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York 14609 USA (716) 482 -- 0300 -Phone (716) 288 - 5989 - Fa, The following article appeared in the Daily Planet, Chatham, during the LOCAL OPTION CAMPAIGN ISSUE OF DEC. 23-1911 and is the personal experience of the Editor of that Paper who was sent to Owen Sound and Gait to study existing conditions. The paper took no part in the controversy. Its columns were used freely by both parties and the article was favorably commented upon by fair minded Electors as an unprejudiced presentation of a difficult subject. K ^'A ir»y The Planet and Local Option The most interi'sting and important topic of conver- sation in Chatham at the present time is the suhject of Local Option. The ratepayers of this city are to-day face to face with what may very reasonably be termed a crisis in the history of Chatham, and as far as the great tpiestion of temperance is concerned, and the all-important interro- gation to be answered on the first of Januarv next is "Shpll Chatham. IX THE J^EST INTERESTS OF THE TEM- PICRAXCE CAUSE, inaugurate a system of what is termed Local Option; or shall the ratepayers consider it better to continue under the license system?" Since the campaign started in Chatham many state- ments have been made. Numerous letters have been writ- tf'n to the newspapers, and gentlemen from Local Oeption districts have been brought to the city to address meet- ings. It is a fact that much that has been said and written on this question has been of a very conflicting nature. Certain things have been contended by one side only to be flatly denied by the supporters of opposite views, until the ratepayers, for the most part, are, to say the least, some- wha*^ confused and in doubt as to which argument to be- lieve. It is also noticed that some of the statements on b'. ' '°s of the question strike a good many people as b. . .'ly exaggerated. The question is one over which r- r ' "oth sides of the argument naturally become en- tL ■ and their very enthusiasm may in a measure be responsible for any extravagant views they may hold. The Planet considers it a duty, as a reputable journal serving the public, to take every means possible to pro- vide the people with information upon public questions of moment, and to offer such advice as may be deemed expedient, after a careful consideration of the various features in evidence. In view of the above mentioned con- ditions, therefore, and as a result of the important bearing that the issue will have upon the every-day life of the citizens of this community, this Great Home Journal des- patched a representative to Owen Sound and Gait, where Local Option is now in force, with instructions to find out at first hand what the actual conditions are, and — with 900713 any personal prejudices he may have had entirely elimin- ated — to describe those conditions as they were found. He was also instructed to interview representative citizens, to obtain their views on this subject in dispute, and to report such statements as they were S'^^n to him. In this article he will attempt to give in a fair way and reasonable man- ner, a straightforward and honest fullillmcni of his assign- ment. In the first place, there is no possible argument in favor of Whiskey. Big thinking men the world over are agreed on this point. Whiskex is a curse, and there is no denying the fact. Now the question comes, what is the most effective vviiy of dealing with that curse and what action should be taken to most successfully CONTROL the misery that it creates? So that in this election, the question of temper- ance is not directly at stake. Most men ARE believers in temperance. The whole question is whether or not Local Option is a good TEMPERANCE measure, and whether or not it ANSWERS the purpose to which all temperance men and women are striving. Under Local Option, the public bars are closed, and all liquor stores are closed. If any man wishes to have liquor in his house for his own use, he may order it from a licensed town, and the liquor may be shipped in to him, but he may not offer it for sale, nor keep it in his posses- sion with the intention of selling it. So that this clears up one point. Local Option does not keep liquor out of the city. It merely prohibits people from SELLING it in the city. Any man can carry as much liquor as he desires into a Local Option district, and the law does not stop him. The first place visited was Owen Sound — a town that has been much quoted, in the present campaign. Owen Sound is a town of some 13,000 inhabitants, about the same size as Chatham. There are not many towns or vil- lages in the immediate vicinity whe. * liquor is sold, and it might very reasonably be pointed to as a concrete example of what Chatham would be under Local Option. The first impression, after a visit to (Dwen Sound, is that Local Option DOES NOT injure the business inter- ests of a town. /i ''■ This IS a bald statement, but it seems to be borne out by the facts in Owen Sound. The town is going ahead in leaps and bounds and everyone seems to be prospering to a very marked degree. Business is good in Owen Sound, and trade Mourishcs even though the bars are closed rpr l-^'^S^'^u!'