Labor Keeps Its Distance from the 'Wet' Fight
State Federation of Labor leaders refuse to take sides in the brewing local option prohibition fight.
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.
The saloon forces are making an effort all over the state to drag the labor unions into the local option fight and the well-worn battle cry that 'the saloon is the poor man's club' is being heard. Whatever success the 'wet' forces may have in convincing members of labor unions that the saloon is their friend, they will get no official support in their fight. Neither will the anti-saloon league be assisted by the union labor body. The attitude of the men who are sent here by the State Federation of Labor is that the local option fight is more interest to labor than any other matter that may come before the legislature. They contend that individual members of their unions have their opinions on this subject and as individuals they may express them and work for their ends. But the State Federation will have nothing to do with the fight between the wets and drys under any consideration.
“They are here solely for the purpose of laboring and watching labor legislation and no other need apply.”
The 'local option' fight over saloons was the precursor to national Prohibition. Organized labor's reluctance to tether itself to the 'wet/dry' political divide shows the difficulty of maintaining a unified front when cultural and religious debates cross-cut class lines.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.