USA > Kansas > Labette County > History of Labette County, Kansas, from the first settlement to the close of 1892 > Part 27
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It was not long after the town of Labette was started until saloons were opened and run without the sanction of law, and yet without re- ceiving any great amount of molestation from the law officers.
During 1872 and 1873 there was little organized effort at any place in the county to prevent the obtaining of license, or for the purpose of see- ing that the law against illegal sales was practically enforced. Some temperance meetings were held, and some protests were made by the temperance people, but nothing very effective was done.
THE CRUSADE SPIRIT.
The spring and summer of 1874 was one of the most exciting times upon the temperance question that had ever been known in the county. The spirit of the "crusaders," which in many places in the East had led the women to make raids on the saloons and pour liquor into the gutter, manifested itself in this county in a milder but scarcely less determined form. No saloons were raided, but in Oswego the women held prayer meetings in the churches, and visited the saloons and requested the pro- prietors to give up their business. Of course these requests were not complied with. But the ladies' organization was kept up, the entire city was thoroughly canvassed, immense petitions were secured praying the Council to issue no license at all, and demanding that the law requiring a petition of a majority of the residents of the ward to be presented be- fore a license should be issued, should be enforced. At that time the law of the State required a petition of a majority of the residents of the township or ward, male and female, to be presented requesting such ac- tion before any dramshop license could be granted, but provided that the mayor and council of cities of the first and second class might, by ordi- nance, dispense with such petition. At the request of the ladies the Mayor called a special meeting of the Council, which was held on May 4, 1874, at which time a large delegation of ladies appeared before the Council and presented their petitions, and had several arguments made in favor of carrying out the spirit expressed therein. Prior to this no ordinance had been passed dispensing with the necessity of a petition, but the Council had entirely disregarded the law requiring a petition, and had uniformly granted license on the simple petition of the applicant himself. It being now apparent that such action would not be tolerated, at the close of the argument in favor of granting the ladies' petition a
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motion was made instructing the committee to prepare and present an ordinance to dispense with the necessity for a petition by a majority of the residents of the ward, as they were authorized to do by statute. The vote on the passage of this motion resulted in a tie of the Council, and the Mayor gave the casting vote in opposition thereto, thus establishing the rule that licensed saloons could not exist in any ward until a majority of the adult residents thereof, male and female, should petition therefor. For this action the Mayor received a vote of thanks from the ladies' as- sociation.
Less than a week later another meeting of the Council was called, at which an ordinance dispensing with the necessity for a petition contain- ing the names of a majority of the residents of the ward before a license could be granted was introduced, and on motion to adopt the same the vote of the Council, as at the previous meeting, stood a tie, and the Mayor gave the casting vote in favor of its passage, and thereby inau- gurated the policy in the form of law, which since the incorporation of the city had been practiced in defiance of law, of allowing the Mayor and Council to grant license without an express wish of the people there- for. This action on the part of the Mayor and Council created great excitement. A public meeting was immediately called, and strong reso- lutions of disapprobation of this action were unanimously passed. Tem- perance meetings continued to be held and public sentiment aroused.
At the time Oswego was having this earnest action, rousing temper- ance meetings were held weekly at Parsons, and were addressed by lead- ing and influential citizens, as well as by the clergy. A little later, similar steps were taken at Chetopa. Public meetings were held and speeches made disapproving the licensing of saloons, and petitions were circulated and largely signed asking the Council to grant no license until petitioned for by a majority of the residents of the ward as required by law. These petitions, however, were unavailing, and at the close of the month a large number of saloons were licensed over the earnest protest of the temperance people.
The temperance people were now intent on preventing the issuance of license in the cities unless the same were petitioned for by a majority of the residents of the ward ; and at the county temperance convention held on October 6, 1874, on motion of Nelson Case it was unanimously -
"Resolved, That we are in favor of the immediate repeal of the proviso of section 1 of the dramshop act, and request our entire delegation in the Legislature to use their utmost exertions to secure such result."