*' ^'^"''"^^ ""^^''' ^° ^^y that Local Option C.KhAlES this prosperity in Owen Sound. The town is favorably situated and naturally must grow as a manu- facturing centre. Its n.erchants and manufacturers are wide-awake business men, and for that matter people have to live whether there is Local Option or not, and they have to buy things, creating trade and business, so that the statement is easily supported that Local Option does ot°her general business of a town one way or the Some of the business men who have identified them- selves actively in the Local Option controversy find that their opponents in the cause decline to buy in their stores m this way men on both sides have lost business, and they suffer through airing their views. But what they lose someone else gets, and the trade goes on just the same. It is a fact that since Local Option has been inaugu- rated in Owen Sound the Police Court cases of drunken- ness have greatlv increased. There are more drunken men making the r appearance in the police court to answer to charges of excessive drinking. Some people would lead you to believe that this proves that there are more drunken men in Owen Sound since Local Option carried, but this IS a pretty hard statement to support. evpn W^" ^^u"" '^'r^ P'^">' ^^"^°"^ P'^" for drinking even before the, got Local Option, but The Planet is in formed that the enforcement of the law under the license system was very lax. Six or seven months before Local Option earned, the government decided to be more strict n the enforcement of the license law in Owen Sound, and i5..PTf''^/?-^^^'""'" Inspector. This Inspector started out to do hi. duty and to "clean up" Owen Sound BeinJu 'f T'°"' ^^ '}"' ^''''^'' ^^^^ ^^^^ concerned. Before he had a good chance to show what he could do T nT!i n T-P'^'^'"^ the town under the Hcense system. thl Tn ^ ?" T' 'u '"'^ ^y *^" P^^P'^- Since that timi this Inspector has been giving the strictest enforcement of the Local Option Law that is possible. He is active in i.H- extreme in instituting prosecutions whenever he thiiks he has the least chance to succeed. He is assisted hy the police departin.-nt. who are more alert in arresting men Jor drunkenness and other crimes, and this mav -xc- count in a large measure for the big increa>e in the Jourt convictions. So this leads 'Hie Planet to place minor importance rvu \ir'/''"^ ^^'^^ convictions lor drunkenness havr IX- The police court records, however, show two things- *u- V-T*^^'^"^''^' ^^'" getting drunk in Owen Sound, and this drinking is leading them tr other crimes that are worse. c \\-^i"\'7^^'"^'^' Option has been proven ineffective in iA\ LNG men from the drinking habit— and it is thereby stamped as an incomplete and fallible TEMi'ERAN'CF measure. Alen can get liquor in Owen Sound, anv time they want it, and they can get enough of it to get gloriously drunk whenever they want to. o & / Then there is the argument of the Assessment, and he loss the town sustains in the way of taxes from the hotels. When Local Option passed in Owen Sound, the hotel men appealed to the court of revision for a reduction in their assessment, hut the appeal was thrown out. They appealed furt_h(r to the County Judge and he made a re- duction of 23 pe cent u their assessment. Since that time there was a gene incr ase in the assessment of 20 per cent., all over the cuy to answer the growing demands of the town, but that r. . 25 per r^nt. reduction for the ho el men still hold. Wuether the Countv Judge will sustain his own c .vhen the matter comes up again is another ques ,/hetber or not the County Judge of Kent would ti. the same kind of a stand in over-ruhng the court of rt ision in Chatham, should thev decide to leave the hotel as smmt as it is, is still anotheV question. No matter how oes. the question of reduced assessment is not regard, ; .e,,' 'slv n Owen Sound. 1 he town IS prosperous and t -^tt,.^ of a tew thousands of dollars in the assessment , ■ it > a very mate-ial extent. It would probably be the same in Chatham, as this city is prosperous too. Besides if the loss of a little money to a whole community were the strongest argu- ment against Local Option, and if Local Option i.