The Waco daily examiner. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 187?-1888, 1885-07-25
CAN WACO ArroRD LOCAL or.

terial welfare of this city and who
has his property at stake to propouut
TO himself the question, "can Wac,
stand local option2n IL is maintained
by many that the adoption of loca
option will drive from our city larR,
portion of our trade; that farmers viii
not bring their cotton and grain to ,
town where they cannot exercise tn,
eommonest privileges of their man
hood, where each step must be dogged
by tho minions of the law, and his
hash-house subjected to police sur.
violence, SO long as he can find a
market where he may, untramelled
sell the products of his labor at the
highest price, aud with the proceeds
thereof eat such meat and drink as his
palate may dictate. Waving this and
all other questions of mere supposi.
tons, or as the lawyer would say, ex-
cmplary damages that may result to
the town, from the adoption of local
option, we come down to the imnie-
diate and direct damages visible TO the
most casual observer, and ask, "can
Waco stand local optionr' For an
answer, we look at the facts: If local
option prohibits, IL will immediately
vacate twenty-seven store houses now
occupied as saloons. OF course If the
saloons close, the wholesale houses
will have to move, which will leave at
least two other stores engaged in
whiskey and three in the beer bust
ness vacant; add to this two beer bot
Ting establishments and we have a
total of thirty-four business houses
vacated and their employees thrown
out Unemployment. | submit II to the
landlords of Waco, what would be the
effect of throwing such sup.
ply of vacant houses OH the
market and at the same time so less
oning the demand can same man
doubt for an instant best that rents
would drop 25 per cent Immediately
resulting in an annual loss of $4,000
rental To the landlords of Waco. Can
the landlords stand local optionY
Following In the wake ofthe depart
ing saloons our Ice factories must go,
any well informed man will tell you
that the factories cannot sustain
tain themselves thirty days and side
of the saloon trade, closing the ice
factories means double price for ice,
lily till every day instead of ten, a
at least three thousand dollars. In
the face of this case the landladies
stand prohibition.
The men thrown out of imploy-
mentb by the stoppage of the liquor
traffic aud its dependent occupations
will number l20 who have 800 mouths
to feed and backs TO clothe. With
their occupations gone, they must |
seek new homes which means that |
grocery and dry goods merchants |
have Just that many fewer customers |
to supply which means that some
body must go under, aud clerks be |
which means more vacant |
houses, further reductions in rents, |
more men out of Employment, conse-
quent reduction in salaries necesita-
ting more economy in living, the dis
missal of servants foregoing the |
spring bonnet, and the fall dress, the
evening drive. this means that the |
man, the sewing girl to the merchant
prince must suffer. In short we have
a city here called into being by the
wants of trade, every branch of bus
mess has been developed by de-
mand for it and each OF our institu-
lions or lines OF trade has been fitted
into its neighbor by the hand of
commerce just as each wheel
aud spring has been fitted to its
brother parts, in clock. Lay the
violent hands of the law ruthlessly |
upon any of our institutions or lines
Of trade and you paralyze the entire
system. Let the doors of Waco
University be closed on the first day |
of next September, aud there will not
be man or woman in Waco, who |
has any business interest in the city,
bu. will feel the shock. As to-day he |
may not see whence the good comes |
TO him, so then he would not see |
II had gone, but he will have |
suffered, all the same. SO suddenly |
crush the liquor traffic in Waco and
every person in the city, even to the
sacred minister of God, in his pulpit,
or the holy nun In her closet, must
ieel the rude shock of SO sudden and
violent reversal OF the laws of trade
upon which our community has been
built up. The abolition of slavery
was not more violent shock or
greater outrage upon the property
aud values OF the south, than the
adoption of prohibition will have
been upon tho people of Waco. But
to return to the original object of
this communication. The throwing
of thirty or forty vacant store houses
on the town in addition TO the twenty
or twenty-five now idle-and the de-
population of the city to the extent
of at least one thousand Inhabitants,
will create such surplus of business
houses and residences that there will
not be a demand for the erection of
another house in Waco for the next
five years. So that the brick yards
must suspend and the workshop
close in the day when prohibition
passes and the whisky men who are
thrown out of employment or are
banished from the city by prohibition
will be corporal's guard compared
to the army of mechanics and laborers
who follow in their wake. More saws
than decanters, more planes than
glasses, more benches than bars will
be sold under the auctioncer's ham
mer, and more laborers than bar
tenders will answer the roll call of
tramps and Migrants. Can the brick
masOns stand prohibition and the
stoppage of building; eau the me-
chanic stand prohibition ana a halt
in construction; can the bankers
stand prohibition and the upheaval
which must follow so violent rever-
sion of our business systems! warn
L.. u. 40. laNV Oh In
ment and and look at the matter
coolly aud unflnchingly. Can we
afford TO play Samson and pull down
the pillars of our commercial temple
upon ourselves that we may have tue
qualification of destroying few
whisky Philistines who have found