The Case for Ending Local Option Prohibition
A 1909 editorial argues that 'local option' is an ineffective, demoralizing policy and suggests an elected board of excise commissioners as a better way to regulate the liquor trade.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
As the prohibition movement spreads, the consumption of liquor increases. Ex-President Eliot of Harvard says efforts to enforce prohibition during the past forty years have had unexpected effects on public respect for courts, judicial procedure, and law. The writer of this article does not wish to minimize the evils of the liquor traffic, but the number of bad dealers is small. Liquor laws should be framed to make it difficult for men of bad stamp to enter the business. The writer suggests a plan of regulation based on state rule for general policy and home rule for local administration. Rather than local-option elections that cause constant uncertainty, each township should elect a board of twelve excise commissioners. This board would have the power to grant or revoke licenses, determine fees, and set hours, ensuring that unfit persons are kept out of the business while stable, law-abiding dealers are protected. This system provides home rule of the right kind—giving people the power to regulate rather than the power to destroy.
“The most reputable liquor dealer is no safer than the dive keeper. The proposed plan is home rule of the right kind. It gives the people all the power they need to regulate, but no power to destroy and confiscate.”
This debate over local control of business and morality reflects the same friction seen in modern Everett as the city navigates state-level mandates versus neighborhood-level zoning and permitting. The historical preference for 'home rule' in 1909 predates the 1916 statewide prohibition in Washington, showing how deeply contested these regulatory powers were before the dry era took hold.
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