-. proven a good thing, then this argument is unworthy of an honest man with a fueling for humanity, so in this contest it may be dismissed as h;.\ ing vrry little weif^ht. One oi" the greatest Ejections tliat residents .)f Jwen Sound have to Local Option is the fact that it divid-js the people of the town into two distinct nd sei)arate classes — Local Optionists and Anti-Local Optionists. This would not be so bad if llie distinction were forgotten except dur- ing a Local Option contest, hv it is not. The bitt t feel- ing has become a very imp(,i lant \rdvt of not only the social, but also the busii.ess and even the religious side of the life of the comnumity. Men will not deal with busi- ness men who hold ^ - josite views to their own on the sub- ject of Local Option. There is no give and take. The line is firmly drawn, and the peoi)le of Owen Sound are by no means a united people on any one subject. .'Ivery feature of civic life reflects back to the question of Local Option, and it is said to be impossible to get the people to "pull together" on any single civic project. In the cause of real temperance, it will be admitted that there are only two ways in which reform can be insti- tted — either by eliminating the drinking altc Tether, >r by regulating it. In other words, either stop it restrict the sale of it so that it will do the least harm. The license system does not ;ton i^ but under the present Ontario license law it IS regu'^^d and restricted. Local Option also does NO'i :top drinking, and so the whole question to be decided cccording to the accepted rules of debate is, "can the drinking be regulated BET- TER under Local Option than it can under the license sys- tem?" How is the drinking in Owen Sound REGULATED under Local Option? The drinking is all done SECRETLY. While a lot of it is detected by the Inspector and the police, as the court records show, the fact remains that the great bulk of the drinking goes undetected becaus the poHce and the Inspector, even though they are as alert as it is possible to he. C^VVCrr riXD it. THc hllnd pi^' nourishes in Owen S '«'. 'I'his i> admitted l)y even t friends of l.ocul UptiiMi. hut in i onversation with 'I'hc K-inet. tiie Inspector stated that as far as he knev there .••a^ not a single hhnd )i^ in Owen S'lunl ai tiie presuit itnie. TliiCV I ANXO'l' lih: LOCA'IKI). Drunl r d- ^'el h- (|uur. 'I'liev pet al! they want, and they get drunk, ^fiiig men j;et h r.v ' 'l t'lcy j^et all they want, no i..atter win tlier they 1 ,'l'»^n i" l><-" over 2\ or umle- 10 years of ag^e. How then i\(n-^ l.o'-.il ( )i.tioii R I'.l il'j ..XT!', the drinkinjj^of li(iU'>r in ( )wen Si>un(l? That is a fair (|ues(ion. The IManei was eidi.yhtened h.v an oflieiai autliority Upon the manner in whicii the hotels hreak the Kiw. i he har-room is leased to a young fellow »vho wants to take a chance on niakin,.r ^^ome money hy .selling i.(|Uor. lie car- ries his stock in a hottle in his hip pocket. \\ hen his cus- tomers come into the hrr-room he produces his I ottie and sells his drinks. Of course, he is careful to know, hefore the hottle is produc( 1, that all of the men in his har-room at the time are "h c wires." If there is any fellow of whom he is douhtful, he calmly says "Boys, there is noth- ing doing," and the crowd disperses and congregates a lit- tle later, minus the gentleman suspected of heing a spotter, or a dangerous man to sell to. Of course this '^chcme has its faults, and at some time or other the young li(|uor dea'- er with the leased bar-room is caught and charged with the illicit selling of whiskey. He is found guilty, probably, and given a hundred dollar fine. He is also told that if he ever comes up again on a similar charge, there will be no fine — he will be imprisoned. There have been some who have actually served time ff)r the second offence, but usu- ally they are not willing to take the chance. They go out of business immediately. They have in the most cases earned sufficient money to pay the fine and retire with a snug bank account. Instead of the Bar being put out of business, how-ever, it still goes merrily on only under the management of a new proprietor, who buys out the lease of the young man who was fined. In this way. the hotel proprietor? are immune from prosecution, and they realize good sum- jf money through leasing their bars. It is said that there are hotelmen in Owen Sound who are heartily in favor of Local Option, body and soul, because they are making rr ore money out of the selling of whiskey under Local Option than they did with the license Of course this is not all one-sided. It must be said in order to state the case fairly that the men who are able to wIV^.