The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1898-03-10
IT SPEAKS
FOR ITSELF. !
The Saloon Will Never Cease to
Speak for Itself to the Advan-
tage Of Anyone. 3

5 - Il > - y s--5 s
The advantage of liquor traffic 10
supported by only two arguments.
One is for the financial benefit for
the revenue derived to decrease tax.
es; the other is that liquor will be
sold anyway.
This village received last year
$3.50 and the year before like
amount. Last spring when the pres
ent village council had the granting
of license under advisement, two pro-
prietors of saloons appeared and
asked for reduction of the license
fee, one of them presenting as his
reason for the request the fact that
he did not make anything. In show
ing this he stated that his receipts
during the year 1896 were only $3.50
and his net profit, was only about
$16O. Granting that the other two
saloons did a like amount of business
it would make a total of $17, $40
twice as much as raised for our
schools by taxation. Figuring that
the same amount of business was
done the past year, it would make a
revenue to the saloons of Worthing-
ton of $35, $50, of which the larger
portion is paid by Worthington and
vicinity, and the village gets back
$500 of this $35, $50. Now, who
pays the taxes! To be sure, a por.
ton of this amount was spent in the
regular channels of trade, but what
about the remainder? Where did
that go! Taken from tho tax payer
and sent abroad to pay the liquor
dealer. Now the consumer has paid
to the saloon, which they are really
taxed by tho people voting for license,
$35,80O in two years.
Besides this, the people voting for
license vote upon the people tax to
pay the cost of arrests, prosecutions
and aid to those destitute, some of
whom are rendered so by open sa-
looms. This tax is not available in
exact figures; therefore no attempt
will be made to give them: but any
fair considerate person aan partially
realize what this tax will amount to.
@ ;oourse the village paya only its|
pro rats With the county, whore, un-
fortunately for the people residing
there, the valuation Is increasing
moro rapidly than in the village, but, |
nevertheless, the people pay the tax
through the saloon.
The Herald says that the debt will
be reduced $500 during the year. |
this to be 50, what did the
the year before do! The
principal thing pointed to for the
council of '96 is they dug a we'll for
the temperance people. What did
tho council of '94 do? We are not
familiar with their transactions, but
understand they paid no "winter
bonds" but the no-licence council of
'95 did, and the council of '96 did
not, and the council expect to pay
two, so it is not such grand "speak
for ITSELF after all, when We take in
to consideration the misery, accident,
crime, destituiion and other evil ef-
fects, which all license money could
not remove.
Now, is it a financial benefit to
this village for the village and county
to pay in two years $35, ,28O and the
other forced expenses to obtain 81 500?
As to blind pigs. There are some
that will always drink, but everyone
knows that if there is any law at all,
even if not rigidly enforced, everyone
can not obtain liquor at these re-
sorts. There will be some prevented.
if only a few boys: which would be
more than accomplished by open sa-
looms, because if the boys see an open
saloon it is hard to impress upon
their minds the danger that lies in
them, and there are but very: few in
temperate fathers that permit their
children to enter saloon. But what
can a parent say when confronted by
Z son with the fact that the saloon is
permitted by majority of the peo-
plo and such being the case there can