Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1915-12-01
START MADE IN FIGHT
FOR STATEWIDE DRY POLICY

FOR STATEWIDE DRY POLICY
Wet Frauds at Minneapolis Lead Fro
ss.. hibition Workers to Plan to
Capture Legislature and
| Pass Law. r
| "It's the old story over again."
dramatically exclaimed former Mayor
David P. Jones of Minneapolis, when
it was shown in reports of officers at
the final meeting of the Citizens
League day or two ago that whole
sale frauds were committed by the
liquor interest in Minneapolis at the
late local option election. 1--WE never
did and never will have an honest
election and fair count as long as
the liquor traffic is in existence" he
added.
The report was prepared by DR..
George B. Stafford, chairman of the
leagues executive committee and was
approved by the other members of
that committee. Charges of whole
sale illegal voting on election day
were made and were found true, af-
ter vigorous probe by the Hennepin
county grand jury, the report says,
though it was impossible to identify
the individual violators of the law and
no indictments were returned! All,
a little ice water and a fan, please!
The liquor crowd appears to have re-
tanned to a remarkable degree it's
knowledge that there are many ways
to kill dog besides choking it to
death with butter!
1t must have been this situation in
minneapolis that prompted former
Governor S. R. Van SAINT, chairman
of the league to declare in his report
at the meeting that the best way to
Iget prohibition and to get it promptly
is by statute. In vigorous manner
the former governor went on record
for statutory statewide prohibition
He pointed out the way to do this
making it plain, that according to his
view, legislature should be elected
in 1916, the members of which are
pledged to enact law that will put
the ban on the sale and manufacture
of intoxicating liquors in the State
of Minnesota.
At the close of his written report
Mr.. Van SAINT added that he was a
strong party man but that in spite
of that fact no candidate for governor
could have his vote that would not
promise to sign such law, referring
to statutory prohibition enactment
! Governor Van SAINT was applauded
enthusiastically when he made his de-
claration for statutory prohibition and
said the campaigns should be started
at once and this applause was signi
f1cant, too, for the meeting was at
tended by upwards Of 100 of the most
prominent prohibition workers in the
city, including former Mayor David
P. Jones, c. N. Chadbourne, treasurer
OF the Citizens League; Charles M
Way, DR.. George B. Stafford, superin
tendent of the Anti-Saloon League;
John E. Diamond, Harry P. Jones, Ar
thur Markve, DR.. T. B. Allen, A. j
Anderson, E. ]. Miller, president OF
Parents and Teachers Assn; Frank
Nelson, president Of Minnesota Coll
> eye; G. A. Gruman of the Minnesota
School of Business; j. N. McCandless
S. Writ Wiley, General Secretary OF
the Y. M. G. A.; former Alderman
Fred M. Powers, r. D. Cone, T. H
ColweN, secretary of the Citizens
League; Frank P. Vroman, Hon, w
G. Calderwood.
The report Of Governor Van SAINT
was unanimously adopted.
DR.. Safford's report charged that
the election in Minneapolis was in
the hands of the vets, that 10 pei
cent OF the total vote cast was due
to men being voted illegally; that
there was an unaccOuntable increase
Of about 1900 in the total vote cast
or about 33 1-3 per cent; that an ar
my of men were voted by the vets
from vacant lots, empty houses and
in the names of dead men. Also a
: great number voted, it is alleged, in
the names OF men who had moved
away and under fictitious names and
addresses. The voters were brought
direct to the polls, contrary to law
: that in many precincts the drys had
no judges at the polls, and that blocks
OF voters were carried from one poll
ing place to another in auto loads and
there voted again. It is alleged that
men voted who had not been in the
precincts 80 days and that all these
glazing violations of law were carried
on in a systematic and regular man
ner. A voluminous array of names
, and data, backed by testimony of men
OF standing was submitted.
DR.. Safford's report was unanimous
ly adopted also.
1t may be pointed out that Colo
RADIO is now in the dry column as a
result of just such condition as CON
: fronts Minnesota. Repeated ATTEMPTS
to curb the liquor traffic in the CITY
, IT Denver failed, owing to such abuses
OF the ballot in that city as has been
shown to have been repeated in Min
neapolis. Leaders in the Centennial
state saw the point and they went to
work for statewide prohibition, win.
ming the fight by an Overwhelming
majority. Steps will be taken at once
in Minnesota by the dry forces to get
together and start the battle for mem.
bers of the legislature who will stand
by their colors and put a dry law on
, the statute books, through the liquor
octopus bluffs and puffs until it is
black in the face.
A little recapitu1ation of history
here may not be amiss. When Doug.
las, the Little Giant defeated Abra-
ham Lincoln for United States sen.
ator in Illinois that defeat forced Lin.
coin into the presidency. When the
Denver liquor octopus stuffed the bal.
lot boxes in Denver it forced the en-
tire state of Colorado into the drv
column. And the Minneapolis LIQUOR
octopus may profit by these examples.