Early in 1874 a party decided it would be a profitable thing to open a saloon in Mound Valley, and set about obtaining a petition asking the Commissioners to grant him a license for that purpose. As soon as this
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was known a public meeting was called and held at the school-house, on February 2d, and rousing temperance speeches were made, and a deter- mination expressed that no saloon should be opened in that place. A remonstrance was circulated, and a large majority of the people signed the same. During the winter of 1873 and 1874 the temperance sentiment in Chetopa was sustained by the maintenance of the weekly temperance literary society, in which a temperance paper was read, temperance de- bates were had, and all phases of the question were discussed. Nearly all of the temperance workers in the place took part in this society.
REFORM CLUB.
On July 8, 1877, quite a number of the men of Oswego who were in the habit of indulging somewhat freely in intoxicating liquors organized themselves into a reform club, with William Wells as president and L. C. Howard as secretary. The purpose of the club was to assist its mem- bers either in abstaining altogether from the use of liquor, or to abstain therefrom excepting under certain conditions.
BREWERIES.
As early as 1870, Max Muehlschuster started a brewery on the Neosho river at Chetopa, and soon opened in connection therewith a beer garden on the east side of the river. These were conducted by him until his death, in July, 1871.
In 1870 a building for a brewery was erected in the north edge of Os- wego by John Seiber and Edward Eckle, but on account of financial em- barrassment on the part of the proprietors it was never put in operation.
Early in 1873 John Apperger commenced the construction of a brewery just on the brow of the hill in the east part of Oswego, south of the sec- tion-line road running to Columbus, which was dedicated by a free-beer frolic on Sunday, April 21, 1873. Apperger ran the brewery for some four years, but finally, in November, 1877, it was closed by the Collector of Internal Revenue for illicit transactions, and soon thereafter Apperger moved away.
MURPHY MEETINGS.
Murphy meetings in the county commenced in Oswego, where, about the 1st of October, 1877, a series of meetings was begun in the Methodist church, under the general direction of the pastor, which were kept up nightly for quite a length of time, and at which nearly all of the citizens who at any time spoke in public, as well as persons from abroad, made speeches. Miss Amanda Way was present on one or two occasions. The meetings resulted in securing the signatures of over five hundred of the citizens to the Murphy pledge. At its close steps were taken for opening a library and reading-room.
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HISTORY OF LABETTE COUNTY.
Soon after the opening of the meetings in Oswego a series of meetings was held at Chetopa, conducted by Mrs. S. A. Williams, which resulted in securing something like six hundred signatures to the Murphy pledge.
About the same time similar meetings were conducted at Parsons by Miss Amanda Way, at which about eight hundred parties took the Murphy pledge. Steps were taken at the close of these meetings look- ing to the opening of a free reading-room.
During that winter Murphy meetings were held in a large number of the school-houses throughout the county, especially in the southern part. T. J. Calvin took a leading part in getting them started, and provided for their being frequently conducted. From these temperance meetings organizations were secured in the Baylor school-house, with W. G. Bay- lor as president, and in the Lockard school-house, with A. B. Hammer as president. At Montana during the same period, Murphy meetings were scarcely less successful than at either of the other points in the county. The whole neighborhood was thoroughly aroused, and a very large pro- portion of the people took the pledge.
DISPENSING WITH PETITION.
On May 28, 1877, the City Council of Parsons by unanimous vote passed an ordinance requiring the presentation of a petition of a majority of the residents of a ward in order to obtain a license. The Mayor, however, vetoed this ordinance, and the Council declined to pass it over his veto. The strong argument against the passage of the ordinance seemed to be that thereby some of the nine saloons then running in the city would not be able to procure the necessary petition, and the city would thereby be deprived of the $200 fee charged therefor. A public meeting was had, at which a vote of thanks was tendered the three Councilmen who voted for the passage of the ordinance notwithstanding the Mayor's veto.
Following up the Murphy movement in Oswego, petitions were presented to the Council requesting the repeal of the ordinance dispensing with the necessity of petition, in compliance with which the Council did, on No- vember 2, 1877, repeal the ordinance on that subject, and thereby made it practically certain that licensed saloons must cease with the last of the year, for with the sentiment as it then existed, there was no probability of anyone obtaining a sufficient petition to entitle the Council to grant license, were they so disposed. On the 1st of January, 1878, Oswego for the first time since the granting of the first license ten years before, was without a licensed saloon ; nor did she have one running during the next three months. In February, 1878, C. B. Woodford presented a petition sufficiently signed to authorize the Council to issue a license, provided they .