^^'k^^ ? ^ ^^^:^°°"^ ""der Local Option are all men rAv, <^u ?^?^' ^^^'^^^" '^^" 8^° ^"to court in the event ot the house being pinched" and swear thev didn't get a drink. In other words, he must have the reputation of be- ing ready to go into court and swear to a lie. So that one would think that this would reduce the number of men who would try to get a drink in a Local Option town. This IS true. The number IS reduced, but the men who don't drink in this way are the CASUAL drinkers-men whose desire to drink is not strong enough to cause governments to legislate to save them from the liquor evil. The drunk- ards, the men with the strong appetites, and the young men of the community are the ones who avail themselves of this opportumty to drink— the very men that the honest temperance men are trying to SAVE. Men with appetites for drink w,ll get the stuff if it is around anv place, and they will usually degrade themselves to anv extent to get it i5ecoming perjurers is a matter of small moment to them so long as they get their "booze." Young men are found to have a fascination for the exciting experience of "taking a chance. Stolen fruit to the ordinary young man is gen- erally sweeter than that which is on his father's tlble. 1 his is the class of people that the honest temperance man IS striving to save. They form the offenders against the Local Option Law in Owen Sound. The respectable drinkers have the hquor in their own homes. Drunkards will get hopelessly drunk anyway, if thev can get the liquor, no matter what system of law prevails. There are other .trmkers in Owen Sound who under the license sys- tem would go into a bar and take one or two drinks and go home, while under Local Option the experience is that when they get into a place where they can buy liquor they drink until they get drunk. ^ Owen Sound was a bad drinking town before Local Option passed, and it would not be expected that Local Option woud stamp out all the drinking. The statement IS confidently made, however, by responsible men who have watched events closely, that if the same determined effort were made to enforce the liquor license law as IS mad to enforce Local Option, there would be less drinkine in Owen Sound than there is right to-day. There can no doubt be found men in Owen Sound who dispute this Attcr all It IS a matter of opinion, as there has been no wav ot provmg It as yet. It is a big question, with plenty o'f room for argument on both sides, and it is a question upon which big-minded men are bound to differ. The Planet was caretul to mterviow only men who were looked upon as being representative citizens ,and broad-minded busi- ness men, with no personal interests in the liquor traflk and this was the essence of their vieU's. As an opinion from men who live under Local Option conditions, it does not necessarily have to be accepted, but it is worthv of at least passing consideration by people who are contemplat- ing the advisability of establishing similar conditions of civic lite. Other facts which appear on the surface in Owen i^ound while not very surprising, are worthv of consider- ation too A large number of young bovs 'carry around whiskey flasks m their hip pockets; people keep'liquoHn their homes who never before thought of doing so; men now buy a bottle whereas formerly they bought a drink- men who tormerly drank beer, now drink v?hiskey be- cause beer is too cumbersome to handle bv men who break the law in selling it. The temperance people admit most of this, but these facts are merely pointed to in order that people may come ^°\^^so"able decision as to whether Local Option REG- ULAILS the drinkn.g of hquor better than the hcense system. co.J^^^A^ '" ^''''" ^PV"^ '^^^ P^^"^t attended the police court. A man named Lewis was up for beating his wife ^o'.'nH^ ',-''°"^^"''r ^'''' ^'"^ ^^'y ""tS with which tO fore on ^I^^ i"^""'' h''^'' ¥^ '^"'" "P '^''^'^^ ^'^^^^ '^e- the 14th of October He was found guilty of being drunk and sentenced to 21 days. At the trial the other day the iW hu'^r' r^'J""'^ '^t '^^'^' ^^^^"^^ Lewis for beat- ing his wife stated on oath that since Lewis got out of jail sohVhrll^ ^^^uT:"" ^^^°''^'-' ^' ^^^ "--^^ drawn a soDer breath. He had been drunk CONTINUOUSLY ever since — almost two months, or a month and a halfu. His companions were bad and he coldn't keep away from it. He said that the stuff was shoved under his nose at every turn. The poHce magistrate sent him to jail for a month because, he said, HE KNEW WHAT IT MEANT FOR A DRUNKARD TO EE AT LIBERTY IN OWEN SOUND OVER CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR'S. These