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Show LOCAL OPTION AND PROHIBITION. At the present time the anti-Saloon League Is quite active In Utah. Tho effort Is to stir up a' strong sentiment against tho saloon, and If posslblo secure the enactment of a local option op-tion law, with tho county as a unit. Next to prohibition for an entire state, this is considered consid-ered tho best method of curtailing the liquor trafllc. A local option law with tho county as a unit means that once a year tho people of any county may vote on the question of licensing licens-ing saloons. A majority voting "no," neither saloon nor drug store can be licensed to tralllc in liquor. Just as opponents insist that prohibition docs not prohibit, so do opponents Insist that local option is ineffective. They say that the man who wants to drink will get his liquor somo placo In 3omc way. Without entering into a discussion of cither prohibition or local option, we would present here some very interesting inter-esting figures from the records of four Massa-chusetts'towns Massa-chusetts'towns which had a license year sandwiched sand-wiched In between two prohibition years. Theso figures arc of the number arrests for drunkenness drunken-ness during six months in each city: CnOCKTON. Waltham. 1807 1808 1809 1800 1000 1001 Pro. Lie Pro. Pro. Lie. Pro. May 47 244 13 22 67 14 June .... 27 148 27 16 34 0 July 17 134 30 27 78 14 August... 3T 138 30 24 32 18 Sept 38 160 68 17 48 14 Oct GO 187 58 23 66 10 Totals.223 1017 222 120 345 S8 Salem. Peabody. 1809 1000' 1001 1695 1807 1808 Pro. . Lie Pro. Pro. Lie. Pro. May 28 132 23 1 70 10 June .... 33 133 10 7 00 10 July 30 141 40 0 60 0 August... 47 122 28 7 .. 72 U Sept 35 101 20 10 00 8 Oct.' 32 130 17 7 82 4 Totals. 221 730 160 49 418 44 Do these figures indicate that prohibition, though lacking the greatest effectiveness, Is really any sort of a failure? Or is It possible that the drinker, while drinking as much under prohibition refuses to get drunk as often? May the Lord, or tho anil-Saloon League, hasten the time when the licensed saloon Is no longer a blot on our civilization. If local option will help that time to reach us quickly, let's have it. |
