The Coal Tariff Local Option!

A fiood deal has been said lately of the dotlea on ooal. The "coal barons " of l'ennsylvania have been bandled without gloves by free-trade journalist, and by a few over-zealous free-trade woikinjrmen. The diseussion has as usual ixposed and dlulpated no llttla amount of ignorance on the subject. It is found, lir.-t, t lint there has been no duty on antliraclte, orhard, coiil - snoh is ranenlly uaed in tlie New England and Kastern States. Au apulogy is therefore due to the coal barons. But further inquiry elicits the fact that the duty of seventy-fiye cents per ton on bituminous, or soft coal does not do the coal barous Hiiyjrood, for this kind of coal, at the mouth of the pit, is only about $1 per ton against $1.18 in England. It ought to be sure, to be $1.75 per ton, If the President's theory is sound, that the amount of duty is alw.iys added to the prlce; but theory and fact souietimes disagree. Further Inrefltljratlon bas shown tliat formcrly the duties on soft coal were much btgfaer, and that the rcductiou was made by the so-called high-tarill' party. Give the devil his doel The malt in Lenawee Co. is very close on the local option question. The city of Adrián gave 7(il niajority against it. Gen. Hawky and Senator Sherman wDl positively attend the banquet at Detroit to-day. Also the eloquent Hepresentatives MeComas of Maryland, Henderson of Iowa, Ooft' of West Virginia, and probably Senator Davis of Minnesota, and McKlnleyof Ohio. " The fuct that only 35 or 40 saloonkeepers attended the state meeting ba Detroit, recenUy where ;300 or 400 were expected, proves a god deal to many who look u pon the local option qiiestion dlspassionately. Saloon-keepers are not as much interested assome folks attetnpt to raake the people belieye. The fact is, a larjre niajority of them would as lieve have local option as tho new $500 ta.x law. The nssertlon of the Stockbridge Sun thftt all those who are opposing the locnl opt.ion luw are doinj go from "sordid considerations," 8 not only narrowminded and 111 Ibera], but realiy iiumltlng to a dass of men who are as eontclentloui, honest, honorahl ¦, eonaiitent and practical tempéranos raen as thc editor of the Sun ever daré be. The practice of iraputlng disereditable motives to men who difl'er wilh us upon important questions Is unworthy an editor, of all other men in the workl. The name of thc Sun should be changed to the Moon. The Charlotte Leader comes to usuilli the salutatory of Horton B. Brymn and 1 lomer C. Bryan as editon and proprletois. Horton 1?. is the gentleman who olHclatcd for some time as local editor of the KesfisWr, and is a lirst-class scrlbe, and jolly good fellow generalij. The Leader is aseven column quarto, and is a neat, clean, btnlneM-lookiag paper, giving evidence of good patronage, the only objecHonable feature being lts politics, which are democratie. The new proprietors have the best wishes for proaperlty of many good friends hereabouts. Experimenta have been mnlo In transphuitlue the beuuliful KilelwoiH luto the naíniiitíims ut Bobomia and othi-r plaoM. Ia lts new hoincM the pl-int . M'i-ins !o be Obanglng Uh churnrttT. anti In the mountiiln-t of upper Austria it iniH beoome translbrmed Inio a new ipeolei, baarlog red dowen iutead ofthe beautiful ennlne-liUe white bluoms.- Ypsl. Commercial. The traruplantlng of Engllsh free trade into thls country will Dot effect the the above phenniiiciinn or cliange its character a partiële. It will be the same plant in ihW country that it is u Iieland: enriching England but impoverishing every country adoptiog it. It Is as dangerous to our commercial welfare as the "peskey" little Bngllsh ipirrow is to our native song blrds. [The C"t bieb lias givcn the pcople an opportnnlty to expresa their convictions apon the local ontiou qucstion, aud bas printed overythlng that bas been Iianilcd in on oltber ilde. We have not arrogaiitly declded that ouc side of this great qucstion Is right mul refused to allow anything ia oppotitiotl to our views to appeac (u at least one pa]ier has done) but Uu gtTCD the fullcst and freest opportnntv ror people to exprets whateyer ideas they mlgbt hold to bc right. This opportunity severa] citlzenl haveavailed tliemtelvei of, and the candor, and falrness, and earnestness which they have shown Is honorable to themselves. Whlchcver way the qnestlon Is decided next Monday, tome one will bc dlsappolnted, bat whlcberer way it Is decided all the penpie wil] clieerfully acqalesce, forthe right of the majority to rnlcin this nation, is the rock apon which it is founded. li local optlon sliall becarrled, it wil] have a trial of three years, a snrticient time to prove w hether or r.ot it can be made a sneeess in lhi coinuuinity. If it Is defeated, tlien the new liquor tax law will ho glven a trial of three years, and it will be. secn whcthtr lts provUtoiM will have a tendency toward a better temperancc tentlnuent or not. In eithcr event the world wil] jog sJong as it bas done.though the effect of radical changas ure sometimos depiesshig on the tlt rif t and growthof communities.J KDITOR Col hier:- I had not intend ed to weary yon wlth any further words upan thla subject of local option or high I Ícense, but the importance of the resul t of the contest is fraught with snob grave consequences, and is of such vital interest to the people of this coimty that it is difflcult