Fergus County Democrat., 1916-11-02

, The following article, written by
Halsey n. Watson, formerly we'll
known newspaper man of Lewistown
but now located at North Yakima,
Washington, will doubtless prove OF
interest to the people OF Fergus
county
Written by Halsey X. Watson of
North Yakima, Washington. at the re-
quest OF Mrs. Geo. j. Wiedeman.)
You ask me to set down briefly
my impressions of the results of pro-
hibition in Washington.
1t must be borne in mind that as
prohibition went into effect in Wash
ington only on the first OF January
last, ten months ago, we have so far
reaped all OF the disadvantages and
only some OF the advantages. Such
losses as occurred from the operation
of the law. cessation OF revenue, va
Gated buildings, an idle brewery, loss
of employment by many, etc, took
place Immediately, while it took sew
eral months for the individuals who
had purchased large quantities of
liquor just before the law took effect
to exhaust their supply and the great
est benefits from prohibition are
those which are felt indirectly-some
of them not for years, or perhaps a
generation.
or what | have to say it must also
be taken into consideration that | am
writing of effects in North Yakima,
where | have lived for five years;
frankly admit that the benefits in the
first ten months have not been as
great in Seattle, Aberdeen, HOaquim,
Everett, Tacoma or other cities on the
coast or Puget Sound and probably
not as great in Spokane, the large city
of the eastern part of the state. In
Seattle, for instance, it is very easy
to land booze from boats and difficult
for the officers to find it after it is
landed Besides a strong preponder-
ence Of public opinion is necessary to
the efficient enforcement of any law
The great majority in Seattle were
opposed to prohibitions; the rest Of
the state forced it upon Seattle and
other large centers. But Seattle men
have told me that were the question
again submitted to Seattle the major
ity of the voters would favor pr,ohi-
bition.
North Yakima is city Of 10000 reo-
Pile; an inland, agricultural town with
two railroads. The majority for pro-
hibition in North Yakima two years
ago was 500; in the county of which
North Yakima is the county seat,
the majority for prohibition was up
wards OF 5000. The sentiment of the
people supports the officials in the
enforcement of the law and it is we'll
enforced. We have some bOotleggers;
we always had them, even when we
had 2S saloons. We have some drug
stores that sell liquor, but no larger
number than we had before prOhibi-
tion was adopted. Some people get
drunk, so do some people commit MUIR
der, others robbery and others COM
nit suicide. Prohibition has not i'll
ten months made over the human race,
not even that small portion of 1t which
lives in North Yakima and Yakima
county and there will probably always
be some crime committed, no mat
ter how many laws we pass or how
severe they are. The millennium
is not at hand just because we closed
the saloons and limited to small guam
titles the amount of intoxicating liq-
uor which individuals could ship in,
under supervision, for their own use.
But the law has greatly benefited
social and moral conditions. Not even
the liquor men are asking the return
of the open saloon Their own litera-
ture, supporting bill to permit the
sale of home brewed beer, admits
that the saloon was an evil and never
should be restored
7 cannot quote positive figures be-
cause | did not come to Lewistown
prepared to make prohibition speeches
or write prohibition articles. But |
can approximate results.
Since the first of January arrests
for drunkenness have fallen off two
thirds and nowadays every man seen
in a condition approaching drunken
ness is arrested and fined-in North
Yakima, mind you--not less than $40
or given 10 days in jail. The Old
habit of taking a drunken man to his
room or to a friends room, or to his
own home to sleep it off, has passed.
Now they go to Jail and their of.
fense and their name is public. Pub
licity is in itself a great corrective
OF the evil and the newspapers OF
North Yakima publish the news. nc
matter who it hits.
Arrests for all purposes, including
drunkenness, have since the first OF
January been reduced one-half. the
great reduction, OF course, being in
drunkenness and vagrancy. The gang
which made the greatest trouble for
the police, the sporting element. the
saloon buns, the chair warmers, the
gamblers, the hangers on, the pick
pocket, ETC., etc. have left us. l nave
seen two or three of my old friends
in Lewistown since l arrived here
and the majority of them are prob
ably in Butte, Helena and other Mon
tana towns prepared to vote wet
here this fall, as they did in Nortl
Yakima two years ago. The number
of registered voters in our "bloody
Fifth ward" the home of this bad class
on the edge of the old red light dis
trict, has been reduced in two years
from about 72O. as l remember, tt
$50 or thereabouts. None of us are
sorry they have gone. Their places
in the electorate have been taken b,
good citizens, law abiding and indus
trious, who have come into other por
tions of the city.