The history of Detroit and Michigan; or, The metropolis illustrated; a chronological cyclopedia of the past and present, Vol I, Part 131

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Detroit, S. Farmer & co
Number of Pages: 1096

USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The history of Detroit and Michigan; or, The metropolis illustrated; a chronological cyclopedia of the past and present, Vol I > Part 131

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On February 7, 1860, the Michigan State Tem-

perance Society held a mass meeting at the First Congregational Church, and the Michigan State Temperance Alliance was organized to aid in secur- ing the enforcement of the law of 1855. Meantime the manufacture and sale of beer continued to increase, and, beginning with 1860, the war influ- ences greatly stimulated its use. In deference to this fact, on March 15, 1863, the Legislature enacted that the law of 1855 should not be construed as prohibiting the manufacture of wine from fruit grown by the manufacturer; or of beer made in Michigan, if not sold in less quantities than five gallons; or of wine or cider, if not sold in less amounts than one gallon.

In 1860-1861 the Detroit City Temperance Society was an active organization, with Rev. George Duf- field, D. D., as president, and J. B. Bloss, as secre- tary. Under its auspices, Sunday afternoon meetings were held at the Detroit & Milwaukee Depot, and, largely as the result of these efforts, on September 20, 1861, an ordinance was passed requiring saloons to close entirely on the Sabbath.

No systematic and persistent effort was, however, made to enforce it, and this law, like its predecessors, was soon a dead letter. Finally a new agency ap- peared. In the summer of 1865 the Metropolitan Police Act went into operation, and on an appeal to the commissioners, the old city ordinance was enforced, and Sunday, August 27, 1865, was marked as red-letter day by the church-goers and temper- ance people of Detroit. One of the daily papers on the following Monday contained this notice.

A QUIET SUNDAY .- For the first time in years the great city of Detroit yesterday observed, outwardly at least, the first day of the week with becoming solemnity. All the saloons, bars, and beer-gardens were closed.

The persistence and success of the efforts made to secure the observance of the Sabbath alarmed and angered the saloon-keepers, and on September 4 they held a large meeting on the Campus Martius to take measures for the repeal of the Sunday law, and on the next day a petition, signed by 8,265 residents of Detroit, was presented to the Common Council, asking for the repeal of the Sunday ordinance. At the same time a remonstrance against the repeal was presented, signed by 2,500 persons. Both com- munications were referred to a special committee, and on September 19, three reports were presented to the council. from the committee. The majority report favored a change in the ordinance which would allow the saloons to keep open Sunday after- noons till ten o'clock in the evening; two differ- ent minority reports, presented by Aldermen A. Sheley and H. C. Knight, opposed any change in the ordinance. The majority report was adopted. It did not receive the approval of the mayor, and the

842

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC AND TEMPERANCE EFFORTS.

subject was before the council for several months. On October 2 a public meeting was held at the Young Men's Hall to protest against the repeal of the ordinance. Meantime a suit involving the validity of the old ordinance was tried, and on a decision by the recorder in its favor on January 28, 1866, the police again attempted to enforce the ordinance, and thirty complaints were made for violation of the same. The opponents of the ordi- nance were not willing to submit, and on January 29, and February 1, 1866, large anti-Sunday-law meetings were held.

Finally, on February 8, by a vote of eleven to six, a new Sunday ordinance was passed allowing news- depots to be kept open on Sunday from 12 M. to 2 P. M .; barber-shops till 10 A. M .; groceries, bakeries, and meat-markets till 8 A. M., and livery stables during the whole day. It also provided that plea- sure gardens, beer-halls, saloons, and other pleasure resorts might be kept open from 2 P. M. to IO P. M., if no music or games were allowed. This ordinance was approved by the mayor on February 13, but it displeased many citizens ; and on March 20 Captain Paxton, on behalf of the Detroit Temperance So- ciety and other parties, presented a petition from nearly two thousand citizens asking that it be re- pealed. The question of the validity of the ordi- nance was referred by the council to the city coun- sellor and attorney, and on March 27 they reported that it was legal. The saloon-keepers were victori- ous, and this for a time ended the struggle.

In 1866 the Young Men's Father Matthew (Cath- olic) Temperance Society was organized. The first meeting was held on August 9 at the house of Michael Brennan. Five persons were then enrolled as members. The school-house in connection with Trinity Church was secured as a place of meeting, and in twenty days they had obtained ninety signa- tures to their pledge. Continued prosperity decided the members of the society to secure a hall of their own. A lot on the southeast corner of Fourth and Porter Streets was purchased, a frame building twenty-four by sixty-five feet, costing $1,150, was erected, and dedicated on November 1, 1867. After a time interest in the society flagged, and in 1881 its property was sold under a mortgage.

