USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > History of the city of Omaha, Nebraska > Part 28
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Section one provides that the county board of each county may grant licenses for the sale of malt, spiritnous, and vinous liq- uors, if deemed expedient, upon the ap- plication, hy petition of thirty of the resi- dent free-holders of the town, if the county is under township organization. The county board shall not have authority to issue any license for the sale of liquors in any city or incorporated village, or within two miles of the same.
Section two provides for the filing of the application, and for the publication of the application, for at least two weeks before the granting of the license.
Section three provides for the hearing of the case if a remonstrance is filed against the granting of a license to the applicant.
Further sections provide for the appealing of the remonstrance to the district court; the form of license; the giving of a five thousand dollar bond by the successful ap- plicant for the license.
Sections eight, nine and ten make it an offense, punishable by a fine of twenty-five dollars, for any licensed liquor dealer to sell intoxicating liquor to minors or Indians.
Section eleven provides that any person selling liquor without a license shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars, nor more than five hundred dollars, for each offense; and section twelve provides for the trial of such offenders.
Section thirteen makes it an offense, pun- ishable by a fine of one hundred dollars and a forfeiture of license, for any licensed liq- nor vender to sell adulterated liquor.
Section fourteen makes it an offense, pun- ishable by a fine of one hundred dollars, for any person to sell or give away any liquor on Sunday, or on the day of any general or special election.
Sections fifteen to twenty-three, inclusive, define the liability of saloonkeepers for dam- ages sustained by anyone in consequence of the traffic, and provide the steps necessary to collect such claims.
Section twenty-four relates to the is- suance of druggists' permits.
The local option feature of the law is contained in section twenty-five, the salient part of which reads: "The corporate an- thorities of all cities and villages shall have the power to license, regulate and prohibit the selling or giving away of any intoxicat- ing, malt, spirituous, and vinous liquors, within the limits of such city or village. This section also fixes the amount of the li- cense fee, which shall not be less than five hundred dollars in villages and cities hav- ing less than ten thousand inhabitants, nor less than one thousand dollars in cities hav- ing a population of more than ten thousand.
Sections twenty-six and twenty-seven re- late to druggists' registers and penalties for violation of the rules governing the same.
Section twenty-eight makes drunkenness an offense, punishable by a fine of ten dol- lars and costs, or imprisonment not exceed- ing thirty days.
177
KILLING OF COL. WATSON B. SMITH.
Section twenty-nine provides that the doors and windows of saloons shall be kept free from screens and blinds.
Under this law, the license to sell liquor in Omaha was fixed at one thousand dollars. At that time there were one hundred and sixty-five saloons in the city, with a popul- lation of about thirty-two thousand. The number was largely reduced by the opera- tion of the new law, the license having pre- viously been only one hundred dollars a year; but with the growth of the city the number of drinking places gradually in- creased, but not in like ratio. For the year ending April 1, 1886, there were 143 licenses issued; during the next year, 176; for the year ending April 1, 1888, 223; for the year following, 262; from April 1, 1888, to January 1, 1890, 247; and for the year 1890, 240; the population having increased in the mean time from 32,000 to 142,000. In 1891 there were 247, and in 1892, 237. The number of licenses referred to includes those issued to drug stores, wholesale dealers, and all places where liquors are sold.
The attempt to enforce the provisions of high license, just after its passage, excited the most intense opposition on the part of the saloon men of this city. Among those who took an active interest in carry- ing the law into effect, was Colonel Watson B. Smith, clerk of the United States courts, and this activity resulted in his receiving numerous anonymous letters and postal cards of a threatening character; and at var- ious times, it was reported, he was followed by one or more persons as he returned to his home in the evening after office hours. On the morning of the 5th of November, 1881, he was found lying dead in the hall of the third story of the custom house and post- office building, in front of his office door. The body was lying in a pool of blood, with a bullet hole through the head, and on the door casing was found a mark made by the ball after it had accomplished its fatal work. Colonel Smith had been detained at the of- 12
fice until a late hour the night before, and it was evident that he had reached the hall and was about to lock the office door for the night, when he met his death. He had, in consequence of the receipt of the letters re- ferred to, been carrying a revolver for self- protection, and this weapon, with one empty chamber, was found lying near the body, as was also a bundle of letters and papers which he had apparently had under his arm as he attempted to lock the office door.
