The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1914-12-29
MAYOR KADINC
ANSWERS UNIONS
Letter To Cigdrmdkers' Union
States That Closing Sunday
Is Endorsed By Many.

| w
town, Wisconsin.
Care Fred Hinze:
Gentlemen.-In your letter of re
cent date you call attention to the
fact that saloons in Watertown have
been closed on Sundays; that should
such condition continue for any length
OF time your craft in Watertown
would be greatly damaged with re-
suit that about ten men would be out
OF employment; that you believe | will
stand ready to do all in my power to
| prevent such conditions; that | have
been rather silent and inactive in
| the matter; and that you most earn
estly solicit my support as mayor of
our city with the business smen ard
general public to adjust such matters
as now are responsible for Sunday
closing of saloons in Watertown
In reply permit me to say that up
on my election as mayor / recon-
mended to the common council reason
able regulations of saloons by closing
rooms" enforcing the law pertaining
| to prohibiting the sale Of intoXicant
| drinks to minors, posted and intoxicat-
ed persons; all with the object in
view of placing the saloons in such a
position that they would not be objec-
tionable to our people. The saloon
keepers submitted apparently cheer
fully and believe that the great ma
jority Of our people were satisfied
with the improved conditions; and
| had the saloons not been closed in the
| manner that you refer to in your let
ter | believe that there would not
have been any Sunday closing of sa-
looms, at least not for a long time to
come, in our city.
While the law governing in this
| matter has been in force for many
| many years, yet by almost universal
custom in this part of our state the
same has not been enforced. In some
communities it may be necessary to
enforce the same but in communities
such as ours for example, l believe no
necessity for such law exists. Let
us hope that at some near future
! time our constitution will be SO
amended, this Sunday closing law re-
pealed, and new laws passed giving
the people of each municipality the
| right of home rule to decide this ques-
ton for themselves. Until such time,
however, | know Of no waH whereby
the saloon may be kept open for busi-
ness on Sundays unless the party who
caused their being closed Withdraws
his objection. The legal papers were
served upon the sheriffs, deputy
sheriffs, the chief of police and upon
myself as mayor. The law imposes
a penalty upon the saloonkeeper for
any violation and upon the executive
officers for any neglect of duty in the
matter, and neither can afford to defy
the law and expect to remain in busi
ness or continue in office and avoid
prosecution
l sincerely hope that you are mis-
of employment to any of your craft
on account of the Sunday closing and
l assure you that / stand ready and
willing to do all in my power to
remedy the condition if you will
cause to be pointed out to me how it
can be done.
Personally believe that the great
majority of our saloons are run along
proper, satisfactory lines and that
they serve as the poor Mans Club"
and are a convenience to the farmers
and their families in many ways as
the farmers and our people well know,
and that there was no general com
plant about their being open on Sun
days before they were ordered closed
yet since they have been closed
there are many in our city who be-
lieve that they should remain closed.
One woman said that now her husband
remains at home on Sundays while be
fore for many years he would remain
away all day. A committee of minis
they would like to see the saloons
closed on Sunday, and a committee of
manufacturers of our city called upon
me and stated that they believed that
they expressed the opinion of a ma
jority of our manufacturers and that
opinion was that the saloons should
remain closed on Sundays.
Many unkind and untrue and very
uncharitable things have been said by
some self called friends of our sa-
looms but who in fact are the worst
enemies of the saloons; because by
their acts and works they disgust
and prejudice our fair minded citi-
zens few illustrations are sufficient
to show what l mean. For instance
it has been said that "The mayor used
Billie Cody as a tool to close the sa-
looms" "That the mayor told Sheriff
Hinkes several days before the papers
were served that the following Sunday
he, Sheriff Hinkes, would be kept busy
closing the saloons at Watertown."
THAT the mayor remained at juneau
nights while trying a case there the
week before the saloons were closed
on Sundays in order to have it appear
as though he knew nothing about the
matter, etc.
Very unkind indeed of the party or
parties who circulated the above ri
diculous statements.
l had supposed that the people of
Watertown knew me well enough to
know that if | had desired to close
the saloons on Sunday / would have
done so frankly and openly the same
as I openly advocated the elimination
of back rooms and closing ordinance.
The facts are that while at Juneau
trying a law suit on the three days