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had chosen to issue it, for the purpose of selling "spirituous, vinous, and malt liquors in this city for medical, culinary, sacramental and mechanical purposes." Signatures to this petition were obtained on the theory that it was not for the purpose of securing license to open a saloon, but only for the sale of liquor for the purposes therein named. However, the Council refused to grant the petition, and passed a preamble and a resolution that no license would be issued until after the people had had an opportunity to express themselves at the polls whether they desired license to be re- stored. At the city election the only question was whether or not a mayor and council should be elected in favor of granting license, and the people decided in favor of license by a majority of more than one hundred. Of course with such a verdict in favor of a change of policy from that which had been pursued for the three months past, the Council was not long in granting license to those who had been anxiously waiting for an opportu- nity to open saloons, and from this time on until the State prohibitory law went into effect Oswego was able to furnish those who wished to buy, all the liquor they needed, not only for "culinary and medicinal," but also for intoxicating purposes.
On January 1, 1878, in compliance with request of a petition very largely signed by the citizens of Chetopa, the Mayor and Council of that city unanimously passed an ordinance repealing the ordinance then in force dispensing with petition, thereby making it incumbent on the ap- plicant for license to get a majority of the ward, male and female, to petition therefor before he could obtain license to sell liquor. It was supposed that this would be sufficient to do away with saloons in that town. However, just one week thereafter a petition of the residents of the first ward was presented to the Council, containing the requisite num- ber of signatures, and a saloon was duly licensed. From that time the temperance war was carried on in earnest. Public meetings were fre- quently held, and every step possible taken to consolidate the sentiment in favor of no-license. This was the direct issue at the city election in April, 1878, and by a small majority the temperance people succeeded in electing officers opposed to the issuance of any license. At the expira- tion of the licenses then in existence, on June 30th, legalized saloons ceased in Chetopa, and were not again introduced. In the spring of 1879 little interest was taken in the election, and the result was that one license Councilman was elected, which made the Council stand a tie. Soon thereafter, petitions were circulated to secure signatures asking that license again be granted. A vacancy soon occurred in the City Council ; a special election resulted in the election of a temperance man, which again gave a clear majority of the Council opposed to license, and thereby, as was supposed, determined the matter of saloons for another
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year. But later in the season further efforts were made by the liquor men to obtain license, and by direction of the Council the Mayor called a special election, to be held on September 23, 1879, of all persons of lawful age, both male and female, to determine by ballot whether or not the Council should grant dramshop license. The vote was taken, result- ing in 66 men and 113 women voting against license, and not one vote in favor thereof. Prior to the election in April, 1880, a vigorous effort was made to arouse the temperance sentiment both in the town and surround- ing country. Petitions were sent out to secure the signatures of farmers who preferred to trade in a temperance town, and of course a vast ma- jority of them signed it. The election, however, resulted in the choice of one Councilman opposed to license and one in favor, thereby making the Council a tie upon that question.
TEMPERANCE ORGANIZATIONS.
I. O. G. T.
OSWEGO .-- The first lodge of this order established in the county was organized at Oswego on November 14, 1869. Several temperance work- ers, feeling the necessity for something being done to save young men from drunkenness, applied to the officers of the grand lodge for a char- ter. J. J. Browne was appointed deputy to institute the lodge; Nelson Case was elected W. C. T., and A. B. Close W. S. After some years this lodge became somewhat disorganized. On May 10, 1876, a district Good Templars' meeting was held at the Congregational church in Oswego, at which steps were taken to reorganize a lodge at this place. A number of persons signified their willingness to go into such an organization, and a lodge was soon thereafter instituted, which, with more or less regularity, maintained its existence until June, 1882, when, prohibition having been adopted, its members deemed it unwise longer to continue its operation, and it was suspended. The money in the treasury, amounting to $30, was donated to the library association.
CHETOPA .- The second lodge formed in the county was organized at Chetopa, where, by the aid of the members from the Oswego lodge, one was instituted on January 24, 1870, with G. L. Courtney as W. C. T., and S. T. Beck W. S. With some interruptions a lodge was maintained at Chetopa as late as 1877. Lodges were had at one time at Montana, the Lockard school-house, the Breese school-house, and probably at other points in the county. None of these were of very long duration.
