The Worthington advance., 1891-08-20

TEMPER NOTES.
"A BUSINESS CALCULATION.
What tAS sRsnf fTramo Costs the sL,sxiti-
- q instsg Bnsinsss Of One city. s4sIs.
81 The keepers of sa1oonsg insist that
their business Is every whit rs legiti-
mate as the sale Of food, or Of clothing,
or of furniture, or any other retail oc-
cupation. This is not true. Dealers
in these and the thousands Of other
art:cleAof daily consumption and use
are engaged in supplying the natural
wants of humanity. The saloon keeper
is not The former gives to his custom.
1er an equivalent for his money. The
s,.ioon keeper does not Rum Is neither
food nor clothing, nor does it supply
any need OF the healthy human body.
1t is i. poison which ihiures, and In
large enough doses will kill. The men
who sell it are not on the same plane
as retail business men. Instead Of
catering TO humanity's needs, they
pander to its vices. Their occupation
is on the same level as, that: Of those
who traffic in the souls and bodies Of
women to satisfy mems lust .'H'
T There is no legitimate business that
would not I've largely benefited If this
traffic in liquid ruin were destroyed.
I've will enter into, q little, calcula-
tion to show how much the traffic
costs Toledo. We think it probable
that there is nota saloon in the city
whose average sales are less than SIC
per day. Unless the saloon keeper take
in this much at least, he cannot live;
for, though the percentage of profit in
the retail sale Of liquor is enormous,
yet when the first cost of the liquor,
the rent of the room, and the cost, OF
tire, gas, taxes and other expenses are
taken out, there would be too narrow
margin for profit if the saloons sales
averaged less than $40 daily It is said
that the large and fashionable saloons
on Summit street claim to average
$4oo and over per day: We think
that the average of $40 per day
for all the saloons in the city is proba-
bly, too low. However, we would soon
.er err on that side than on the other,
and so will let it stand.
There are, according to the collector
OF internal revenue. over 600 saloons
in this city. For convenience in
calculation let us take that number.
Assuming the average of daily receipts
to be only $40, the amount paid over
their counters is over $4,000 daily, and
over $1,s7s, 600 yearly. 1t will be
noted that we omit Sunday, and do
not take into calcula ion the illegal
sales OF that day, which are very large;
hence our estimate is very low if we
make it 81. 0Oo, 900 yearly.
Think of what that s., ,OOO. 900 a year
loses to the city and to all legitimate
lines of business and you will begin to
have a faint idea of what the rum traf-
fic costs Toledo in purely business
way every year! 1t does not do a cents
worth of good to those who buy it, nor
to their wives and children. The
amount spent for rum is simply that
much flched from other necessities
and comforts. If there were not a rum
hole in Toledo that $4,000, 900 would re
nearly all spent with business men in
legitimate lines. The men who now
pay it ont for liquor would then spend
it for more food or that of better
quality; for better clothing for them
selves, their wives and their children;
for better furniture, home comforts
and the little luxuries of life They
would live in better houses; they
would exist on higher plane. A por-
tion of it would probably be saved and
put away in savings banks as deposit
against times of sickness or misfortune,
or when old age shall come.
Look now for a moment at the bust.
ness side of this state of affairs. Let
the retail merchants of Toledo consider
for moment the value to themselves
of IN additional expenditure of Sc, 200
per day from retail consumers. We
have no means of knowing what is the
average total amount of retail sales
daily in the city, but we are quite Ger.
tain that the regular addition OF
$4,000 to tie total for every working
day in the year would give such boom
to the retail trade as it has not ex-
perienced in years, and it would be
permanent. 1t would not be only for
one day, but for every day in the week
and for every week in the year. II
there is any class of the community
whose own interests should prompt
them to be bitter opponents of the rum
traffic il is our retail merchants.
The benefit of the suppression of the
saloons of Toledo would not be confined
to the retail business and to the drink.
ing class of her population; nor would
the enormous sum added to the legiti.
mate business transactions be the only
benefit Toledo would derive There
would be less crime aud disorder; the
expenses of our, police force and oul
courts and prisons would be diminished,
while the burden of pauperism would
be much lightened. There would be
more men who would buy lots and build
cottages thereon; men who are not now
tax payers would accumulate their saw
ings and become such. The effect
would not be for one year, but 20 on
through each succeeding year. The
basis Of taxation would be broadened,
the rate of taxation would be lowered
there would be such an increase in the
demand for staple articles that it would
probably increase the mum Der of our re-
tail establishments. and add to the out
put of many of our manufacturing ones.
And who would be damaged by such
state of things? Not one, unless it
were some of the men now enpaped in
saloon keeping;f the benefit would &C.
crue either directly or Indirectly to
every other citizen. The saloon men