On May 28, 1867, the Grand Lodge of Good Templars for North America commenced its ses- sions in Detroit. Its proceedings had no special relation to the city. In 1867 the State Constitu- tional Convention provided for submitting to the people, on the first Monday of April, 1868, a clause in the Constitution prohibiting the sale of liquors. The amendment was voted on, with the following result : In the city of Detroit, for prohibitory clause, 1,474 ; against it, 6,567. In the county, 3,040 for prohibition, and 10,245 against. In the State the

vote stood : 72,462 for prohibition, and 86,143 against.

All this time the city ordinance permitting saloons to open part of the day was transgressed by many dealers who kept open all day. A complaint was made against George Bartenbach for so doing. On trial of the case, Recorder Swift, on April 19, 1869, declared the ordinance invalid, on the ground that the city had not power to pass an ordinance in regard to Sabbath observance.

The State Prohibitory Law was, however, deemed a standing menace to the liquor dealers, and its pro- visions were often enforced against them. Some of them at last resolved on active opposition, and on August 1, 1871, a convention of Germans opposed to prohibition was held, and a league organized pledged to defend its members in any suits brought against them for violation of the law.

Three years later, in the winter of 1874, the Women's Crusade began. Its influence spread so rapidly that liquor-sellers all over the country were seriously alarmed, and several saloon-keepers in Detroit went out of the business. On March 13, 1874, a meeting of ladies was held in St. Andrews' Hall to consider what should be done by the women of Detroit, and a committee of five appointed to report a plan of action; a second meeting was held at the chapel of the Central Methodist Episcopal Church on March 23, and on March 26, 1874, the Women's Christian Temperance Alliance was or- ganized. Committees were appointed, and in a quiet and systematic way a number of saloons were visited, and the keepers urged to consider the effects of their business. The ladies also inaugurated a series of Sunday afternoon temperance meetings at Young Men's Hall, the use of which was given by Luther Beecher. The first meeting was held on April 19, 1874. Weekly meetings were also held in various churches.

In March, 1876, both the Sunday and week-day meetings began to be held in the Y. M. C. A. building. In May following the name of the organi- zation was changed to the Women's Christian Tem- perance Union. At this time there was hardly a restaurant in the city which did not have a bar for the sale of liquor. Realizing this fact, on January 19 the women of the Union opened a restaurant in the Y. M. C. A. building. It soon obtained a large number of customers, and its success caused the establishment of several other temperance restau- rants; having thus accomplished their object, the ladies sold out their interest in the restaurant.

The presidents of the Union have been as fol- lows: To April, 1874, Mrs. A. J. Murray; 1874- 1875, Mrs. I. G. D. Stewart; 1875-1881, Mrs. B. B. Hudson; 1881, Mrs. J. H. Bayliss; 1882, Mrs. I. G. D. Stewart; 1883- , Mrs. A. M. Fancher.

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THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC AND TEMPERANCE EFFORTS.

In 1874 the Order of Sons of Temperance was again inaugurated in the city, and Detroit Division No. I was organized on September 7.

On January, 25, 1875, the Grand Division was organized. Ten days later a State meeting of the Women's Christian Temperance Union convened in Detroit.

During all the years since 1855, the Prohibitory Law, though legally binding, had not been enforced in Detroit. The crusade of 1874 caused the dealers to fear that it might be appealed to. In order to anticipate any movement in that direction, and secure, if possible, a law affording them a measure of protection, a State meeting of liquor dealers was called at the Detroit Opera House on August 12. The formation of a State liquor league was advo- cated, and methods were discussed for securing a State license law, which, it was thought, would give stability and character to their business, and, by doing away with the Prohibitory Law, give it a legal standing. An address in opposition to prohibition and in favor of license was delivered by Levi Bishop. The meeting received the plan with favor, and a State Central Committee was appointed to endeavor to secure a State Legislature in favor of a license system.

Many who were in favor of a diminution of the traffic, believing that a poor law executed was better than a good one unenforced, aided the committee in their efforts, and the taxing of the saloons was approved of by many temperance people. As the result, on May 3, 1875, the Liquor Tax Law was passed and the Prohibitory Law repealed. The new law was much more stringent than its original pro- moters intended. It provided that retail dealers of spirituous liquors should pay a tax of $150, retail dealers of beer $40, and wholesale dealers in spirituous liquors $300 per year. Brewers were to pay from $50 to $300 per year, according to the amount of beer they manufacture. The law also provided that saloons should close on the Sabbath. It was to go into operation on August 2, 1875.

