The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-01-29
LEAVING KANSAS.

| surprise that business firms should be
found leaving a state where the saloon
is prohibited and settling in a place
where the licensed saloon abounds
| Upon its face it does seem ineXplicabie
| Many business firms have so left Kan.
sas within the past few years, and 10
Gated in Kansas City. A large mum
Der Of Kansas City's most successful
business houses, wholesalers and re
| tailers, are formerly Of Kansas" PEG
! pie. Wichita has been the victim OF
! this seemingly inexplicable movement
In Analysing the matter it will be found
that prohibition is sentiment and not
| business. Churches and religious so
| cieties. even, of every character, have
| their business sides. Not so prOhibi-
ton. 1t is wholly sentiment. upheld
and supported by nOn-business ele-
ments very largely, by elements par
| ticularly whose members, so long as
their salaries are paid, are not affected
by business depressions. and therefore
up 10 such depression. The average
teachers institute is wont to pass reSO-
buttons praising prohibition. Not long
since a body of public school teachers,
in this state, denounced, by resolution,
the Eagle for its position on prohibi-
ton. These teachers were honest and
sincere. But had the enforcement Of
that law in any way interfered with the
salaries paid them by the taxpayers.
by cutting them down by so much as
10 per cent, the chances are that the
resolutions would have been rather Of
commendatiOn than Of denunciation.
The recipient of a fixed professional
salary is not affected by the removal OF
one or a dozen business firms TO Kan
sas City. But every line of business
contributing TO such salary is directly
affected. Besides prohibition as a
sentiment has its professional and po-
litical phases There are officers of
societies who directly depend upon
salaries earned in stirring up and keep
ing alive the prohibition cOmmOtion, as
there are politicians seeking and secur-
ing Office and place by like line of
policy. None of these are affected by
the restrictions Of business to which
they directly contribute. Once touch
their bread and butter and how quickly
would they Subside. The city council
Of Wichita has been forced to lay an
occupation tax, grievious and burden
some in its provisions. While this tax
will not as a rule touch those most
active in keeping alive and sustaining
the prohibition sentiment, it does dis
courage and restrain business, and
burthen the business man, and hurt
the town. A city cannot be a center
of business and at the same time be
a village model in morals. Why it be-
came necessary for Wichita to lay the
burthen of an occupation tax every
business man not a bigot understands,
but it would be impossible TO make the
professional PrOhibitiOniSts see it. Still
even these sooner or later will feel it.
The Eagle WAS roundly denounced be-
cause, in the present contest, it de-
clared that in the event of the prohibit
ton policy being effectively enforced
upon the city that the very leaders of
the movement would themselves in two
or three years, or less time, be seeking
new fields. Nothing hardly could have
been more evident. 1t is not that there
is more temperance, better morals.
Nothing Of the kind. These business
establishments which are leaving Kan
sas and locating in whisky Missouri
are not leaving because the prOhibitOry
law is not enforced, nor yet because
their proprietors were deprived of the
privilege of drinking. Business activi-
ties being curtailed by just 50 much
they swallowed their prohibition CON
victiOns and have gone to reap a share
of the profits where everything goes.
Coming back To the home illustration.
the firms which have pulled out OF
Wichita for Kansas City, while their
departure affected adversely every
other business interest of the town,
from the street cleaner and the dray-
man TO the bank and newspaper, did
not touch the salaries of the resolution
passing school marmS nor that Of the
professional prohibition promoter and
agitator. be he preacher politician or
but the Street-cOrner promulgator.