are plain facts, and are given merely for the information of Chathamites. Among the men interviewed by The Planet was Mr. Raven, a banker. He said that morally Local Option was bad. He went so far as to say it was a curse to Owen Sound. Mr. McLaughlin, head of a large biscuit manufac- turing concern, said he thought it would be better for Owen Sound to have licensed hotels, with a proper ad- ministration of the license law. He thought there would be less boys drunk under those circumstances. He said Local Option did not injure the business of the town, and he spoke very rationally in giving his views in a quiet, un- impassioned manner. He thought that the education of the people would do more to lessen drinking than strin- gent laws. He said it was his experience that the bulk of the business men of Owen Sound w'ere opposed to Local Option. M. D. Butchart, commonly referred to as the richest man in Owen Sound, with over $200,000 invested in real estate, mostly on the main street, and the president of the Men' sClub of that place, said he knew for a fact that Local Option was a failure. He had nothing to gain through making the statement. He had no interests in the liquor traffic, and Local Option doesn't inconvenience him in the least, as he keeps liquor in his house and al- ways has done so. He is not an excessive drinker. Ht is one of the most popular and respected men of Owen Sound. He did not think Local Option kept Owen Sound behind commercially, and it didn't prevent him from further investing money in real estate. At the present time he is building a new, handsome block on the main street. He affirms that Local Option has not lessened the drinking in Owen Sound. There is more "straight whis- key" drunk now, when formerly people took beer. He said, moreover, that there were 10 to 1 drunks on the 10 •1.^11 j-i- ;n streets now more than formerly. It leads men to take false oaths, and has a bad effect morally. He thought licensed hotels would further the temperance cause better than Local Option as it works in Owen Sound. Archie Hay, President and Managing Dirctor of th Northwest- ern Chair Company, with 600 workmen on his pay roll, said the meu who are in favor of Local Option wen' men the ^^''^'-* ^^'^'^^ "°' °^^^ ^^ nights to see what was going on. The men who know the ropes know that Local Option is a ^^^ failure as a temperance measure. He said he knew from personal knowledge that it was a failure. "Ask the em- ployers of labor," said he. "and find out the diftkultv thev have with their men since Local Option passed." Air. Hay told of a contractor in his factory who voted for Local Option. Some of the men under this contractor were "boozers." When they had licenses and any of his men got drunk he knew where to go to get them "to take them home and straighten them away. Now these men get drunk in blind pigs, and, instead of being off a day or two, they are off the job for weeks at a time, and the contractor doesn't know where to find them. That contractor, who was an earnest advocate of Local Option when it was first brought up, is now utterly opposed to it. Ex-Mayor Mat- thew Kennedy, in business in Owen Sound for fifty years, said there was too much theory in Local Option and not enough practicability. He had had more trouble with his men being drunk since Local Option passed than he had formerly. Two or three of his men had been off since election night. He did not say that the same might not occur under a license system, but the trouble has bv no means been reduced. Local Option has failed in O'wen Sound to measure up to the standard set for it by its champions. Mr. Kennedy admitted the evils of intemper- ance, but he thought the license system if properly worked would regulate it better than Local Option. When Local Option passed, there were four policemen. Now there are six required to enforce the law. Mayor Lemon said per- sonally he was opposed to Local Option, "bone and sinew." He thought it was a poor temperance measure. Owing to the fact that as Mayor he represents both fac- tions, he did not wish to give an interview in his official capacity as Mayor. A large number of the merchants 11 "il> t_tV'. - -It, '!'£'. .-i-'^ <.^jsmiKi*fmw^!