As the news of the killing was spread over the city, great excitement prevailed, the general supposition then being that the liquor interests of the city were responsible for a cowardly assassination. An inquest was held by the coroner, the jury returning the following verdict: " The jury find that the deceased came to his death at the door of his office, in the United States court house and postoffice, in the City of Omaha, Ne- braska, after 10 o'clock and fifteen minutes, on the night of November 4, 1881, by a gun- shot wound through the head, inflicted by some person, or persons, unknown, and we do further find that the killing was premed- itated murder." A citizens' mass meeting was held in the afternoon, at the Academy of Music, and 84,500 subscribed as a reward for the apprehension of the murderer (after- wards increased to $5,000); the liquor deal- ers of the city-then organized as " The Merchants' and Manufacturers' Union "- offered a reward of five hundred dollars; the Good Templars' societies, two hundred dollars; and Governor Nance added the two hundred dollars which the State is au- thorized to offer under such circumstances; making a total of $5,900. Extraordinary efforts were made to capture the guilty party, or parties, but to no purpose, and to this day the mystery of Colonel Smith's death remains unsolved. December 15, 1881, one August Arndt was arrested on the charge of threatening the life of E. S. Dundy, United States District Judge, and it was then thought that he was implicated in
178
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAHA.
the killing of Colonel Smith, but sufficient proof to warrant his indictment was not ob- tained. He was tried before Judge Foster, of Kansas, on the charge of threatening the life of Judge Dundy, convicted, and sen- tenced to a confinement of three months in the Douglas County jail, which sentence was carried into effect. The threats referred to were alleged to have been made'in con- sequence of certain rulings by the court in connection with a land suit Arndt had had in Judge Dundy's court with the Union Pa- cific Railroad Company.
The prohibition sentiment having largely increased in Nebraska, the Legislature of 1889 passed the following act:
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Ne- braska:
SECTION 1. That, at the general election to be held on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday of November, A. D. 1890, there shall be submitted to the electors of this State, for approval or rejection, an amendment to the Constitution of this State in words as follows: "The manufac- ture, sale, and keeping for sale of intoxicating liquors as a beverage are forever prohibited in this State, and the Legislature shall provide by law for the enforcement of this provision." And there shall also at said election be separately submitted to the electors of this State, for their approval or rejection, an amendment to the Con- stitution of the State in words as follows : "The manufacture, sale, and keeping for sale of intox- icating liquors as a beverage, shall be licensed and regulated by law."
SEC. 2. At such election, on the ballot of each elector voting for the proposed amendments to the Constitution, shall be written or printed the words: "For proposed amendment to the Con- stitution, prohibiting the manufacture, sale and keeping for sale of intoxicating liquors as a beve- rage;" or " Against said proposed amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting the manufacture, sale and keeping for sale of intoxicating liquors as a beverage." There shall also be written or printed on the ballot of each elector voting for the proposed amendment to the Constitution the words : "For proposed amendment to the Con- stitution that the manufacture, sale and keeping for sale of intoxicating liquors as a beverage in this State shall be licensed and regulated by law;" or, "Against said proposed amendment to the Constitution that the manufacture, sale and keep-
ing for sale of intoxicating liquors as a beverage shall be licensed and regulated by law."
SEC. 3. If either of the said proposed amend- ments shall be approved by a majority of the electors voting at the said election, then it shall constitute section twenty-seven (27) of article one (1) of the Constitution of this State.
In the fall of 1889 those favoring prohi- bition in this city organized for work. The members of the Woman's Christian Temper- ance Union, the Good Templars, Non-Par- tisan League and the Prohibition Club formed a combination for the campaign, with John Dale, president; W. N. McCandlish, secretary; Charles Watts, Luther A. Har- mon and Mrs. George W. Clark, executive committee. In order to secure the support of the city churches the following was printed as a circular and thoroughly dis- tributed:
"To the Pastors and Officers of the Churches in Omaha:
"DEAR BROTHERS-A meeting was held in the First Baptist Church, in this city, October 21, 1889, in response to a call signed by about thirty pastors, with a num- ber of other temperance workers.
