Omaha daily bee., 1902-03-24
LINCOLN HASA LICENSE WAR
Lively Prohibition Fight Being Wsged
at State Capital.
BUSINESS MEN ORGANIZE TO FIGHT
Last Week of Campaign Promises 10
he a Lively One, Owing 60
Zeal of A~nti-saIoOn
Element.


LINCOLN. March 23.-(Special.)-The
municipal campaign now waging here in
Lincoln is entering on its last week, but
strange to say the personality of the oppos-
ing candidates has been almost completely
obscured by the projection into the fore
front Of the prohibition issue under the
local option feature Of the Slocum law.
The voters OF Lincoln are called upon, when
they cast their ballots next week, not only
to say whom they want to serve In the
municipal Offices and the school board, but
also to express thmeslves in favor Of or
against the continuance Of the licensing
Of the liquor traf1c.
The campaign Of the no-license advocates
was started with quite a flourish Of trum-
pets and the exhibition Of a number OF
star performers, chief among them being
Mrs. Carrie Nation, who left her happy
home In Kansas to ward of the impending
evil from the happy homes here. II must
be confessed that the n1-license people
made considerable headwsy in quiet work
Of organization. Lincoln presents a very
favorable field for Temperance agitation,
more so, perhaps, than any other city OF its
size in this section. 1t has a very large
church element, we'll distributed through
out the city, and in addition to this, ex-
tensive educational institutions in the State
university, UNCONVENTIONAL colleges and
smaller academies. over at the university
a student organization has been perfected
to promote the no-license movement, in
fusing no little energy and enthusiasm into
II, and a number OF rousing no-license
meetings have been held in the university
buildings.
ArOuses the Taxpayers.
For a while It looked as If no systematic
effort would DO made to head off the tenn
perance advocates, but the momentum Of
the campaign soon set some Of the business
men and heavier taxpayers to figuring what
would be the result II the proceeds of the
liquor licenses were blotted out OF the bud
get. Inquiry revealed the fact that there
are forty-two licensed liquor dealers in
Lincoln. paying $40, 900 a year into the
school board treasury. The school district
OF Lincoln does not correspond exactly with
the limits OF the municipality, being more
extensive than the city. While the adoption
Of the tax commissioner system for the city
has largely increased the total of assessed
taxable property and reduced correspond
ingly tax rate for city purposes, the tax
levy for the school fund is still made on the
valuation fixed by the precinct assessors
for state and county purposes, and is in
point Of fact $500, 900 less than 1t was a year
ago. Neither does the s%hrinkage in the as
sessed valuation in the school district date
from only a year taD&. Five years ago
each mill Of the school levy produced $6,-
$50, while this year 1t produces less than
s., 900, or a fall OF nearly 20 per cent.
What all this has to do with the situation
may be gathered from an .overdraft in the
school fund which has raised the school
tax from 10 mills to 20 mills, notwithstand
ing the concomitant increase OF all the
other sources of school revenue. To &C
complish this the law had to be amended
by the last legislature, raising the limit OF
the tax levy. school districts are empowered
to impose from 10 to 20 mills, and Lincoln
Immediately went to the top notch.
Importance of License Fees.
The relative Importance Of the liquor
licenses to the tax levy In the school
finances may be seen from the following
exhibit, covering the period since 1896: