A Temperance Victory in Mountain View, Cal.
By CLYDE LOWRY
AFTER what is conceded to be one of the most remarkable campaigns ever conducted in this part of the country, Mountain View and the Fifth Supervisorial District, of which our town is about the center, has voted to banish the saloons and road houses. After about August 1 there will be no licensed saloon within eight miles of the Pacific Press, and in some directions it will be even farther to one. This temperance victory leaves but three incorporated cities and practically no country districts, in Santa Clara County, where the saloon is tolerated. The prospect that at least two of these cities will go dry within the next few months is very bright, and it is but a question of time until the last saloon will be driven from the country. From the very beginning, any and all trace of “politics” was carefully excluded, and the campaign was remarkably free from personalities. The temperance forces were bound together by a principle they knew to be right, and the battle was fought and won strictly on its merits. When but 57 signatures were needed on the original petition to put the saloon question on the ballot, 175 were secured. All our people were urged to register, and almost without exception they did so. The question was, “Shall the sale of alcoholic liquors be licensed?” The answering vote was “Yes” or “No.” The final count in Mountain View and the district was “No”—1,913; “Yes”—774. From the beginning, the Pacific Press was an active and powerful factor in the fight. Its linotypes and presses rendered most efficient service in the campaign of education which was carried on. Its stereopticon flashed vivid pictures on the screen where hundreds could see, while our speakers impressed lessons of right living, and the evils of the saloon. A fourteen-column supplement to the Mountain View Register-Leader, containing stenographic reports of several temperance speeches, was printed, and sent to every voter two days before election. In all, about forty or fifty columns of temperance matter were supplied by Pacific Press reporters to the Mountain View, San Jose, and Palo Alto papers, and the news was sent broadcast over the United States by the Associated Press the day after the election. The editors of the Signs weekly and monthly and several of our church elders were active leaders in the campaign. A choir and an orchestra, composed largely of Adventists, contributed to the interest and the success of the fifteen or more public meetings held. The Young People's Missionary Volunteer Society contributed 550 copies of the Temperance Instructor, every home in town being supplied with this powerful educator. The church missionary society provided 250 copies each of the tracts “It Doesn't Pay” (A. G. L. No. 82) and the “Dark Valley Railroad Time-Table.” Several very effective letters and circulars were written by the editors of the Signs weekly. Even the church-school children contributed their mite by widely distributing the circulars and handbills inviting people to the temperance meetings. At daybreak on election day, five automobiles, decorated with flags and painted banners, began the pleasant task of conveying our voters to the polls, and by noon fully ninety per cent of the temperance vote had been cast. The banners bore such inscriptions as, “Protect Your Home,” “Vote for Your Boy,” “Clean Up the Town.” The vote demonstrated the results of the educational campaign so energetically conducted, and the best citizens, members of the various churches, and the W. C. T. U. rejoiced with us. A mass praise-and-prayer meeting is to be held in the town's largest hall in the near future, and praise and thanks given to Him who blessed us with victory. But interesting as a recital of the history of the campaign may be, it is of even greater interest to know that by cooperating with our friends, neighbors, and the members of other churches, the Pacific Press and the Seventh-day Adventist Church now undoubtedly enjoy the respect and esteem of the community as they never did before. From all sides come words of grateful thanks and congratulation for the substantial assistance and moral support given the campaign by the Pacific Press and our people generally. When it was found that the First Precinct, in which all the hotels and saloons are located, had voted wet, scores of people flocked to the town hall, where the votes of the Second Precinct were being counted. When an overwhelming majority of votes in this precinct assured victory, the Methodist minister, chairman of the Clean-Town Committee, exclaimed: “The Adventists' vote won the fight. God bless the Adventists.” Rev. A. C. Bane, president of the Northern California Anti-Saloon League, has proclaimed in a public meeting since the election that the support of the Pacific Press and the Adventist people made victory possible, and he congratulated the local committee on its fight. And so the words of commendation come, not only from official sources, but also from our friends and neighbors nearer home. While the workers feel well repaid for their efforts, there is strong feeling that the work should be continued. The church realizes that the saloon is not the only evil in our land, and the campaign along health, temperance, and other lines will be continued energetically. CLYDE LOWRY.