Anticipating that as soon as it took effect, they would be compelled to close their saloons on Sun- day, many saloon-keepers in Detroit petitioned the Common Council for permission to open on the Sab- bath. On May 25 a resolution that it should be lawful for saloons to keep open on Sunday was offered, and was referred to a special committee, and on May 28 a remonstrance against the resolu- tion was presented. On June 4 the committee reported that the council could not give authority to saloons to sell liquor on Sunday. The attempt to nullify the operations of the new law was strenuously opposed by almost all the religious denominations, and on June 7 a mass meeting was held at the Opera House in the interest of Sabbath observance, and to

protest against the opening of the saloons by per- mission of the Common Council.

Petitions from the saloon-keepers, however, were brought before the council frequently and persist- ently, and in many ways the aldermen sought to give the petitioners permission to keep open for at least part of the day.

On August 6 they passed an ordinance allowing them to open from I to 10 o'clock P. M., but on August 10 it was vetoed by Mayor Moffat.

On August 17 the city attorney gave it as his opinion that in this question the mayor had no power to nullify by his veto the action of the council, because the law left it to the council to determine whether saloons should be kept open. On the same day the city counselor gave it as his opinion that a resolution passed over the mayor's veto would not hold, as the Legislature could not confer on the council the power to repeal by resolution a statute of the State.

On the evening of the day these diverse opinions were rendered the council again passed the per- missive ordinance, and on August 20 it was again disapproved of and vetoed by Mayor Moffat. Sun- day, August 22, 1875, was a notable day. For the first time in ten years, nearly all, if not all, of the saloons were closed, and since then many have remained closed on the Sabbath. Others have learned to violate the law with impunity, for, though arrested for so doing, they are usually cleared by police court jurors.

The Tax Law, as a State law, is enforced by the Metropolitan Police, over whom, as the commission- ers are appointed by the governor and senate, the Common Council have no authority. It was thought, however, that if both the council and the mayor favored the opening of saloons on the Sabbath, the police would not interfere.

Those who favored the observance of the Sab- bath, known as the Law and Order Party, on Octo- ber 4, 1875, held an immense meeting in the Opera House, and from the speeches made and the resolu- tions passed at this meeting the impression became general in Detroit that a large majority of the older citizens and the prominent men of both political parties would vote for the candidate for mayor who would veto any ordinance proposing to allow the saloons to open on the Sabbath.

Meanwhile, on October 12, on a test case, the Supreme Court decided the law to be constitutional.

On the evening of November 1, the day before the election, a great gathering of the Law and Order Party was held at the Opera House, and on the following day Alexander Lewis, the candidate they supported, was elected by a vote of 7,367 against 5,691.

In the trial of cases for keeping saloons open on

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THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC AND TEMPERANCE EFFORTS.

Sunday, Police Justice D. E. Harbaugh proved him- self an efficient ally of the law, and his quarterly returns of persons arrested and tried in his court indicated a great diminution of crime and dis- order.

In the case of J. A. Kurtz for keeping his saloon open, appeal was made to the Supreme Court of the State, and on January 18, 1876, the court affirmed the legality of the clause requiring saloons to close on Sunday.

On March 3, 1876, the Common Council made a further effort in behalf of the saloon-keepers, pass- ing an ordinance providing that saloons might be kept open from I to II P. M. on Sunday; but on March 7 Mayor Lewis justified the expectations of those who elected him by sending a message to the council, vetoing the ordinance. He said, "The Su- preme Court in its decision in the Kurtz case has indicated, in language so plain that it cannot be mis- understood, that the part of the Tax Law giving municipalities the power of permitting dealers in liquors to sell and keep their places of business open on Sunday is unconstitutional."

Meanwhile Section 47 of Article IV. of the Con- stitution was still in force, and read as follows :

The Legislature shall not pass any Act authorizing the grant of licenses for the sale of ardent spirits or other intoxicating liquors.

The question of striking this article out of the Constitution was submitted to the people, and in November, 1876, the vote was as follows: In the city, in favor of striking out, 6,585; against, 949. In the county, 9,170 for striking out, and 1,773 against. In the State, 60,639 for striking out, and 52,561 against. A majority being in favor of so doing, Section 47 of Article IV. was stricken from the Constitution.

