The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1896-01-17

, THE most unique example in
arithmetic that we have seen eXempli-
fed in great while is the problem
solved by last nights ReUieeU, wherein
it figures out that the successful eff
forts of the saloon men of Mankato to
get their licenses-thirty in number
at a fee of $500, will bring to the city
treasury during the current year S4,-
440 more money then if the licenses
be permitted to expire and then taken
out at fee of 81 ,OOO Then the editor
goes into discount table and figures
that not more than twenty saloons
will take out license at $1,000, and
figures up a loss to the city revenues
on this hypothesis of over $4,000
Well, we'll, what fools these saloon
men are to dump so much money in
to the city treasury needlessly and at
the same time in violation of good
| law! But how about these figures?
Of course figures won't lie when not
purposely misapplied. Let us put an
example in common addition and SUBJ
traction to our neighbor, taken from
the same page in which he finds his
table. For instance, L. Orando's
license expires July 1st, 1896. Mr..
orlando wants to surrender his present
license, for which he has paid to July
1st, and he does so by surrendering to
the city say S2l7 = the ReUieou's own
figures. Now, then, he takes out
new license from Jan. 25Gh, 1896, to
Jan. 25th, 1897, and pays $500 therefor
We will therefore credit his account
with SIT for his license from and to
the dates mentioned On the other
hand we will not ask Mr.. orlando to
surrender any of his license fee that
he has already paid, but let him run
to the first of July. We will then,
just to satisfy our neighbor, but not
on any representation OF business
principles, figure his license at the
81, 900 rate up to Jan. 25th, 1897, and
take from him 1915 in round figures.
Having credited him with the S217
surrendered under the $500 PROPOSE
tion, we must take the same account
ing of the amount in this division and
we find he will have paid to the same
dates $792-or $75 in excess of his can
collation. proposition. Multiply this
by thirty, the number of applications
for licenses, and we have total loss
to the city under the $500 proposition
of So, 25O instead of gain of 81, 44O as
our mathematical expert down the
street figures it. Only trifling diff
ference in results of $4,000 But such
method of jumbling figures as to re-
suits is not calculated to give the
true status of the situation nor to give
the public an intelligent understand
ing of the case. Let the council go to
work now and cancel all licenses, and
the city loses on every license in six
months just $250-eQual to 81, 500, and
these figures do not lie nor mislead.
The assumption that not more than
twenty licenses will be taken out un-
der.the present law is wholly specula-
tive. When the state law raised the
minimum license fee from $3.50 to
$500 the same chestnut was tossed
about in the air. The increase was
to cut the number of saloons down to
fifteen or twenty, when as matter of
fact only slight difference resulted.
And the same results will follow this
increase.
The coming summer, owing to the
track removal on the Omaha road,
promises to be a lively one, and saloons
are usually prosperous when business
is lively. There is no doubt but that
it would be very nice for the saloon
keepers to get six months license
for $3.50 instead of paying $500 there
for as now required by law under the
1898 census. 1t is pretty safe to assert
at this time, however, that no further
licenses will be granted for less fee
than $1,000. There will be forthcom-
ing plenty of evidence before the
time arrives for action on the batch
of applications now in to convince the
city council that Mankato has more
than ten thousand population if that
body is not already cognizant of the
| fact.
In 1884 the gold product of the