Dodge City times., 1888-03-29
HOW SHALL / VOTE.

grcets its readers, the question of who
shall control the municipal affairs OF
our city for another year will have been
decided at the ballot box. 1t is an i'm
portant question, and one which we'll
merits the IN st careful consideration of
every voter.
We assume that every reputable cit
izen will cndeavor to secure IA set OF
city officials who will enact such laws
and pursue such policy as will best pro-
mote the welfare of the city, and the
question to be decided is, what will be
for the best interests of Dodge City.
Men may honestly differ on this poiut,
vet we believe all fair minded men will
be willing to examine the question.
The largest single interest in Dodge
CITY is that of the Santa Fe railroad;
from a standpoint of dollars and cents
a policy which they regard as best cal
cuated to promote their interests may
well be regarded as for the best interest
of the city at lgrge. For years they
have maintained that the saloons and
bawdy houses which were until lately
50 prominent feature of our city were
a detriment to their business, and have
said repeatedly that so long as these
were permitted to infest the city they
were not disposed to do anything out of
their usual course of business to bene-
fit the city They claimed that the sa-
looms and dance houses were constant
temptation to their men; and the oppor-
tunities for unlimited indulgence so
openly presented frequently rendered
them unfit for duty, and always made
them more or less unreliable. They
also said than whenever the city would
rid itself of these evil influences they
would do anything in their power to
advanc. the interests of lhe city.
How well have they redeemed their
promise? Last summer, when the first
earnest attempt was made to rid the
city of places of evil resort, the Santa
Fe did nobly in seconding the efforts of
the city officials. They sold the block
upon which the City Hall is being built
for $4,000, when it was well worth $40,
600; they have made Dodge City a di-
vision of the freight, passenger, ex-
press and mail service on their road;
they are now preparing to spend large
amount in improving and enlarglng
their yard and freight facilities, and
will at once enlarge their round house
and machine shops. They have done
all this to redeem their promise, and
stand ready to do their part in any
manner to further any move the city
may make in the direction of perma-
nent and legitimate improvement. This
company is now employing over two
hundred men who reside in this city.
This means an aggregate monthly dis
bursement of not less than S12, 600,
in wages, and an aggregate expendi-
ture of fully $50, 900 monthly, a large
portion of which finds its way into
the hands of our business men,
This is the view which the largest
business interest In Dodge takes of the
whisky question. Can any business
man afford to take any other view of it?
Those who favor whisky, and claim
that closing thel saloons, gambling
hells and houses of ill-fam. has ruined
the town, take very narrow and Who'll
ly mistaken view of the question. They
say that the money once put in circula-
ton through these channels is lost TO
the town, but We say no; all but very
small portion of it is spent for other
things. True the gamblers and loose
characters have gone, and they spent
money freely; but all they spent was
money they took from others, and gaye
nothing In return. They spent only
that which they obtained illegally, and
not all of that, money is flush in towns
where these people are numerous, but
the town is never the better for it.
Times are not flush because Of the bad
characters, but bad character are nu-
merous because times are flush.
Dodge City is certainly in position
to speak from experience on this point,
and no thinking man can wish to return
to the days which We are glad to believe
are gone forever. Those who are pleased
with the new order of things can con-
tinue 1t by voting right next Tuesday.