" 'The object of the meeting, as presented in the call by its originator, Mr. L. L. Abbott, is briefly summed up in the necessity for the immediate organization of a Gospel Temperance Union, through which could be secured the united efforts of all Christians and moral people in opposition to the rap- idly growing power of the rum traffic. Also:
"a. That this Union work should be built upon the teachings of the Bible:
" 1. That we are our brother's keeper.
" 2. Cursed is he that giveth his neighbor drink.
"3. No drunkard shall inherit the King- dom of Heaven; and
"4. I will not be with you except ye destroy the accursed thing from among you.
"b. That this work should be upon a line that will unite all who love our Lord, and others who, through love of humanity and our nation, desire to labor for the protection
179
THE PROHIBITION BATTLE-JOINT DEBATES.
of our youth and homes from the Great Destroyer-Intemperance.
"c. That to do this successfully the work- ers should invite the men, women and children of our State, without regard to religious or party affiliations, to unite in one grand effort to OUTLAW THE LIQUOR BUSINESS, and thus speedily drive it from the land.
" This is not a secret society, but an open union in which all can unite and work.
" The fact may not be recognized by all that the struggle only one year ahead of us in Nebraska will probably concentrate more money and effort on the part of the liquor interests than any other place or period in the past.
" The times demand a fearless ministry and people in battling with the rum traffic, and it is within the power of the professing Christians in this State to close every saloon, and in neglecting to do so they are and forever will be held responsible.
" At the meeting alluded to the under- signed were appointed a committee to sug- gest plans for action until a more formal organization shall supplant them. We come to you with these proposals:
" 1st. That a public gospel temperance service be held every Sunday afternoon, at Boyd's Opera House, whereat, perhaps, the churches by turn may principally conduct the services.
" 2d. That in each church such a service be held one Sunday evening each month. That these for greater interest and union be inter-denominational, in that the speakers at the meeting in a Methodist Church, for instance, come from a Presbyterian Church, and so on-urging each pastor to call out his lay talent to assist him.
" 3d. That a Union be organized in each church, to render more effective the work of all, and such Union appoint one representa- tive to the central organization.
" Will you kindly express your views on this subject to the chairman or secretary at as early a day as convenient? Earnestly
implore the guidance of the Holy Spirit in this matter."
Boyd's Opera House was occupied on Sunday afternoons during the fall and win- ter. Then the Exposition Building was occupied for a short time and in the spring the old Acadamy of Music-which had degenerated into a variety hall known as the "People's Theatre"-was leased and fitted up, at considerable expense, for the purpose of holding public meetings. Large sums of money were raised in various parts of the country, and sent to Omaha and other portions of the State to aid in carrying the prohibition amendment. Rev. Dr. Thomas, of Chicago, ex-Governor St. John, of Kansas, Dr. Kynett and other speakers of prominence delivered addresses at the thea- tre, and a large tent was erected in a grove at the intersection of Twenty-Eighth and Mason Streets, and here public meetings were conducted during the summer, under the auspices of the Good Templars, where addresses were made by a dozen or more speakers, hailing from various States of the Union, and so generally bearing the title of "Colonel" that that distinction was applied in derision to all prohibition orators, by the opposition, during the closing months of the campaign.
THIE JOINT DEBATES.
June 5th and 7th a debate was held at Beatrice, in the presence of nearly six thousand people, Professor Samuel Dickey, of Michigan, chairman of the executive committee of the National Prohibition party, and Rev. Sam. Small, of Utah, appearing as advocates of the prohibition cause, and Edward Rosewater, editor of the Omaha Bee, and John L. Webster, Esq., of Omaha, as defenders of the high license system. A full shorthand report was made of this debate, printed in the Bee and sent broadcast over the land. In September a similar discussion was held at Grand Island, ex-Governor Larrabee, of Iowa, and ex- Attorney-General Bradford, of Kansas, rep-
180
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAHA.
resenting the prohibition cause and Messrs. Rosewater and Webster, the high license doctrine. Complete shorthand reports were also made of these speeches and published in the Bee, with a view of giving the widest circulation to the arguments on both sides of the question. The Grand Island debate was noticeable for the valuable mass of information on this important subject pre- sented by the speakers. The exponents of the high license system had made a close and careful study of the question, its history in the various States where prohibitory laws had been enacted, with the practical results arising therefrom. This fact, together with the official positions recently occupied by the champions of prohibition in their own States, in one of which statutory, and in the other constitutional prohibition had been the law of the land for nearly a decade, gave charac- cter and force to the arguments advanced.
