The "drys," both male and female, are preparing an attack on the legislative forces of the State of Illinois. The army, under the leadership of commandress Frances E. Willard, will appear before the lawmakers of Springfield next week, and will swamp the assembly with petitions for a statute to obtain local option; a further provision giving votes to women will constitute an additional blessing for the people. The dual proposal, as is well known, would give the fair sex the right to decide whether alcoholic drinks may be sold in a given community; thus the men would cease to be the sole arbiters of that question. Willard and her staff exult in stating that "their petition represents one half of the women living in Illinois".

Such a mixture of local option and women suffrage would in fact be equivalent to tyrannical power to enforce prohibition in many parts of our State. Both 2houses of the legislature have already appointed committees to give Willard and her regiments an appropriate reception, and to introduce them to the representatives who fashion our laws. Willard will resort to a mighty harangue in favor of temperance and women's rights when she addresses the assembly, and other speakers will follow.

The danger of this onslaught by the temperance forces must not be underestimated. The mischief wrought five and six years ago by these female temperance crusaders definitely established that the "henpecked" element among the Americans is a very large entity; a large contingent of liberalminded, cultured citizens dared not object, and many men even joined the militant ranks.