Petitions recently were circulated in the city of Lafayette requesting the board of county commissioners to refuse to grant licenses for the sale of liquors in unincorporated towns of the county. A copy the petition was presented to the publisher of the (Lafayette) Leader, and his signature was requested. The publisher of this paper was compelled to withhold his signature from the paper. This action was the result of honest convictions, and for various reasons, one of which is that it is no affair of the citizens of this town if gallons are located in other places. A man is master only of his own household. If his neighbor wishes to attend church, or if he prefers to spend his time at the saloon, it is, generally speaking, none of his concern.
But the fight is to be brought closer to home, and petitions now are being presented to the voters of Lafayette, praying that the question of license or no license — saloons or no saloons — be submitted to the voters of this city at the spring election.
Continue reading “Reprints: 1908 – The Leader and the Liquor Question”