desire tO learn other ways which are contrary to the rules of the game. At the request of the city council they quit pay ing fines, but they did not quit selling booze at the city coun- cilS request, and they never will. The council ordered the police [" grab one of Ihr bunch and make aa example of her. and the police grabbrd Miss Peggy. There was nothing in Prggy'S book which made rXcuSrS for her be- ing made Inc fall guy of the ScarIcI Sistrrhnnd. and Peggy rrbellrd. There was no reason in P"ggy's mind why she should pay a fine or lawyers fees for doing something that her sistrrhood has always done and always will do. sn the SislrrhOod put il up tn ih" SalOOnkccDrrs and the business men and made them pay ihr cost nf Ihr lawyer in fight tn" case. Confronted with a de- f"ns" and a lawyer to fight the case. the city council immrdialc- ly began to fear for Ihr validity of it's new lille ordinance and prurccdrd to change the charge on which they had Peggy begged. All charges look alike iu Peggy. when they are not according to Inc rules of her game. so she k still On Inc fighting line. but Inc council is divided against it. self and ihr aIlitud" If inc cu,ln- cil iS That they are now right back where Ihfy .larIrh--irying woman for keeping q bawdy housG- the regulation uITcnsr for which all keepers of such houses used Io walk into the city clerks "Tir" every month. plead guilty and pay a fine therefor, without any effort OF expense OH the part of the city council. They sought io tinker with a subject that is as old as Time itself, and at the finish they find themselves right back at the point from which they started.
 There can bc no doubt but that Inc sale of liquor in disrcputablc houses intcrfcrcs with the busi- ness of the respectable" saloons of this or any other town or city in the world. Every saloon man in Fairbanks knew Lhis when he started his saloon. II is fca- lure of the distribution of trade, and the old principle that nn man cares tO spend all his money in one house. If tho saloons can not compete with the Fourth ave nuc liquor traffic, it is up to the saloons to quit--the illicit sale of liUuor in palaces of pleasure