^-Mimpyj)iatm^\. were also interviewed. While they were for the most part utterly opposed to Local Option, they did not wish their names used as it would hurt their local trade should their statements get back to Owen Sound people. These excerpts from interviews are given merely for mformation that the people of Chatham may know what the representative people of Owen Sound think of Local OpUon as It IS found there. They are given merely as OPINIONS, and they should be so regarded and taken for whatever the people of this city think they are worth. Probably the most important interview was with Rev. Dr. Daniel, a former pastor of the Park Street Methodist church of Chatham, and a man well known and highlv respectcd by all men of this city. Dr. Daniel has been in Owen Sound for the same length of time that Rev. Mr. Morris has been in Chatham. The Planet representative met him on the main street in Owen Sound, and inciden- tally asked him for his opinion of Local Option. "Well," said the doctor in a serious manner, "that is a very hard question to answer. I find that it is a very big question, and I do not consider that I have been in Owen Sound long enough to give a definite statement as to whether Local Option is a success or a failure in this town. I find that it is r. question upon which big, broad-minded men— Christian men— differ widely. I find that there are so many preponderous features connected with it that it would be impossible for me to form a definite opinion of whether it is good or bad." Now this is sensible talk. If all the men of both sides would take the sensible view that Dr. Daniel takes on this great question there would be less bitterness in Local Op- tion campaigns, and we feel justified in adding that it would be better for the real cause of temperance. If Local Option were a glowing success in Owen Sound and Dr. Daniel knew it, we believe he would be glad to come out boldly and say so. If Local Option were a failure and Dr. Daniel knew it, we feel justified in stating that we know Dr. Daniel well enough to venture that he would not hesitate to express his opinion to the public. Dr. Daniel has been in Owen Sound as a Methodist pastor for almost six months, and yet he is undecided. This goes to show the proposition that the casual visitor is "up 12 S ,h ! ^°" '" '"^""8="' 'he working of Local Opfon there, and on this account con.dcrable dependence must be p aced upon the opinions of men who have been here all the t.me-men who are certainly in a position o know, and men who are in every way represenutive and responsible citizens. rnr^AJJ^^- ^^^"^^^eprcsentative also visited Gait Here conditions were found to be quite different than they are in gT The ho, 1 1^ ^'"^^"^^ ^^^^ th-e are no bSpig ver^,ttleX'o°1i ^sXn GaU-'xt P^S^ '"^ victions have not been affected one way or he other s nee" reducti^rin"tr'''^'- ^'^ "^^"^^ ^' ^^^ assessment a" d reduction in tax receipts is too small to be considered at all. Business is not injured, and Gait is growing as a oros Eels'tfrnuchT'/.^^P^^ ^" Prett/wenTa'ii?fi:d'and ance JftLT^ agi ation over the question of temper- Lorpl nJ^ u' "i^;^ '^"^^ community in Ontario where Local Option should work well it is Gait. .rof ^^'^- °4^°"^se there is a reason for this. Gait's "sal H^uris'L^-rd^viiiiter";^^^^ ..on passed in Gait, the number of fare" o,. the d^cTrk rai"!' :h7.7lT^^''^-'^i ''f'l ^"^ Preston his i^re^d by aoout 18,000 a month. The youne men and thp A.Trl ^et&'^pTclaffr '° ^T'" v"-"h'V <ir1n td gei arunk. Special policemen have been placed on th^ Int^ andVrdersfnc^T'''"',';^^ '"= P"^P°- o'f preseTvi^ ^w Has i^aturaud : ha7 o^ufs^r" 'c^^ t ween^LVn '^^ ■ police court records for drunks in Pre.tnn w , li j as a result of Gait men getting dru'k in Preston Mr ^als H« hI^lMh7J r ' ^^^'^'^"^S to private individu- ^t^^^ t^^tc^S^te'^h "^"'^^•^^^^'^ ^^^^^e between the lOalt iacihtate the easy importation of lir , .» I 13 .^., These are the facts, so it will be seen that Owen Sound is a far better comparison for Chatham than Gait. Chatham and Owen Sound are more parallel cases. In Gait many merchants — big merchants— \ycre found to be opposed to Local Option as it works in Gait. The police magistrate says it does some people good and others harm. He also added as an opinion that if men are sober only when they can't get a drink the proper thing would be to lock up the drunkards. Gait's growth is attributed by the Local Optionists to the fact that the bars are closed. Preston is growing, too, however, and Berlin beats them both, and the bars are open in Preston and Berlin, so there seems to be very little in this argument. There are some men in Gait who supported Local Option who are opposed to it now. Mr. Keyes, the Chief of the Fire Department and the proprietor of a livery stable in Gait, said that "it made a bar-room out of his stable." He said he puts to bed in his stables on an aver- age of four drunken men a week — men, he says, who would not get drunk under the license system. They get drunk because they now buy a bottle whereas formerly they bought a drink. Other men can be found who say