The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1913-09-05


journ prayer meeting until the next
Thursday night, and I'd get the
printing presses busy and do some
advertising. We did that thing, and
had a good crowd at the meeting,
and carried this county for local op-
ton. And let me tell you something
You can do i. next spring if you will
organize your forces and get them
together and get them to work.
Now just a few words on now we
enforce the law in Gratiot and Clin-
ton counties. In the first place we
elect men to offices who are not
afraid to enforce the law. Af.er
Clinton county went dry, we simply
dropped politics, and elected DEM
| ocrat sheriff in the Republican coun-
| ty simply because he was the right
man, and because he was not afraid
to enforce the local option law, We
knew he was right on that question
| and the other man was not. He
looked up the blind pigs, and got
them red handed He got one man
wlo had been selling whiskey from
the jug and who had Dragged that
he could sell all he wanted to and
not get caught. When ne came UP
before me for sentence l said, Nov
you Dragged that you could sell all
the whiskey you wanted to didn't
you?" The fellow said "Yes," and
l said Now this has been just a lit
tie play in two acts. The first was
that you sold liquor out of a Jug
and the second act will be ninety
days in Detroit and $500 fine"
Strange to say, that fellow has lost
also nad to sentence a man called
"Peg-leg Gibson" 20 70 days in De-
troit for running blind pig. An old
German came up to me and said
"One leg and 20 days-Vat would 1t
nave been if Gibson had two legs?"
They were given to understand that
if they continued 20 run blind pigs
the sentences would be little more
severe each time, and tonight you
cannot find blind pig in Gratiot
county with a dark lantern. You
can have a county the same, If you
will elect men who are not afraid to
enforce the law. One thing we do in
our county is to let tae fellows pass
sentence upon themselves. They un-
derstand that if they want to break
the law they will draw their own
sentence of 90 days anyway, and
possibly longer. / told one old fell
low Who was a confirmed drunkard
that as long as he kept from getting
drunk, would not send him up, but
the first time he was seen drunk 1t
would mean 90 days in Jail. That
was nearly two years ago and ne has
not been seen drunk since that time.
Judge Searle then told several in
cidents illustrating the pathetic side
OF the situation. He then spoke en-
couraging words relative to the sit
uation, saying, "Let us not give up, |
because We cannot get something |
perfect. You cannot stop bootleg !
ging. bu! all these bills which are be-
ing passed are helping us little, but
we must remember it will be a good |
many years before we will stop all
liquor selling. 1t will be a good |
many years before the country will
be absolutely dry. Let us be sure
ard remember this-when you stop |
all drinking, all drunkenness, all di-
vorce, all quarrels between husband
and wife, you will be in Heaven.
When you present this question to
your friends next year, why not tell
them that, and tell them to be salts
fled with conditions that are as near
perfect as possible, and have faith
for the future.
We are anxious to have Shiawas-
see county stay DIR? because We rea-
lie that If this county goes wet, it
endangers our counties up there.
Therefore, let us see to 1t that tiis
county of Shiawassee does not go
back. ] was in the buffet car on the
Ann Arbor not long ago, and 1t did
me good to hear the darby say to
man Who asked for the drinks
Cant serve it to you, boss, were
Just across tle line, and it'll be
$50 miles before we can serve it to
you" My friends, let us see If we
cannot keep the whole Ann Arbor
railroad intact, and also the Grand
Trunk up through Michigan at least
Did you know that Ingham will go
dry at their next election, and that
an addition had been refused to be
added to the jail at Mason to accom-
modate the DRINKS sent there from
Lansing, because tley were so sure
the county would go dry?
l know this temperance question:
is an old threadbare story, but so is
the religion of Jesus Christ an old
threadbare story, but not so old that
VIC do not go to hear it once in
while, and so let us treat this Tenn
perance question the same and be-
come interested in it, in order to
save your boys and girls, and keep
your daughters from becoming /