Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-12-22
DIES MONIES TEMPERANCE FoRc.
Es PLAN FIGHT ON SALOON
CONSENT PETITION. {.
MASS MEETING HELD TO
ORGANIZE FOR WORK
Mrs. Wells, Temperance Worker, Tells
Of Progress in Work in south-D. W..
Norris Presents Experience Of Mar
( shalltown and Shows Home City Has
Prospersd Without Saloons.
Special to Times-Republican.

Des Moines, Dec. 22.-Today is the
day set for the board Of supervisors
to begin the count or canvass Of names
on the saloon consent petition and
big corps of clerks and assistants has
been secured so as to rush the matter
to conclusion, If possible, before the
attack on the petition has been COM
pleted. The fact that the board named
the earliest possible date for the can
vass indicates that the county officials
heads of commercial organizations are
all opposed to the temperance view Of
the matter.
The fight now is to secure about 1900
Withdrawals or to otherwise take that
many names off the petition. 1t is
known there are scores Of forgeries on
the lists and many errors, but these
will not be sufficient to defeat it unless
within the next day or two about 500 or
600 persons can be induced to with
draw whose names are still on the Pc
titions.
To Secure Withdrawals.
In preparation for the final struggle
to make Des Moines temperance city.
and to organize committees in every
precinct to see all voters not closely
allied with the saloon element, mass
meeting Of about thousand business
men was held at the Y. M. C. A.. COM
pleted a business organization to Sc
cure withdrawals and this week there
will be the liveliest skirmishing on the
question ever seen in Des Moines.
A feature of the meeting was short
address by Mrs. Wells, a police woman
Of Los Angeles, returning westward
from temperance work in West Vir-
GINA, who declared her belief that
within ten years the people would look
upon the moderate drinker with the
same disdain we now look upon the
drunkard. But, she said, the drunkard
is not now the central figure in the
temperance fight-the central figure
is the long line Of detectives and de-
pendents who are thrown upon the
public for care. 1t is now an economic
question rather than one of sentiment.
Il am glad" she said. that you have
done so much to end the social evil in
city of this size. and 1t is all a marvel
since you still have the saloon left with
saloons you will find the rest of the
social evil will go with Them"
Norris Tells Of Conditions at Home.
when you get man who is in bus
mess and big enough to figure 1t out
as a business man, you will find invar-
iablyi that he is against the saloon bus
mess"
So declared D. W. Norris, editor of
the Marshalltown Times Republican,
who also addressed the mass meeting
to organize for the final saloon fight
and strongly urged organization and
hard work.
He had come to give testimony to the
fact that Marshalltown has prospered
nightly without saloons and the dire
predictions Of disaster that were made
had never been realized
Il couldn't help but think" Mr.. Nor
ris said, "as I listened to Mrs. Wells
speaking moment ago, how easy and
how simple the temperance question
would be If only the names of women
were on the poll lists" And the big
audience applauded the sentiment
heartily.
I'VE have put the saloons out of
business in Marshalltown, and now
why can't you do 1t here in Des
Moines? We have more factories per
capita than you have and no colleges.
The same is true of Wateroo and OF
tumwa. If there is anything in the
idea that along with education and cul-
ture there comes refinement and
higher sense of duty, Des Moines. with
Its colleges and splendid Institutions
ought to skin all the rest Of US.
AS I understand it, your problem
here is to get men to take their names
off the consent petitions. Now, from
experience know that it is the easiest
thing in the wo-il. to get man to take
his name off the petition--if you only
find the right person to ask him. All
you need to do is keep right on hunting
for the right man until you find him
and get him busy
No Grass in Streets.
'Now they told us that IL we closed
the saloons the grass would grow in
the streets Of Marshalltown. Well.
what happened? No grass has grown
there, but actually we have had to
widen the streets. We have finished
widening the street on one side Of the
square and let the contract on the other
three sides. And more than that, Il
actually saw yesterday afternoon 50
MANY women and children in frnnt NJ a