The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1916-06-22
Public Sentiment and saloons.


DAYS come about ever so often. Every
few wears a number of people OF the
city who believe in the enforcement OF
| law and perfectly sane people who have
the best interests Of the city and It's
people at heart, get ready for Sunday
closing movement. They know that 1t
is against the law for saloons to operate
on Sunday. They know that certain
laws are enforced in Kenosha and they
| do not think that they are guilty OF
impertinence when they ask why not
/ this laW?o There is resounding echo
uWhy not9'' 1t does not seem hard
to enforce laws against murder, assault
with intent to kill, picking pockets, and
other forms Of larceny and there is
seldom that anyone stands up to cham
pion the cause of the man who kills or
the man who steals. But closing sa-
| looms in keeping with the provisions of
/ the law seems to be another question.
! The saloon man looks at Sunday open
ing as a sort of vested right which
comes to him on account of the fact
that he has been permitted to violate
| the law almost all the time since Keno
| sha was an incorporated city. In this
belief he is supported by a lot of peo-
pie in the community who insist that
they are law abiding citizens and who
are law abiding citizens when other
laws are called into question. The
/ trouble with closing saloons in Keno
sha is that public sentiment has not
been educated up to the place where it
demands it. Public sentiment is strong
| ly against murder, larceny and other
sorts of state law violations. There is
i a lot of public sentiment against the
| Sunday saloon, but it is not the pre-
vailing sentiment in Kenosha. The
men backing the present movement are
good citizens. They are to great ex-
tent men who are members of church
organizations. The fact that they have
not come out in the open and proclaim
ed their cause from the house tops does
not necessarily mean that their cause
is not worthy of consideration. One Of
the leaders of the movement says, eve
| do not want to ask for action unless
1--we know that there is united senti-
ment among the church people Of the
/ city for closing saloons. We deem
| that such a united action is necessary.
If these people are not united on the
demand that the saloons be closed, the
| sentiment of the community can not
/ 10 - L. e e
ing
The view taken is a sensible one
There is no use Of battle Of this kind
unless it is backed at least by every
organization which is centering its at
tack on the forces of evil.
Men who belong to churches are not
necessarily milk-sops and men without
red blood coursing in their veins. A
lot of these men love amusements and
sports. They do stand however for
regulation in sports and they have a
perfect right to express themselves as
In favor of the enforcement of a law
even If it does hit at "vested right. -
There is wonderful opportunity for
| d.
saloon men. Let just one Of them an
nounce that he is going to be law
abiding to the letter and spirit Of the
law; that he is going to close UP on the
first day of the week and give the men
he employs a day of rest; that he is
going to refuse to sell to minors and
intoxicated people; that he is going to
stop all forms of gambling in his place.
Just let one fellow do this and he is
going to blaze trail that is going to
be the greatest thing ever done fo- the
men who operate saloons. IF saloon
men could only be brought to see that
they can legitimatize their business bv
obeying the law, such move would
be worth lot more to the people and
to the saloon men than any action that
could be started to force their compli.
ance with law.
Prohibition is coming to lot of
cities and states because the saloon
men are not able to see that il is TO
their interest to make their business q
law abiding business. Contempt for
the law has continually bred contempt
for the saloon business and it has been
the greatest agency in putting the sa-
loon out of existence. It may be years
before Kenosha is dry, but it will be
more years if the men who are leaders
IN the saloon business in the city Just
get together and declare that they are
going to do business in manner that
It IS legalized by the law and in man
ner in keeping with the spirit and the
letter of the laws which have been
made to regulate it, This is worth
thinking about by the saloon men. II
may prove his salvation in later and
larger movements for the elimination
OF the saloon as business in Kenosba
The opening fusillade of Mr.. ,Teffris
/ simply confirms orr susn;c;ons +ba4