that Local Option is all right in Gait. So this is the evidence as it was received, and we have tried to give it out in a fair, reasonable and honest report. It is by no means a one-sided question. We agree with Rev. Dr. Daniel, of Owen Sound, that it is a question upon which even ardent Christian men hold opposite views, and it is something that men should figure out for themselves in their own minds, after a careful consideration of all e information it is possible to gain on the question. Ex g- gerated statements should be disregarded and extrava- gant claims should be cHminated on both sides. A man can be a true temperance man and still oppose Local Op- tion. It is — as we have stated before — purely a question of whether or not Local Option answers the cause of real temperance reform. As long as whiskey is MANUFACTURED it WILL be sold and it WILL be consumed. The only way in which temperance reform can be brought about is through 14 • thcr destroying tht source of supply, or placing proper restrictions upon the sale of the product. And. as we point. 1 out earlier in this article, the people of Chatham should vote solely upon the question of whether or not Local Option REGULATES the selling of Whiskev bet- ter than the license system, for it has been shown and proven that NEITHER system will ELLMIXATE the drinking. Th Planet's view on the subject, as a newspaper, is quite well known among the Local Option workers. The Planet believes that the Whitney Government has provid- ed Ontario with an excellent liquor license law. and that if this law were STRICTLY enforced it would regulate the drinking, and work in the interests of real temperance better than Local Option is doing in Owen Sound. We admit that the law has not been strictly enforced right here in Chatham, but we believe, as a matter of principle, that if the temperance people would devote themselvs to bringing about an absolutely strict enforcement of the liquor license law, they would be better satisfied with the results themselves than they would be under Local Op- tion. This is The Planet's view of the case, and we give it for what it is worth. Sir James Whitney stated a short time ago in one of his characteristic utterances that "a public man who did not have— and did not express— an bpinion on a public question is a public fool." We agree with .Sir James, and we also believe that what applies to a public man applies with equal force to a public newspa- per. We also believe that in all fairness men in the liquor business should be compensated in the event of the pass- ing of such a measure as Local Option, but then, that rais- es another question in which there is room for more con- troversy. The Planet considers it a duty to provide all possible information to the people on public questions that affect their liberties, their financial interests and their moral wel- fare. It was with the desire to provide such information that a representative was sent to Owen Sound and Gait. While The Planet has, as a result of these investigations, stated a conviction upon the issue at stake, we are rather 16 inclined to leave it largely an open question for men to think out for themselves. No man is forced to accept the opinion of any other man, or any nev^spaper, or public in- situation, unless it appeals to his better judgment and his inward personal convictions. On this account The Planet will not try to force any particular Local Option opinion upon the people of Chatham. We have no words of con- demnation for any man who, as a result of personal con- victions, supports either side in the present fight. We rather incline to the opinion expressed by Dr. Daniel that good Christian men are bound to differ in regard to it, but they should give their opponents credit for being just as sincere as they are themselves. The Planet would wish to discourage all personalities in the present campaign. Let the issue be well discussed, but let it be remembered that abuse is the last refuge of the man with a poor cause. With this article The Planet closes its part in the campaign. While every opportunity will be gi- en to the opposing forces to air their views in print. The Planet will have no further comment to offer. We feel that in gidng the information contained in this article we have perform- ed our duty as a self-respecting public journal, and we have tried to perform that duty conscientiously and with- out prejudice toward either section of the conflicting par- ties. It is now "up to" the ratepayers to personally figure out the decision in their own minds, and decide the verdic^ for themselves. 16 •'"'TB- "WMMiV- «- ." I i-.L-m^-**--' •.-i.-.TT. . ^Aj-m. ^hii I