In addition to their services on these occasions Messrs. Rosewater and Webster spoke in various towns and cities through- out the State against the prohibitory amend- ment, Mr. Webster making thirty speeches, and Mr. Rosewater nearly as many, during the closing weeks of the campaign.
In the meantime the friends of the amend- ment were very active. To Rev. M. L. Holt was given charge of the organization of the Omaha churches in behalf of the cause, and a very active campaign was made. The local press, with the exception of the Leader, a weekly paper of limited circula- tion, opposed the amendment, but the city was flooded with copies of a New York weekly called the Voice, which claimed to be the organ of the National Prohibition party, and the Lincoln Call. The publishers of the Voice devoted a great deal of space to the Nebraska campaign and many thousands of copies of the paper were distributed gratu- itously throughout the State. They also undertook the collection of a fund in aid of the amendment, and a sum variously esti- mated at from $15,000 to $40,000 was thus
secured and sent to Nebraska, the contribu- tions coming from every State in the Union. The interest of the children and youth was elicited by means of contests for Demorest medals of silver, gold and diamonds, offered as prizes for distinction in oratory, the selec- tions being confined to a book of essays detailing the evils of intemperance. During the month of October an entertainment of some sort could be found at the old Academy of Music (which had been re-christened " Amendment Headquarters") nearly every evening. Mrs. Helen Gougar, Miss Frances E. Willard, Mrs. Mary Lathrop, Mrs. Rus- sell, ex-Governor St. John, of Kansas, and other speakers of like prominence, followed each other in rapid succession. On the Sunday immediately preceding election day Governor St. John was billed to appear, in the following sensational manner: "Free Grand Barbecue at Amendment Hall next Sunday Afternoon! Ex-Governor St. John will Roast Editor Rosewater and Eat Him in the Evening!" A challenge to St. John was thereupon printed in the Bee by Rose- water, and the Coliseum Building, capable of seating eight thousand people, was secured for a meeting at 2 o'clock Sunday afternoon, on which occasion at least five thousand people assembled to hear the antic- ipated discussion; but Mr. Rosewater was the only speaker. At the afternoon meeting at Amendment Headquarters, Governor St. John announced that upon arriving in Omaha that afternoon he learned that he had been challenged by Rosewater; but, in view of the fact that a large package of that morning's issue of the Call of Lincoln (a prohibition paper) had just been distrib- uted among those present, containing an interview at Lincoln held the night before with St. John, who then refused to accept Rosewater's challenge, which was the subject of the interview, many of his hearers declined to accept the inference he plainly meant to convey, to-wit: that he had not heard of the challenge until he arrived in
181
MISS FRANCES E. WILLARD'S ADDRESS.
Omaha. He made a brief address that after- noon and in the evening spoke at length, but distinctly declared that he had no inten- tion of participating in barbecues or posing as a cannibal.
The last few weeks of the campaign were especially exciting, as the impression gener- ally prevailed that the vote would be close. Those who favored the amendment began the campaign early in the spring, and every hamlet in the State was visited by their speakers. Their opponents began their task later on, and, in many sections of the State, no anti-amendment speeches were made. However, a great deal of literature, tending to show the discouraging features of the pro- hibitory law in States where it had been adopted, with facts and figures as to the remarkable development of Nebraska under the high license system, was circulated, chiefly by an organization, composed of leading business men of the State, known as " The Bankers' and Business Men's As- sociation," and called by the prohibitionists " Bummers' and Boodlers' Association." Edward P. Roggen, of Lincoln, ex-Secre- tary of State, was put in charge of the anti-amendment work, by this association, and devoted all his time for several months to the task. An organization called " The Personal Rights League," of which Louis Heimrod, of Omaha, was president, com- posed mostly, if not entirely, of foreigners, or those of foreign parentage, canvassed the State against the amendment. These two associations collected a considerable sum of money, at home and abroad, for campaign purposes.