A noteworthy event of this period was the visit of Dr. H. A. Reynolds, the Red Ribbon Reformer. His first lecture was delivered on February 9, 1877, in St. Andrew's Hall. On the next evening he addressed an immense meeting at the Detroit Opera House, and soon there was a popular furor in behalf of the temperance cause, as advocated by him. His mottoes of "Dare to do right " and "Be good to yourself," with a red ribbon in the button- hole as evidence of having signed the pledge, were adopted by thousands, and for a time no hall could be found large enough to accommodate the crowds that came to hear him.

Under his leadership, the Detroit Reform Club was organized on February 1I, 1877, with D. B. Duffield as president and J. C. McCaul as secretary. At the afternoon and evening meetings on the day of organization 802 persons signed the pledge, and within a month the membership increased to 2,310. The Club undertook various kinds of benevolent

work in behalf of its members, and its meetings were largely attended.

On July 8, 1877, Francis Murphy, the great Blue Ribbon Apostle of Temperance, delivered an address at Young Men's Hall under the auspices of the Club. On November 2, 1877, the Society was in- corporated, and on November 13 J. W. Smith was elected president. He was succeeded on July 30, 1879, by Rev. C. T. Allen, and he, in turn, in 1880, by William Wade; T. W. Martin at the same time became secretary. On February 9, 1879, the Society celebrated its second anniversary at the Detroit Opera House. Dr. H. A. Reynolds was present and delivered an address.

The meetings of the Club were soon transferred from the Opera House to Merrill Hall, and from there to Young Men's Hall, the use of which was given by Luther Beecher; finally the upper part of the Barns' Block, on the northwest corner of Wood- ward and Grand River Avenues, was fitted up, and on January 10, 1879, it was dedicated. Within two years after, owing to dissensions among themselves, and the advocacy of impracticable measures, the Club was disbanded and its property disposed of.

On February 22, 1877, a Young Men's Red Rib- bon Club was organized, and soon after a Boys' Club was established. Both of these organizations were short-lived. On June 26, 1878, two State Temperance Conventions were in session in Detroit, one representing the old prohibition party and the other the Red Ribbon Clubs of the State. In this year a Young Women's Christian Temperance Union was organized, and, for a time, was quite energetic. On May 27 the Right Worthy Grand Lodge of Good Templars of the World began a four days' meeting at Detroit.

Turning again to the Common Council, we find that on May 8, 1877, they again took up the cause of the saloon-keepers, voting to allow them to keep open their saloons on Sunday from 2 to 10 P. M.

On May II Mayor Lewis for the second time interposed his veto, giving substantially the same reasons he had given previously.

The State law of May 22, 1877, which went into effect on November 6, 1877, dealt another blow to the liquor interest by providing that saloons should be closed on election days, and Section 9 of the law made it the duty of the mayor, within five days of an election, to issue a proclamation warn- ing the people of the law, and requiring the police to see that it was enforced. On May 31, 1879, by amendment to the law of 1875, saloons were required to close on all legal holidays, violations of the law were to be punished by imprisonment, instead of by fine, and the taxes were largely increased. For retail dealers of alcoholic liquors the tax was fixed at $200 ; for retail dealers in beer

845

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC AND TEMPERANCE EFFORTS.

at $65; wholesale and retail dealers in alcoholic liquors were to pay $400 ; dealers in beer $150, and brewers from $65 to $100.

This law " heaped Ossa upon Pelion," and the liquor dealers assembled in conclave at Lansing, on July 29, 1880, organized the Michigan Liquor Deal- ers' Protective Association, and by assessments on its members raised a large amount of money to be expended in efforts to secure the election of mem- bers of the Legislature who would repeal or modify the law; they also interviewed the candidates for governor and lieutenant-governor, and on Septem- ber 26, 1880, issued a circular recommending that the liquor-dealers cast their votes for the Democratic candidates, as they had pledged themselves to further their interests. These efforts did not prove effective, for Holloway, the Democratic candidate, received but 137,641 votes in the State, against 178,- 944 for Jerome. The vote in Wayne County was 17,242 for Holloway, and 13,943 for Jerome. In the city the vote stood 12,122 for Holloway, and 9,903 for Jerome.

The keepers of saloons became increasingly urgent in their demands, and on April 27,1880, their friends in the Common Council secured the passage of a resolution declaring the law of 1879 to be arbitrary, excessive, and illegal, and directing the city counselor to file a bill in the Circuit Court to restrain the county and city treasurer from receiving or collecting the taxes under said law. Three days later the council directed the county treasurer and sheriff not to collect the liquor taxes, and instructed the city counselor to apply for an injunction to re- strain the collection ; but on May 3 Judge Chambers denied the bill, on the ground that he had no juris- diction in the case. On May 1, 1882, an amend- ment to the State law went into effect which increased the yearly tax to be paid by beer sellers to $200. The same Act also provided for a yearly tax of $300, to be paid by those who sold distilled liquors separ- ately, or with beer.

