The Temperance Crusade Comes to Olympia
A prominent attorney argues for a 'Maine Liquor Law' to suppress the liquor trade in Washington Territory.
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.
Pursuant to notice, the members of the Legislative Assembly and citizens of Olympia assembled in the House of Representatives to hear Victor Smith, in favor of the enactment of a prohibitory liquor law. The distinguished lecturer argued that the trade in ardent spirits should be totally prohibited, likening the liquor trade to a public nuisance that could be legally abated. He argued that the safety of the people and the welfare of society took precedence over the property rights of individual vendors. Smith expressed his hope that Washington Territory would adopt such a law, serving as a beacon of virtue and sobriety for the nation's future.
“Would you, here in Olympia, permit a slaughter house to be erected on your Main street, where blood and offal would be collected and disease spread around by the filth produced?”
This 1853 debate over whether the city can prohibit 'nuisances' like liquor sales mirrors the modern tensions in Olympia regarding land use, homelessness, and the extent of municipal power to regulate public health and safety.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.