The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-06-21
A MPERANCEB BOOM
0ne-Fourth of the Saloons
in Jersey City to Go Out
of Business July l.
NOT TRADE ENOUGH TO PAY
The City Will Lose $4,000 By
the Enormous Reduction
in Licenses.
NOT TRADE ENOUGH TO PAY

The city will lose $50, 900 in cash this year
from an unexpected source. 1t will be on
liquor licenses. A prominent liquor dealer,
an officer of the new Liquor Dealers Asso-
citation, yesterday assured me that least 200
LIQUOR licenses would not be renewed this
year. For each license issued the city re-
ceives $50. The loss will be severely felt.
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union
will probably hold a jo~lliication meeting
when its members read the reasons for the
failure of the liquor dealers to continue in
business. 1t cannot, with any degree of
certainty, be said that the city is undergo
ing a moral or temperance revolution as a
result of the w. C. T. US labors. But tho
fact is, business is bad and brewers nave de-
clared their intention of renewing no deal
er's license unless ne has been conducting q
profitable business.
There are perhaps six hundred dealers
who are making money right along, but the
closing of one-fourth of the whole number Of
saloons in the city will encourage Christian
workers.
NOT ALL A BLESSING.
On the other hand, the loss of $50, 600 from
this source deprives the city of $4,000 which
would be devoted to the erection of public
SCHOOLS, OF SlS,OUU WHICH WOulO gu UOWdIu
reducing the city's debt, and of $685. COO
which would be employed in The repaving
and repairing of old worn out streets. There
fore, while the Christian organizations will
regard the occurrence as a Godsend, prop
erty owners may regard it as extremely I'M
fortunate. 1t will also nave the effect OF de-
pressing rentals for store properties by
throwing two hundred vacant business
places on the market.
Under an ordinance passed by the Board
of Aldermen, all licenses expire June 80.
The police usually see to it that no dealer
continues to sell rum who cannot on July
1 produce a regularly executed license. This
year a close watch will be kept upon the
saloon men, as Chief Murphy is of the opin-
ion that many of the lower class will at
tempt to operate without licenses.
A MARKED DECREASE.
So far, applications for about three hum
bred and fifty renewals AVE been made to
the Board of Aldermen. Ordinarily, at this
time of the year there are at least five hum
bred on file.
Retail Dealers" said Treasurer McArdle
of the Liquor Dealers Association to me last
evening, ''have been doing business at a loss.
The scarcity of work and more particularly
of money have ruined more than one dealers
business. If a paying trade is conducted
the brewers never hesitate about advancing
the $3.50 license fee. During the past year,
however. brewers have been hit pretty hard,
and l know that their refusal to renew
licenses this year will shut out at least two
hundred dealers, if not more, in this city.
There is not enough business i'll Jersey City
to support from eight hundred to one thou
sand saloons. The action of the brewers
will deprive Jersey City of a large sum of
money. l know of dealers who will nave to
borrow money to procure licenses who never
did so before. The past year has been a
dandy and the liquor business has suffered
as well as Others"