August 20, 2018
This is “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.
On February
8, 1901, the “Union” newspaper reported that “in spite of a scare caused by an
unknown lady, who had come to town searching for a son and had been mistaken
for a “saloon smasher,” it was believed that Carrie Nation would not visit
Junction City unless invited to do so or until she was assured that the good
women of the city would be with her. It
seems the consensus of opinion in town was that the local chapter of the
Women’s Christian Temperance Union was more moderate in their position. It was also believed that one of Carry
Nation’s reasons for not coming here was that every man who operated a saloon
in Junction City was doing so under protection of the city.
Well, it was
further believed that when the city got ready to close the saloons, it was
probable that 100 percent of the men now engaged in the business would step
down without protest. However, citizens had their opinions. By the end of February of 1901, the newspaper
reported that a showdown was near between those who wanted open saloons and
those who did not.
The saloons
did end up being closed. Jobs were lost,
revenue to the city through taxes and fines were lost. It sounds familiar,
doesn’t it? We try to fix something for
what is perceived as what is best and other issues are created. Just as the issues which concern us today
will eventually be resolved, so was the controversial saloon issue of
1901. By 1918, the whole country had
come under the prohibition specter and those who liked to imbibe in Junction
City managed to work their way around it. Carry Nation died in 1911 before the
18th Amendment was enacted in 1919.
The 18th Amendment to
the U. S. Constitution, which banned the sale and consumption of alcoholic
beverage, was the only Amendment to be repealed.
And that’s
today’s story on “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical
Society.
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