Prohibition in Kansas

Abstract

Kansas was admitted into the Union in I86I. In 1867 the soldiers of the Civil War commenced coming into the state to make it their home. With the advent of the soldiers began the fight against the saloon. Under the leadership of the Independent Order of Good Templars and the churches of the state these soldiers engaged in the movement with spirit and courage. The contest was waged with varying fortunes until in I879, when a resolution was submitted by the legislature to the people of Kansas, providing for an amendment to the constitution prohibiting the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors except for medical, scientific and mechanical purposes. Immediately after the submission of this amendment the Kansas State Temperance Union was organized, with Governor John P. St. John as its first president. This organization took the lead in conducting the campaign for the adoption of the amendment. In the fall of I880, by a majority of 7,837, this amendment became a part of the constitution of the state. The succeeding legislature enacted laws for the enforcement of the constitutional provision, and successive legislatures since that time have made these laws stronger. The several governors of the state have, in their messages, urged that no backward step be taken in the matter of constitutional prohibition. For twenty-three years prior to I903 the law was enforced or not enforced according to the local sentiment of the community. In that year the Kansas State Temperance Union organized a law enforcement department to secure a uniform observance of the law in all parts of the state. At that time there were 35 of the 105 counties in the state in which the law was more or less openly violated, and in which the Kansas joint did business. Every large city in the state except two was in open collusion with and taking (567)