MOUND VALLEY. - On October 10, 1877, under the leadership of Mrs. Williams, a grand lodge deputy, a lodge was instituted at Mound Valley, and was maintained for some eight years, when it became disorganized. Robert R. Coleman was its first W. C. T., and he and his family were
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active workers during the history of the lodge. November 2, 1885, a re- organization was had, and the lodge from this time was maintained regu- larly till May 9, 1887, when it was again discontinued. Very much of the temperance sentiment of Mound Valley may be ascribed to the prin- ciples instilled into the minds of the young, and to the correct temper- ance education given in this lodge.
PARSONS .- On November 12, 1874, through the instrumentality of Rev. J. P. Hight, a lodge was organized with M. G. Brown as W. C. T., Mrs. M. M. Hill W. V. T., Jas. Grimes W. S., M. Johnson W. T. With slight interruptions the lodge maintained its organization until the adop- tion of the prohibitory amendment, after which time it was allowed to die. Mr. Grimes, who was the first secretary of this lodge, afterward became quite prominent in the order, being at one time secretary and afterward G. W. C. T. of the Grand Lodge of the State, and several times represented the State in the R. W. G. Lodge.
C. T. U.
In 1877 local organizations of the Christian Temperance Union were formed at two or three places in the county. On October 25th one was formed at Chetopa, with T. J. Calvin president and J. M. Cavaness sec- retary. Sometime that fall or winter one was formed at Oswego, and one also existed at Montana. On March 20, 1878, a county union was formed, with H. G. Webb president, Mary A. Higby secretary, Robert L. Curl treasurer, and J. S. Waters organizer.
LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS .- The illegal sale of liquor in Altamont, re- sulting in the repeated and continued intoxication of several men, became so unbearable that in July, 1884, there was organized the Ladies' Tem- perance Alliance, with Mrs. Lizzie Hughes as president. This organiza- tion did much good in creating a public sentiment in favor of putting a stop to the illegal sale of liquor, and inducing those who were drinking to refrain therefrom.
In 1883 the ladies of Mound Valley maintained a local union, which rendered efficient aid to the cause in the way of encouraging and aiding those who were engaged in securing the enforcement of the law.
The Oswego Temperance Union was formed in January, 1880, and under its management the entire city was canvassed for signers to a pledge against the use of liquor and also against aiding in securing a license for a saloon.
W. C. T. U.
On November 16, 1883, a union was organized in Chetopa by Mrs. Drusilla Wilson. Mrs. Julia R. Knight was elected president, Miss Agnes Baty recording secretary, Mrs. Nancy Anderson corresponding secretary, Mrs. Isabel Cavaness treasurer. About July 28, 1880, a union
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HISTORY OF LABETTE COUNTY.
was formed at Parsons, with Mrs. A. Nealy secretary. On March 5, 1885, Mrs. M. E. Griffith, State organizer, held a week's meeting at Mound Valley, and at its close organized a union. After continuing its operation for a few months this organization became disbanded, but on August 10, 1886, it was reorganized, with Mrs. E. A. West president, and . Mrs. H. Beggs secretary. This union still maintains a vigorous organi- · zation.
On March 2, 1885, a union was formed at Oswego, with Mrs. E. Elliott president and Mrs. Lydia A. Baldwin secretary. Among the other la- dies who were associated with them in this work were Mrs. Augusta Herbaugh, Mrs. Mary E. Case, Mrs. Sallie J. Stonecipher, Mrs. M. L. Newlon.
COUNTY UNION.
In March, 1886, delegates from the several unions in the county met and organized a county union, electing Mrs. Z. L. Janes, of Parsons, president, and Mrs. E. A. West, of Mound Valley, secretary. Mrs. West was reëlected secretary in 1887 and 1888. In 1887 Mrs. E. W. Ross was elected president, and Miss M. E. Scott in 1888. Miss Scott has continued to fill the position of president from that time to this. Mrs. Hattie A. Coleman was first elected secretary in 1889, and has since then continued to hold the position.
