The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1916-05-05
BRYAN DENOUNCES
THE DRINK TRAFFIC
Says That Stopping Saloon
Business Doesn't De-
StrOy Building.

Dallas, Tex.-At tie state conven
tion of the Anti-Saloon League, held
in this city in March, William Jen-
nings Bryan was the principal speak
er. In his address Colonel Bryan
said:
IF you try to close the saloon some
body says that you are interfering
with the business of the town and
hurting the town. They know better.
Why Is II that the boards OF trade and
the chambers OF commerce are so
careful to advertise the schools, the
churches and all the attractive insti-
tutions OF a town and never mention
how many saloons they have?
And the saloon keepers understand.
IL you tell n you are going to have
prohibition, he tells you that If you
do not have saloons you will have
something else. They say you will
have blind tigers. Well, | would rather
have a blind tiger after my boy than
a tiger that can see. If they are blind
you have to go to them, and III they
zee they will ONE to you. If they
are blind they will go into the back
alleys and dark places and III you H.
cense them they will take the best
corner I'm your town and invite your
boys to enter.
The Personal Liberty Fake.
"They no longer talk about personal
liberty. | remember when personal
I{l.rtxt x.a. 49, tIt.s- 49,. .~.s t.IIYol
about. They have learned now there
is no definition of personal liberty that
Is recognized In any respectable con.
munity that includes trespass on the
rights OF others; that no mans per-
sonal liberty can be used ~destructively
against his neighbor. Therefore, the
personal liberty argument has gone.
Every mans rights end where his
neighbours rights begin, and the chill
dren of our city have a right to life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness,
and that right is higher than mans
right to crafty his animal appetite at
the expense OF the children.
About Destroying Property"
"They say that you are destroying
their property rights. When you say
that a saloon can not be opened in a
building you do not interfere with the
building. You do not take a brick
out of the wall when you close a sa.
loon. And IL a building In which a sa-
loon is closed today Is occupied by a
bakery tomorrow, because there Is
then money that used to go for liquor
to be spent for bread, the town is
none the poorer.
IF you close a brewery you do not
destroy the building. In Oregon /
found that the breweries have been
turned into loganberry juice factories.
L~oganberry juice, by the way, Is the
closest thing they have 10 grape juice
In Oregon.
mo Democrat need apologize for
being in favor OF prohibition. OF the
nineteen prohibition states ten OF
them go Democratic at every election,
and other Democratic states will soon
be added to the list. IL will benefit
both parties to get rid of the liquor
element which owes allegiance to no
party. n is Interested In no prin-
ciples Of government. II is solely
concerned with the money to be de-
rived from the sale OF liquor.
why not meet combination with
cooperation? The liquor interests
combine against society; why should
not the Democrats and Republicans
cooperate against the liquor inter
ests? Let us for one day lay aside
the tariff question, the trust question,
the money question and other ma
tional questions upon which we differ
and unite to free the state from the
manufacture and sale of alcoholic
liquor. and then we shall be ready
for the larger task which is not many
years off-the task of Kidding the ma
ton of alcohol, its worst enemy, and
Of the liquor traffic, its greatest evil"