The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1916-03-31
PARMLEY PLEADS
The Benefits and Privileges Of
Dry Town

The Dement'S and PrlVl leges OF
Dry Town
The meeting of the civic league
last Monday evening was addressed
by Hon. j. w. Parmley, the
well-known good roads advocate
and the father of the Yellowstone
Trail. He said that viii lie he had
come to Milbank on an invitation
to speak on the municipality and
the saloon he thought those present
would probably not pardon him if
he failed to say a few words on the
road question, and he told Of a
meeting of road supervisors in Day
county where it had been voted to
establish certain lines Of road lead
ing to the principal market places
and that on these roads a systemic
ed expenditure Of all road money
should be made under a competent
road builder, and not frittered
away in useless and some times
harmful attempts of different
road overseers working at cross
purposes. Some of the Day county
men claimed that the roads Of the
county have received more benefit
during the past two years under
a county system than they had in
thirty years Of previous work ,and
Mr.. Parmley recommended the
adoption of the system to Grant
and other counties
The speaker gave a review OF the
saloon question in Ipswich from
the time when the place was a
frontier town, with all that implies,
to the day a few years ago, when
the saloon was banished by the
vote Of the business interests Of the
+ town, and c o m m IN y. For
some years steadily increased
vote against the saloon was given
until now the advocates of license
are unable to muster enough 81 gn-
ers to petition to secure a vote
on the question and the probabilities
are that scarce dozen votes would
be cast in the town for the return
Of the saloon, SO we'll satisfied are
, the people of Ipswich with this
liquor droath.
: The first dry victory was won by
one vote and that one vote was cast
: by state university boy who came
all the way from Vermlion to cast
!. his vote in his home town; the
! young man missed the train at
Aberdeen, and walked the - miles
| to Ipswich and reached there in
| time to cast the one vote needed to
make the town dry. He says, the
next election we carried by LOT to
/ S4; the next by 123 to SO, or 46
majority and the next time from 80
votes for the saloon It dropped
down to Is, and they gave up the
fight. A full-tielged millennium
didn't dawn all at once in Ipswich,
neither will it in Milbank because
your town has gone dry. But since
we have had dry Ipswich we have
made more improvements than in
all the preceding years since the
town started. We put in an up to
date water system. We built an
engine house and pump station.
We put in an elecric lighting plant
We put in water works system
| without a dollar Of blood money
| from saloon and we stand ready
! any day to accept the challenge
! from any town to compare taxes
and advantage We have built roads
financed chautauquas, lyceums base
ball teams and constantly maintain
| a Womans rest room. Milbank
occupies a strategic position. Don I
wait to see what the other towns
are going to do, or for the state
to make you dry. Don't wait like
some politicians to see which way
the procession is moving and ther
steal the drum majors stick. The
! whole state is watching you.
Mr.. John r. Birch in another
column announces himself candi.
date for reelection. Mr.. Birch
made a very acceptable record ir
his previous terms as representa-.
tive, particularly as an advocate
for fair dealing in temperance leg.
islation, and to his energetic action
on this line was due the passage of a
bill defining what a freeholder
means in relation 70 petitions fol
saloon licenses. The measure was
a most necessary one to give thu
dry voters in the small commun.
tiles fair opportunity to keep out
the saloon nuisance. The temper
ance people throughout the county
will do we'll to see that Mr.. Birch re
ceives the support he is entitled t.
for his position on this question.