THE PROHIBITION CANVASS.
Early in 1880 steps were taken by the temperance people of the county to thoroughly present the claims of the pending constitutional amend- ment, to prohibit the sale and manufacture of intoxicating liquors, to the intelligent and conscientious consideration of the electors of the county. In August, 1880, Mrs. Lang lectured at Chetopa, at the close of which a prohibition society was formed, which soon thereafter adopted a consti- tution, and elected C. H. McCreery president and F. D. Allen secretary. In Elm Grove township a healthy prohibition club was organized early in September, with the avowed intention of thoroughly canvassing the township. In the same month a series of meetings lasting over a week was held in Oswego, at which E. B. Reynolds of Indiana and Col. C. N. Golding were the principal speakers. During that fall nearly all of the prominent workers in the county were engaged more or less in canvass- ing for the amendment. The cause was aided very materially by promi- nent workers from abroad, among whom, in addition to those above named, may be mentioned Gov. St. John, Judge Layton, Frank J. Sibley, and George W. Bain. The result of the effort was, that at the election in November 2,082 votes were polled for the amendment and 2,123 against it. While the friends of temperance had hoped to have a ma- jority in favor of prohibition, they felt quite well satisfied that the result
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was so small a majority against it. The constitutional amendment hav- ing been adopted in the State, and the law for its enforcement having gone into effect on May 1, 1881, it was not long until most of the saloons were closed. A few held out with the idea that the law would not be enforced, but the majority in that business preferred to transfer their operations to more favorable fields.
FIRST ANNIVERSARY.
On May 1, 1882, the temperance people of the county celebrated the first anniversary of prohibition by a public meeting held at Oswego. Gov. St. John was present, and made the principal address. The day was unfavorable, a heavy rain falling almost continually from 9 o'clock until after the proceedings had closed ; yet notwithstanding this an im- mense crowd assembled, coming from nearly all parts of the county. Even the enemies of prohibition had to concede that the celebration was a success, and its friends were strengthened in their determination to see the saloon permanently driven out.
ORGANIZATIONS FOR ENFORCING THE LAW.
It was not long after this, however, until the friends of prohibition in the county who were gifted with any measure of discernment were satis- fied that its enforcement meant a long and hard struggle. Those who had been accustomed to reap the enormous profits which are incident to the sale of liquor, and whose disposition was to furnish all means pos- sible for man's downfall, were not disposed to surrender the privilege they had for such a length of time enjoyed, so long as they could find any means by which they could successfully defy the law. The number of those engaged in the traffic being so much larger at Parsons than at any other point in the county, and they having more capital invested in the undertaking, made that the headquarters for the liquor-men of the county.
E. R. Marvin, the proprietor of the Belmont House, was the leader of this law-defying class. As good attorneys as could be found in the county were employed in the defense of Marvin, and those arrested with him, for the violation of the law. A protracted legal contest ensued, in which for a time it seemed as though the defyers of the law were to be triumphant because of the inability to secure a jury who would render a verdict of conviction even when the most positive and convincing testi- mony was presented to them. Occasionally, however, a jury of honest men could be secured, and witnesses who knew something of the obliga- tions of an oath could be put upon the stand, in which case verdicts of guilt were found. To aid the officers in the enforcement of this law, various local organizations were formed from time to time as necessity
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seemed to require, and the wisdom of the temperance people judged ad- visable. The first of these which was at all prominent and effective was The Labette County Law Enforcement Society, which was organized in the court-house in Oswego January 27, 1883; Rev. John Elliott was elected president, W. L. Simons vice-president, A. A. Osgood secretary, and J. M. Bowman treasurer. This meeting was largely attended by delegates from all parts of the county. Prior to this, however, local or- ganizations had been formed in Oswego, Chetopa, and Parsons. In July, 1882, a prohibition association was formed at Oswego. The Law Enforcement Society continued in force for some two years, during which it raised quite large sums of money with which to employ counsel to as- sist the County Attorney and to meet the expenses necessary to a pro- tracted litigation. It was thought best to raise this money by private subscription, so that the public expenses attendant on the enforcement of the law would not make it obnoxious to those tax-payers who might not have any particular interest in seeing it made a success.
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