The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-05-22
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
Proatableness of the Saloon Business.


paper on this subject than that of Mr.. Lauer,
in the journal Of the 10Th. His figures deserve
and will receive careful consideration by every
candid man. Too many are disposed to mix
sentiment with business and go off on CROCHET
when they ought to get down to cod ciphering
Mr.. Lauer introduces authentic figures which
are of much value, but perhaps it is hardly fair
to mix the tobacco question with the whisky
question. for, though they are near akin they
are not identical, and Mr. Lincoln was wise
when he said to those who wanted him to whip
England while fighting the rebels, Zone war at
a time, gentlemen" 1t is hardly fair to charge
which is received in this county for
revenue by the general government, for
every dollar of that = taken by our
Uncle Samuel, and put in his own deep Golfers to
become part of the $87000,000 derived from
liquors-about dollar and half to every man,
woman and child in America-ali of which would
be "a tax on the real estate and other business"
as Mr.. Lauer truly says, if this tax were taken
off, The worst feature of the taking off of this
tax would be that taxes would, in that case,
come chiefly from the rich, whereas they are now
gathered almost wholly from the poor. and no
body misses it. The saving of a spring bonnet,
and winter bonnet and few pairs of gloves
and Sunday shoes, which the wives and daught-
ers of those who drink the liquors and thus yay
the taxes. would otherwise be able to wear, or
the saving of little meat, and a few school
books, and some everyday shoes, which the
children of the poor drunkard can do without as
well as not, enables the husband and father to
pay this tax without a grumble; whereas the
merchants smugssle their goods to evade duty,
aid the rich men long ago took off the
income tax and the tax on bank checks and on
matches, and tea, and coffee and other things.
This $87 600 600 comes, every dollar of it, from
those who drink the beer and whisky, and no
one feels it unless it be the wives and children
of the drinking classes Certainly the tenn
perEnce people do not.
But look at our local income, as shown by
Mr.. Lauer There are the $35, 900 paid to the
county, and there are the $4,000 paid to the
city, aggregating $53 900; and he is right in say
ing: IF the traffic were obliterated this would
have to be levied on the real estate and other
business" Of course it would and it is sheer
fanaticsm to assume that perhaps our expenses
would be less if there were no saloons TWAS
a mere accident no doubt, that in the next pre-
ceding column to that in which Mr. Lauer advo-
Gates this revenue system, the journal of
that morning said that the grand jury had
found forty indictments during the last pre-
ceding ten days. Now, every fellow of them was
a frequenter of these saloons which contribute
SO literally to our revenue, and had paid liber-
ally on that $53 000 1t is no argument against
Mr.. Lauer's position that our Jail expenses, for
board alone, averages about 81. 600 month the
year round, for every jail-bird contributes to-
wards this $50, 900 fund. 1t does not initiate
against the figures given by Mr.. Lauer that the
official statistics show that for the year ending
August 81, 1882 the cost of furnishing crime in
Marion county, growing out OF the liquor traffic,
was $40, 433 DO. In addition to the $50. 600 paid
for license, there was collected $609304 from
fines, making an income to the county from the
business of 500 093. o., leaving q small de-
felt of only $40, 339 36 to be paid "by tax on
real estate and other business" Now we
have no positive assurance that if there were no
saloons there would be none of these expenses;
we only know that the Indianapolis Sentinel of
June 10, 1856, speaking of the prohibitory law
then in force said: 1.-THE liquor law has knock
ed police items into a cooked hat. Not single
item is attainable now on account of John
Bareycorn;" and again, on the 28th of June, 1855,
it said: During the past fifteen days there has not
been single commitment to the county jail for
the violation of city ordinances" On the 18th
of July, 1855, just one month after the taking.
effect of the law, the City Council reduced the
police force one-haf, and the Locomotive of
the 2lst. abiding to this, said: 1.-THE temper
ance law has nearly abolished rioting, drunken
ness and rowdying, and the tax payers are re-
ducing expenses" There were twenty-seven
days that our Jail had not a single prisoner, and
seventeen other days it had but one. Let there
be no sentiment mixed up with this question
at this stage of it. 1t is to be discussed wholly
from the money standpoint. We are not talking
of temperance, but OF taxes.
1t must have been merely an accident that in
the very next column to Mr.. Lauer's figures and
argument there appeared the account of the
death of Mr.. Hicks in Monninger's saloon, after
first taking drink of whisky and dose of
morphine. Mr.. Hicks had been liberal con-
tributor towards that $53, 900 of revenue which
was to exempt 'real estate and other business"
from excessive taxation Some people might
H. al ~loo1z
business, but would it not be more patriotic for
her to say: George, though you neglected me,
you were an unselfsh and generous man. You
gave your money freely to the revenue which
relieves landholders from exorbitant taxes
perhaps, in some cases, saving from ten to
twelve dollars a year," This is Mr. Lauer's
argument, and he may we'll defy the world to
answer him.
Only short time ago the wife of one of
our veal thiest citizens, after waiting till
after midnight, started cut to 1nd her boy.
After visiting two three of the frstclass
establishment she found him quite drunk at one
of the licensed saloons that contribute to this
$53, 900 fund. Some people would expect that
mother to curse the saloon business, but, accord
ing to Mr.. Lauer, she should be expected to say:
''This is hard on the boy, and tolerably hard on
me, but these saloons contribute to the revenue
of the CITY, and save my dear husband ten to
twenty dollars tax every year on real estate
and other business and must bear it for the
good of my country. Long may they .wave"
In short, the figures given by Mr.. Lauer
are authentic. and deserve the careful considera-
ton of everybody. The government tax gath
cred wholly from liquor drinkers, rich and poor,
but mostly from the very poor. is enormous, while
our local taxes on the business, together with
the fines collected off the poor only, lack about
800 900 of defraying the entire expense of the
business. This will be so nearly met by the
additional $48 on each saloon, and the larger
fines likely to be imposed since the Supreme
Court decision, that we may call it even, and
continue the business at the old stand
AS this is purely a business matter, have not
allowed sentiment to enter into the discussion at
all. There can be no doubt of the personal
liberty" of every man TO get drunk, fight, kill,
beat wives and starve children, and raise hades
generally, but that can be offset by the bleeding
drunkards' families, and now and then by
suicide of the drunkard himself so that we can