642 



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OWENS VALLEY, CAL., WET, 35 PRISONERS 



IN jail; dry, jail empty. 

 The Rural Californian, in writing up 

 Owens Valley as a fruit region, mentions 

 incidentally the following: 



It appears that Owens ^'alley a year ago was vot- 

 ed dry. At that time their county jail contained 

 thirty-five prisoners: to-day that jail is empty, and 

 there is not one criniinal case before the court. A 

 recent election on local option upheld the present 

 policy that Owens Valley would continue dry for 

 two years at least. 



Now, then, with the above facts facing us 

 (and there are hundreds of similar ones 

 coming uji every day) , how can any man 

 who pretends to be a good citizen, to say 

 nothing about being a professing Christian, 

 or how can any man of good common sense, 

 vote wet ? 



the drink habit — by one who knows 

 what he is talking about. 

 Josh Billings once said, "It is a bad plan 

 to tell lie's," and added that he knew by 

 "experience." Now right here our long- 

 time friend Chip Henderson, of Murfreesbo- 

 ro, Tenn., sends us a newspaper clipping in 

 regard to the evils of the saloon traffic; and 

 the man who gives us this evidence is one 

 who knows by sad "experience" what he 

 is talking about. 



Mankato, Minn., Sept. 30.— Ben F. Parker, who 

 once owned 38 saloons in Des Moines, la., is trying 

 to make restitution for the past by working for 

 temperance as hard as he used to work for intem- 

 perance. He has been lecturing here, and will lec- 

 ture in other parts of Minnesota. Later he will go 

 to Towa. and eventually to Des Moines. 



With all the authority that belongs to a brand 

 plucked from the burning he lambasts the business 

 in which he was formerly engaged. "The curse of 

 mankind," he said in a lecture at the Congrega- 

 tional church here, "is the liquor-drinking habit. 

 I have owned and controlled 38 branches of the 

 devil's sin-producing gin-shops. I want you to re- 

 alize that you are listening to a former practical 

 dealer in the wages of sin, and not to the vapor- 

 ings of an on-looker. 



" I was the acknowledged champion extra heavy- 

 weight dispenser of the heaviest of all woes: and 

 when I tell you that the liquor business is the 

 curse of the human race I am talking from the 

 standpoint of one who has witnessed the results 

 every day in the year from 38 angles, and not 

 through the bell end of a funnel. 



" I defy any man to present a single argument 

 that will stand the acid of criticism in favor of the 

 liquor game. I have seen the working man spend 

 the money for drink that ought to have bought 

 shoes for his children. I have watched the busi- 

 ness man spend money over the saloon bar that 

 belonged to other persons: and 1 have heen part i- 

 ceps criitiinix to more woe than the bubonic plague 

 ever spread in its most aggravated form. 



" I tell you that the drunkard is more to be pit- 

 ied than censured. He is a helpless weak-brained 

 idiot, and is fostered in his prostration by the evils 

 of his surroundings. If all men were determined 

 that way, the saloon would soon go out of business: 

 but, unfortunately, most men are weaker than 

 their environments, and fall by the allurements of 

 vice. It is the absolute removal of these surround- 

 ings that will assure the betterment of society: 

 and the stamping-out of the saloon, the brewery, 

 and the distillery is the only practical means by 

 which the evil can be exterminated." 



Parker was for many years one of the noted char- 

 acters of Des Moines. Backed by brewery interests 

 he established a chain of saloons, more than dou- 

 ble the number owned by the biggest saloon trust 

 in Chicago. The evils of the business finally be- 

 came unbearable to him and he gave it up. 



leaningrs in Bee Culture 



He has for some time been announcing his inten- 

 tion of going on the temperance platform and at- 

 tacking the business in which he was formerly en- 

 gaged on such a large scale. In person he is as un- 

 usual as his career has been. He weighs about 

 three hundred pounds, is forceful in demeanor and 

 impressive in his makeup. His temperance lec- 

 tures are attracting wide attention. 



OFF FOR FLORIDA ONCE MORE. 



On Nov. 7, after casting my vote, Mrs. 

 Root and I expect to start for our Florida 

 home; therefore all communications, after 

 Nov. 1st, for A. I. Root, should be directed 

 to Bradentown, Fla., instead of Medina, O. 

 Now let me give you, in a friendly way, a 

 caution. During the past summer, with 

 two or three stenographers right at my el- 

 bow I have been able to answer letters 

 promptly, and sometimes dictate good long 

 ones. But down in my Florida home, with- 

 out a stenographer, I can not keep this up. 

 If you will, however, inclose an addressed 

 postal card, I will try to pencil a brief answer 

 of some kind to you. I can often do this 

 without looking or thinking about the ad- 

 dress of the writer; and I hope you will ex- 

 cuse me for saying that nothing wears on 

 my "threadbare" nerves like trying to de- 

 cipher addresses. You may think that in- 

 closing an addressed envelope will do as 

 well. Now, next to deciphering addresses, 

 folding and unfolding sheets of paper has 

 worn me out. I am trying to keep young, 

 even if I am 72 years old; but I shall not be 

 able to keep young if I try to keep up the 

 voluminous correspondence that I have been 

 keeping up during the past summer. You 

 may ask why I do not have a stenographer 

 in Florida. Because keeping her busy and 

 caring for her out in the country would be 

 an additional care and worry, especially as 

 I go to Florida to play with my ducks and 

 chickens, and take a big long rest and keep 

 out of doors. 



Now, after this explanation you can send 

 me as many letters as you please; but as a 

 rule I wish you would not make them very 

 long; and I hope you will not feel hurt, some 

 of you, if I ask you to use white paper; and 

 if you must use a pencil, get one that is nice- 

 ly sharpened and will make a black mark. 

 My mental energy has been sometimes al- 

 most used up in trying to read a long letter 

 written with a pencil, and so crowded to- 

 gether that it took the strongest light of day 

 and spectacles of strong power to make out 

 what it was all about. I know 1 ought to 

 feel happy, and I do feel happy, to know 

 that I have so many devoted friends, some 

 of them in the humblest walks of life. Quite 

 a few of the friends last winter would add; 

 "Mr. Root, do not bother yourself to try to 

 answer me. I do not expect any answer, 

 and my letter does not require it." When 

 you write that way, I do not care how many 

 letters you send. I like to carry home from 

 the postoffice a big pile of mail; and kind 

 words, especially suggestions in regard to 

 the ducks and chickens, are always gladly 

 welcomed. 



