The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1917-04-06
How Illinois Nearly
Went Dry
(From Champion OF Fair Play

| Through the foolhardlnesS oil an If
esponsible representative o. Louis
vile whisky house, the result of the
vote that defeated the Prohibition
bill at Springfield last Wednesday
might have been different, and there
by hangs tale OF how one insignifi-
cant individual might have thrown
thousands of liquor dealers out OF
business in Illinois.
One Nathan, the Chicago represent
ativc of the firm of Wright & Taylor,
distillers of Louisville, Ky, has made
several visits to the liquor dealers
headquarters ostensibly to express his
anxiety as to the wet and dry fight in
the Legislature, and at last inveigled
President Kunde in giving him let
ter expressing the seriousness of the
situation at Springfield.
| Armed with this letter Nathan went
| forth and declared to his customers
and friends in the liquor business that
| his firm had donated $4,000 towards
/ the fight in Illinois. When as a mat
ter OF fact while the firm OF Wright
& Taylor arc honored members of
/ the National Wholesale Liquor Deal
ers' Association, whose mission is to
protect the trade at the national cap
ital, they do not belong to the Dis
tillers' and Jcbbers' Association OF
! Illinois and do not contribute one
cent towards the defense of the trade
of their customers in Illinois.
Reports of the braggadocio utter
ances of the irresponsible Nathan
reached the headquarters, but little at
tention was paid to them until it was
noised abroad that some clever Stats
tician had been busy with the argu-
ment that if one firm in Louisville do
| ing but limited business in Illinois
could afford to give up $4,000 what
would other and larger outside firms
contribute, which added to that which
the local dealers would have to Chip
in would make "slush" fund of STU
pendous figures.
All this reached the cars of NUM-
Der of the wet members of the Legis-
lature who held an Indignation meet
ing on Saturday afternoon last and
determined that if they voted as they
had promised against the Prohibition
bill, they would be accused of
participating in this "slush' fund
which would Snug their good name
as long as they were in political life.
An ultimatum was drawn up and
signed by no less than p wet mem
bers to the effect that if any such
"slush" fund existed they knew moth
| ing about it nor would they be par
ties to it, and in order to protect their
good name would either have to re-
fuse to vote or vote in favor of the
bill.
| Much CONSERVATION existed among
the leaders of the vets at this sud-
den change of affairs from sure vic
tory to a sure defeat. Scouts were
sent out to run down the rumor with
the above results, and it wasn't until
a few hours of the call of the roll that
satisfactory explanation was given
and all could once more breathe
freely.
Thus can be plainly seen how the
actions Of one man to curry favor with
his customers came nearly putting the
entire trade in Illinois out of business.
1t is said that this is the same
Nathan, who a few years ago, was
head and front of concern known
as 1.-THE Combined Distillers of Ken
lucky" one of those fly by nights
which have heeced so many saloon
keepers and have been so frequently
exposed by the Champion of Fair
Play, and full record of which we
have. Nathan had as partner at that
time one Louis Haas. Nathan's name
appeared sometimes as Norton and at
others as Northam, for what reason
we leave our readers to judgc.>