The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1916-10-13
The PERIL OF THE
DRY COUNTY,.
RULE IS rum RULE
VOTE NO" NOVEMBER 7 AND
THEREBY MAKE THE STATE
OF MICHIGAN DRY.
DEFEAT "HOME RULE" IDEA
The Purpose Of the Michigan Home
Rule League Is to Defeat Pro-
hibition.

"Vote Yes on the dry statewide
amendment, and be sure to VOTE NO
on the wet so-called home rule amend
me1t." This Is the word which from
| now till November will go out from
The state headquarters Of the Michi.
gan Dry Campaign committee at Lans.
ng. The committee has issued the fol-
owing official statement:
An organization of liquor dealers
and their friends, who call themselves
the Michigan Home Rule League" is
trying to fill the Michigan political
air with the dust of mis-representa-
ton.
This league, however, says in one Of
its leaflets, "The purpose Of the Mich
lgan Home Rule League is to defeat
statewide prohibition" Many of the
men who are announced as officers
have been or are now connected, d.
rectly or indirectly, with the liquor
business.
The home rule" amendment to the
constitution. providing for local op-
ton by cities, villages, or townships.
Is NOT A DRY MEASURE and should
be ardently fought by every friend OF
the anti-saloon movement. II Michi-
gan goes dry the small unit amend
ment will be utterly useless. MAKE
MICHIGAN DRY.
This amendment is thrown into
The statewide campaign only to con-
fuse the issue and to give vets in dry
counties something to rouse their list
less interest on the-prohibition side.
The fact that 1t is backed up by the
liquor forces Is sufficient to show its
true meaning.
The small unit measure Is always
proposed by the minority party. The
anti.saloon forces now have the up
per hand in Michigan. Let them turn
cut and defeat this home rule" idea
Let nobody be fooled into believing in
Or working for this amendment.
Taxation without representation"
IS the objectionable crime committed
by this proposition. If Jackson county
went dry while the city of Jackson
which opposed saloons would be
heavily taxed to pay the public costs
which saloons always impose upon
the people. Every arrest for drunken
ness, with the subsequent expenses Of
rial and imprisonment; every crime
due to liquor, from petty larcency to
murder, besides the vast array of ex-
penses for poverty, insanity and
disease, most Of them traceable to al
,oholism, would have to be borne by
the entire county.
Today Michigan's forty-five dry coun-
ties must bear the expense of state in
situations, the majority of whose in
mates would not be burden on the
state If Michigan had not licensed sa-
looms. Thus the small unit method al
ways saddles burden Of taxation
without representation" upon the op
ponents Of the saloon.
1.-THE Peril Of the Dry County
Home Rule is Rum Rule night be the
true name of the small unit amend
ment. Unless 1t defeated, every dry
equity III miCnisdH VIII De III udlbeT
Of new fight to bring back saloons in
townships and precincts. HENCE
EVERY DRY COUNTY SHOULD
ROUSE ITSELF TO THE ISSUE
AND BACK THE STATE WIDE
MOVEMENT TO THE LAST IN
TRENCHMENT.
If 1t is adopted, the fake home
rule" amendment will abolish all
present dry, local option laws and
make the whole state again wet.