to refrain from joinlng in the discussion. Since the days of slavery there bas been no issue which bas comra&ndod such general and intense public Interest. The diïnk habit is one that must be kept witliin bounds, curbed to the minimum, or It will destroy the nation; and the practical measurt to accompllsh that purpose are what the people are seeking after to-day. It will be remembered by the reading public that iu the attempt made by the repnbllcan members of the legislature of New York last winter to secure the enact inent of a high license law for New Voik city and state, that somc valuable and slenlficant statistics were compiled by the legislativo committee, eomparing the practical workings of high license wit li prohibitory laws. It appears from Ihose figures tbat there are more saloons in propoi tion to pormlatlon iu Bangor, Maine, than In any other city In the United State?, and that the city of Omaha, though a wild western city, ander high license has niuch fewer saloons than the eastern and cultiired city of I'rovidenoe, Me., tinder years of dlKolulc prohibitton. These figures íuay not prove anything to the strong prohibitory partlsan, but they do prove niuch to tlie thinking, practical man, who ha,s at healt the best Interestsofhis (ellow-cltlzeos. The great body of reasonable men, who are soverned by experience, are turninsj to high license as the best tempéranos nieasure it thil time. They do not regard it as an end, but as a Btepping-stone to somethlng better. The object al which all gooa tempéranos people aim can be accomplished only by changes in the individual Tliere is little hope of the mlddle aged man whose habita have bicorne fix'ed; the hope cs in tlioe who are coming into manhood. This fact proves bow impossible it is to uccomplish the purpose desired by the mere passing of a law. Ir' a farmer tinding a palch of Canada tbistles upon Ijís farm sbould cut do a the tois mid destroy them, and then asserl that be had rid bis farm ot the noxious weeds, he would be terund not only unwUe, but toolish, by hls farmer nelghbors, tvould he not? Beoaase they would know that the roots were still in tbc i arth to give constant Ufe to the plant. The practical farmer would not take tbat course, but he would g. to woi k by a slower procesa thai wanld destroy the weeds in hoth root and ttalk. That is the status of the temperance qaestion in Washtenaw county to-day. unïi.iis, MgnHensloned impructical temperance man, who can only see that the measure nieans what he so mach desires to have aecomplished, is determined tbat the people shall adopt a local option law that will ent down thesurfacegrou tli of intemperance, leaving the root, that gives the dread evil life and susttnance, still in the grouod. No matter how close to earth the stalks may be cut, or how frequent the process of cutting, tiie root never dies, hut s continually sending fprthnew leavesaud stcnis to contamínate and kill the good plauts, which you are attempting to cultívate. In the end the roots will discourage and tire out the temperance farmers, and will flourish agalu all the more because of entorced rest. The consérvame, practica! temueranee man is oonfldenttbat the more tedious plan of destroying the weed, root and branch is the best eourse to adopt. Our high tax law is constantly reducIng the plauts. As our boys come nn tney are lüorougbly ImpKMed wltli the net that iitL'inpcrance is nat only a degrading evil, but indulgeuce therein ostraclzes thein from society and ruiiis their opportunities In the commercial workl. Thus the patronage of the saloon being continually rootcil out the saloon itself inust eventually die. lUsults are not as quickly obtalned by this proces?, but are permanent. In the days of prohlbltlon tiiere were between SO and 90 saloons in Ann Arbor all dolng a Houiishing business. To-day thanks to oor taz latr.ttaere ure but ii saloons, the business of wliich in comparison with tbose days, is not nearly as large. Thus our tax law lias reduced the saloons Dearljr two-thirJs and ihcrensed tte patronage of the saloons in still greater proportion, and yet the city of Ann Arbor bas inereated In popnlation, at least one-tbixd. This is practical temperante. Witli tlie lat of next May the tax wil! be inereased if allowed to be cu torced from $300 to $000, which must of a necessity reduce tlie number of saloons still more. The next generation, I mean the one that is coming np now, will not putronize the saloons, even tliough tliey be the sous oí Qermant, u uiiich ai dow tlie present generation. It is the wie min who Iets well enough alone The qiiestioiis tor the practical temporalice man, who Mms the courage to use lus rcason upon this subject, to ask hlmaelf are: "WIU not the enactmeot of a prohibitory luw, it preient, in tUis COunty, eventtiHlly biing ahout the sume state of afï'iirs tlüit exlsted under prohibition before?" "Wlll lt not close the front door and open wide the back dooi?" "H'ill t not, by chanylaj; the ch.mnels of procuriiiK llquor Increase the consumpciou of it?" The voter shonUl ponder well these questions and vote under.-t:iinlinjrly. h is not "the home knlnst the saloon" Chat is involved , but tanuticism agatnit cxperienoe; t is the welfare of yoaraoni who aracomlngapi ofjrour neighborand bltchlldren; in fncttbe good of the entlre people. Do not nlstake Mntlment for senté, but vote boneitly n God 'rivcs