The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1918-08-15
State PUBLIC,
SAFE:' BOARD
! EXPLAINS new
BOOZE ORDER
Plummer and Red Lake Falls
Conditions Stencil to All
Decent People.
COMPLAINTS POUR IN i:
TO ABA'TIE i CONDITIONS
Red Lake County Attorney
Appears to Defend the
Liquor P dlers. 8
II --gs1 yts-SZy sSg--ss EF, -

": The order issued by the Minnesota
Public Safety commission yesterday,
made "bone dry" Red Lake county,
the sole remaining wet county in
northern Minnesota. It put out Of
business at once five saloons and two
liquor houses at Red Lake Falls and
two saloons and two liquor ware
houses in the village of Plummer.
Dealers are given 10 days to remove
their stocks to where liquor selling
is permitted legally. =
Ravages Widespread.
The ediekgputs an end to sal- li-
censed liquor selling north of Little
Falls which rs the nearest oasis for
northwestern Minnesota, North Da-
kota and western Canada. It declares
: that thefs sale of liquor as it has been
conducted in Red Lake county "has
interfered with and is interfering
with the production of food and with
the health and good habits of men
of draft age, and Is interfering with
the efficiency Of the application Of
the the military and civil, industrial
resources of the states of Minnesota
and North Dakota. =. & .Sz> ;,@. .Es%%.
The order cancels at once all cex-
listing saloon licenses and prohibits
the villages from issuing new ones
and Governor: Burnquist will take all
necessary steps to enforce the order
of the commission, =.
= Clear Reasons Given. : .s :,
In issuing the order, the commits
sion made clear Its reasons, saying:
tsAlmost from the date of it's Or
>ganization, complaints in the form of
letters, affidavits and petitions in rap
idly increasing volume have reached
the commission denouncing intoxi-
eating liquor conditions in the city
of Red Lake Falls and the village of
Plummer and appealing for relief.
The complains mentioned have been
by thousands of people largely resi-:
dents Of dry territory outside. of Red
Lake county. Tx E :"
"The complaints are that the enor-
nous quantities of intoxicating Ii
1aquors distributed from Red Lake
Falls and Plummer were and are de-
bauching and demoralizing the man
power on the farms and men of draft
age in northwestern Minnesota and
northeastern North Dakota, seriously
affecting the production of foodstuffs
and the military resources Of the ter
.ritory described, and thus in meas
ure interfering with the successful
conduct of the pending war with the
Central powers of Europe.
Reluctant to Interfere.
From the beginning the commits
sion has been extremely reluctant to
interfere with the local affairs of any
community, taking the position that
the local authorities ought to be re-
quired to enforce the laws and main
tain order in their respective COM
munities. ..@:
'In some instances local officials
falling to enforce the laws in their
localities have, on the recommends
tions of the commission, been sus-
pended by the governor, and in some
cases suspension and removal have
proved sufficient to remedy bad con-
ditions. ~v~s
"The case now before the commits
sion is peculiar in it's facts owing to
the situation of Red Lake Falls and
Plummer, the only wet towns in
Northern Minnesota. Red Lake -coun-
ty coutains only twelve townships
Red Lake Falls, the county seat, con-
tains population of 1000 or $500
with five saloons and two liquor sup
ply houses. The population of Plum
mer is from $50 to $50 with two sa-
looms and two wholesale beer ware
houses -
. Big Liquor Imports.
''It appears from the testimony of
the agent of the Great Northern Rail-
way company, testifying from his
freight records, that from Jan. 1,
1918, until the day before he testi-
fed, which was June II, 1918, or
period of five and two-thirds months,
there was delivered by the Great
Northern railway to consignees in the
city of Red Lake Falls, 43s,91o