Since 1874, the operation of the Tax Law and the tendency of public sentiment have caused a yearly decrease in the number of dealers in spir- ituous and malt liquors in Detroit as compared with the population. The number of dealers in 1860 was 625; in 1865, 523; in 1870, 669; in 1875, 765; in 1876, 719; in 1884, 984; in 1885, 1,018; in 1886, 1,192.

The number of wholesale and retail dealers in Wayne County and the amount of the tax collec- tions for the various years is as follows: 1875, deal- ers, 995; taxes, $93,545. 1876, dealers, 1,137;

taxes, $97,159. 1877, dealers, 707; taxes, $76,250. 1878, dealers, 1, 117; taxes, $69,046. 1879, dealers, 1,281 ; taxes, $73,411. 1880, dealers, 955; taxes, $98,553. 1881, dealers, 985 ; taxes, $101,819. 1882, dealers, 787; taxes, $195,311. 1883, dealers, 817; taxes, 177,715. 1884, dealers, 825; taxes, $ 149,772. 1885, dealers, 923; taxes, $174,958. 1886, dealers, 1,171; taxes, $226,773.

The amount of revenue obtained by the city from the tax is shown in connection with the article on Finances.

On May 16, 1883, the National Convention of Brewers began its sessions at Harmonie Hall, and on the evening of the 17th they had a banquet at the same place.

The National Convention of the Women's Chris- tian Temperance Union met at the Central Metho- dist Episcopal Church on October 31, 1883.

The temperance organization known as the Order of the White Cross was founded in Detroit on Feb- ruary 18, 1884, at the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Chapel. The officers of the first club were: H. O. Wills, president; R. N. Lewis, secretary; G. B. Whitney, treasurer ; and W. H. Suit, chaplain. In June, 1884, the organization had 1,800 members and was increasing at the rate of 200 per week.

The question of inserting a clause in the State Constitution, prohibiting the manufacture or sale of intoxicating liquors, was submitted to vote at the spring election of 1887, with the following result : In the State the vote against prohibition was 184,- 281 ; for prohibition, 178,636. In Wayne County the vote against prohibition was 28,169; for prohi- bition, 5,860.

A law of June 18, 1887, provided that upon the application by petition of one fifth of the voters of any county, the county clerk should call an election to decide whether the use of intoxicating liquors as a beverage shall be prohibited in the county ; and in any county where the voters decided to prohibit the sale, it should be unlawful to manufacture or sell after the first of May following said election.

By law of June 28, 1887, which went into effect September 27, 1887, the tax for a retail dealer in malt liquors was raised to $300; and for a retail dealer in both malt and spirituous liquors to $500. The taxes were made payable on May first, and for selling any length of time less than a year, at least one half of the full tax is required to be paid.

By special ordinance of the Common Council, saloons may keep open until 11 o'clock P. M., but if open at any later hour, or on Sundays or holidays, the dealer is liable to arrest without process.

CHAPTER LXXXI.

BANKS AND CURRENCY .- INSURANCE AND INSURANCE COMPANIES.

THE earliest money circulated in New France, and to some extent current in this region, known as "Card Money," was first issued in 1685, to pay the soldiers; it consisted of ordinary playing cards cut into four pieces, each piece being stamped with a fleur de lis and a crown, and signed by the gov- ernor, intendant, and clerk of the treasury. This money was in use in Detroit in 1717, and was worth only fifty cents on the dollar in silver. It continued in use until 1729 or later. Specimens are preserved at Quebec.

In 1763 Pontiac is said to have issued pieces of birch-bark as money, with the figure of an otter, his totem or seal, rudely drawn thereon, and tradition says that he faithfully redeemed them. The wam- pum used by the Indians was sold by traders for the purpose. It was largely manufactured by the Dutch at Albany from both the purple and the white part of clam and oyster shells, and the Hol- landers of the Mohawk grew rich from the product of their primitive mint. The pieces of wampum were about half an inch long with a hole in them, and were carried on strings.

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The history of Detroit and Michigan; or, The metropolis illustrated; a chronological cyclopedia of the past and present, Vol I, Part 131

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902 Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Detroit, S. Farmer & co Number of Pages: 1096

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Detroit, S. Farmer & co
Number of Pages: 1096