The following address, headed, "To the Women of Nebraska," by Miss Frances E. Willard, President of the National Women's Christian Temperance Union, was given wide circulation throughout the State, dated October 1, 1890:
" My Valiant Comrades in the Fight :- I know your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope.' Soon you will
come even unto the last, when the ounce of power will tell beyond tons of power that have been expended hitherto. The Brewers' Journal, commenting upon the great decis- ion just before you, says: 'If the Second Amendment is carried, local option will be wiped out, for it will make prohibition in the State unconstitutional.' Nothing, I am sure, has spurred you onward like this con- sideration. No canvass has ever been made under such pressure, for in none has the al- ternative been so distressing. But, on the other hand, if you succeed, you will have such promise of enforcement as has never been enjoyed, for your State will be practi- cally surrounded by prohibition territory. To my mind, the crucial question of this campaign is, ' Will the women go to the polls?' Good and true men from all parts of the country are urging me to urge you to take upon you this final, and, as you think, heaviest cross. Go with prayer and song, with pledge and temperance literature, with coffee and sandwiches, and ballots. Estab- lish yourselves as near the polls as practica- ble; embellish your headquarters with what- ever can suggest the appearance of a Christ- ian home; furnish, when you can, a button- hole bouquet to each of those who vote for God, and home, and native land; bring out the children in battle array, with songs and banners. Sometimes they have been con- veyed in wagons from one polling place to another, singing such songs as:
' Dare to do right, dare to be true;
You have a work that no other can do.'
" Two or three days before the voting, fit out every child in Sunday school and pub- lic school with an amendment ballot, asking them to see that somebody votes it for their sakes. This has been a method of great value in past campaigns. The young ladies have helped us greatly in arranging for the cru- sade by the children. Let the older women assemble for prayer in the church, on the principle of ' old women for council, young women for war,' and let the bells be rung
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAILA.
every hour, when the leaders are changed in the prayer meeting. Sometimes the bells have been rung every seven minutes, as this is the interval of the passing knell of ruined lives because of drink. Let me encourage you by the statement that, having been at the polls many times, I have never found any such lions in the way as the imagina- tion had previously contrived. Men in America, in the masses, at least, always treat women with courtesy. Their morale is ex- cellent in this regard.
" A dignified and womanly bearing fur- nishes the best credentials. Read the ac- counts in ' Women and Temperance' of how the women went to the polls in different States, and see what a high day it was in Zion by reason of their presence. Even the conservative women of the South now, in several of the States, are habitually present when the local option fight is on. The min- isters are there illustrating applied Chris- tianity all day long, in their efforts to win votes for the home as against the saloon, and many a time, when victory turned on Zion's side, the good pastor has led the victorious group of work-a-day Christians in singing the doxology, and lifted up his faithful hands in blessing as the day's work ended. So may it be in many a hamlet, village and town throughout the great, young common wealth whose destiny is to be decided on next No- vember 4th, and whether you win or lose God will defend the right."
A few days before the election the Omaha friends of the amendment began the publi- cation of a four-column, four-page paper, for free distribution throughout the city, called the Daily Bumble Bee, under the aus- pices of " The Prohibition and Non-Parti- san County Central Committees," which publication was discontinued as soon as the result of the election was definitely known. Though its existence was brief, it was ex- citing, and the paper attracted its full share of public attention for a week. Personal feeling between the opposing factions be-
came very bitter. In his speech at the Col- iseum, November 2nd, Mr. Rosewater said he was in receipt of many threatening letters, and read the following, which he said had come to hand that day, postmarked Nelson, Nebraska: " If prohibition is defeated, four of us have decided that you must die, and Webster, too. It will take time, but we will not let you slip, nor him, either. We have children, and we know what prohibi- tion does. If you had done as much as you could without lying, we would have let you and Webster go. We thought we would give you and him one chance for your worthless carcasses, and only one."
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