Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1915-06-17

Last week the Record carried the
news story OF the epjoining Of the
Milwaukee railroad and the report
to the attorney generals Office of
the enormous quantity of intoxicat-
ing liquor shipped into Emmons
county by the Milwaukee.
1t is quite generally known that
such business has been going on for
some time and that it has been grow
ing worse during recent months.
This has been due, no doubt, to the
general belief that the sale of intox-
icants could be carried on in COM
paratiVe safety because of the policy
OF the states attorneys office Of
non.enforcement. In fact, there
have been persons who professed to
he perfectly safe and free from
worry over the situation on the be-
lief that they would not be prose-
cuted.
Many people have believed that
they could sell any amount of beer
and whiskey in safety so long as
they didn't sell to q "spotter.
They did not seem to grasp the stu.
alton. They did not know that it is
possible to subpoena the agents of
the railroad in tine various towns
and require them to produce the
railroad records showing just what
liquor was shipped and to whom.
And those records are damnably
cold.blooded. For instance, they
show that several individuals
shipped more than thousand cases
of beer into the county in little
more than year.
The law provides that liquor can
not be sold or given away in the
state. The Courts will take judicial
notice of the capacity Of ordinary
individual. 1t is possible for one
person to consume two or three CT ses
of beer in a fortnight and to do it
continuously. However, those per-
sons that shipped hundreds of cases
IN a short time will have fine time
convincing any court that they
drank it all themselves. And il
they can't, they stand convicted by
the records Of the railroad.
1t has been customary, SO we un-
derstand. to make shipments under
assumed names. This is q matter
that can be easily traced and when
the proper time comes it will he. 1t
has been the experience of other
counties tnat many of those arrest
ed plead guilty and take their pun
lshment when confronted with such
conditions and it is not unreasonable
to presume that such will be the
case in this county. And those who
know the spirit of the presiding
Judge in this judicial district know
that law-breakers will receive their
Just punishment when convicted.
And it seems that a very simple
method has been found to purge this
community of the corrupting in
tiuences that have injured the citi-
zenship and reached out their ten.
tacles into every kind of public veal.
Just so the bouze-vender and the
whole combination has made up one
OF the strongest and most heartless
political organizations possible.
A strict enforcement of the pro-
hlbition law as it stands on the
statute books of North Dakota can
and will do many things for the
good of each community. When less
money is spent for poisonous liquors
there will be more to pay the just
debts of the merchant and baker
and candle.stick maker" Instead
of q few leeches and blood-suckers
that have no standing whatever in
the community raking in bunch of
easy money" they will have to go
to work for living.
1t is pretty common knowledge
that the most frequent patrons of
the blind-pigs are the men who are
neither paying their debts nor pro-
perly providing for those dependent
upon them. The writer recalls more
than one instance where subscription
papers have been passed around to
assist innocent and needy families
whose husband or father has spent
more than the amount collected for
booze. There are families in this
town for whom clothing and sup
plies have been secured while the
man of the family spent his time
and money seeing how much liquor
ne could soak up. ANY merchant in
town will tell you that he has car
ried uncolleetable accounts on his