Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-11-07
SHUT UP THE SALOONS.
HOW THE CLOSING OF THE GIN
MILLS AFFECTS BUSINESS.

HOW THE CLOSING OF THE GIN
MILLS AFFECTS BUSINESS.
Impartial Testimony from Leading and
representative Business Men and Bank
opinion that Prohibition Is q Benefit to
Legitimate Business.
From the Voice.l
Prohibition will ruin business" is the
frantic cry of the friends of the saloon,
when threatened with its abolition and
outlawry. Just how the abolition of On
institution which is one Of the chief in
struments in the production of pauper-
ism, crime and general moral debility in
community is going to ruin its business
interests, they fail to tell us. Neverthe-
less they seem to fear that the SOLDERING
up OF some of our habitually irrespon-
stble citizens is going to result in harm.
In the face Of such foolish and absurd
assertions it is refreshing to read such
testimonies as those which follow from
leading business men. bankers and man
ufacturcrs in the prohibition State of
Kansas, as to what has been the actual
effect of prohibition on the business in
. terests of their communities.
10 those who are in doubt as to the
good effects of prohibition in stimulat-
ing all lines of legitimate business these
letters. many of them from former OPP
ponents OF prohibition who have been
| converted by the workings of the law,
are commended.
How Lending Banker of Topeka Was
Converted to Prohibition.
Topeka, Kan. Sept. 90. 1890.
A careful inspection Of the financial
ops the fact that in no ten years of her
existence as State has she made as ma
terial progress as in the past ten years,
This is shown not only by the wonderful
growth in population but by the in
crease of taxable property as per the Of
fetal returns, which were, for the year
1880, Sl60,570,7Gl: for 1889, $500, Sic, O73,
being the last ten years.
The further fact is developed that the
towns of the State in which prohibition
has been enforced best are in better con-
dition than the localities having the BEN
eft, as is claimed, of u ajoint" whisky
traffic. We believe in comparing To-
peka with other towns of the State; our
merchants are in better condition. our
city has fewer empty houses, has an air
LOT more general thrift than has any
other town in the State. We attribute
q large part Of this to the savings that
result from prohibition.
We are assured by leading merchants.
including gro:ers, butchers, bakers, and
smaller dealers. whose trade would be
more affected than Others that there is
q very perceptihle and marked improve
ment in their trade since the closing of
the q. =. houses o compared with their
trade during that regime. We know
| personally of traders who were anti
prohibition.sts before the opening of the
U. p. houses that to-day are outspoken
prohibittonista from an economical stand
point, aud who say to me that they know
personally where individuals trading
Iswtth them who usually paid ca III FOL
Istheir goods, during the o. p. days bough
their necessaries on credit aud spen
their money for alcohol, and that sine,
the closing of these deadfalls the same
parties have money to pay for their nee
esSaries.
A leading and prominent jeweler says
that he sells much more goods to the
! young men under prohibition than he
ever did before: that they spend por
ton of their money that went for stimu
lants and its concomitants for articles o
ornament and virtu.
We assert that the city OF Topeka, &
prohibition town, has fewer vacant
houses than any other city of like size il
anti prohibition Missouri or Nebraska
That prohibition has been, and is, al
economical measure there is no question
We have fewer claimants for charity
and among our working people you viii
find them better clothed and better fed
with better homes than any other equa
number of people in any whisky com
mnnity in the world.
Il The records of the District Court O
Shawnee County show q constant dim
mutton in the number of criminal trials
and the Police Courts expense for tria
of criminals is not half what it was tel
years ago when our city and county hat
less than half the present population
In other words, the city Of Topeka un
der prohibition has grown from a city o
$4,000 inhabitants to u city of $4,000 in
habitants, with thirty-four nnannexet
additions which have a population O
about four thousand.
A leading German said to me a few
days since that he was a Prohibitionist
1 wanted to know why he was a Prohi
bitionist. He said: "When we hat
saloons, if sent my men or boys t,
town on an erran6, may be they go
hack before night and may be not: nov
4 l send them to town OH an errand anC
in q few hours they are back sober anG
ready for their duties: before they al
most invariably came home full of beer
Your humble servant was not an orig
ma! Prohibitionist-did not believe til.
law could be cnforccd: l now believe
that it can be, and is enforced us well q!
any other law on the statute book.
i j. r. MULvANE.
President Bank of Topeka.
From State Treasurer Sims.
hTATE OF KANSAS,
Il ---" TREAsURER's OFFICE.
Topeka. Sept lG, 1890.
Replying 10 yours of the 18th inst, re
lating to the effect of Prohibition in this
State will say it's enforcement has un.
gnes,ionably secured the educational
moral, social and material advancement OF