The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-03-24

Ashley Horne Tells How Dis
pansary Solves Liquor
Question.

The people of Wilson are waging an
active campaign to close up its eighteen
saloons. and to establish a dispensary
At the meeting at that place held in the
interest of the dispensary, letters have
been read from prominent citizens of
other communities. Among Other letters
, published in the Wilson papers is the
following from the most successful BUSH
ness man in Clayton detailing the opera
| tons of the dispensary in that town:
THE CLAYTON DIsPENSARY.
l beg leave to submit the following
| statement of the results of the Clayton
dspensary.
The Clayton dspensary was established
July 1st, 1899 running from hat time
to July 1st 1900, without any profit,
ment distilleries.
! From July 1st, 1900, to January list,
: 1901, we made a profit Of $495
During the year 1901 we had better
! successes. We We're relieved of the dis.
tillery and by the efforts of our town
people to protect the dispensary, we
In 1902 most all of the opposition had
| been removed. First, we had a law
enacted by the Legislature prohibiting
government stills to run in the town
ship. And again our citizens were more
friendly to the operations of the dispen-
sary and our net income during the year
! 1902 was $2,O16, which we think will be
| some where near the amount we may
e
or management of the dispensary.
While we had open bars, seven in num-
Der a portion of the time, we paid to
the county treasurer $400 per year as
taxes. During 1902 we paid into tie
county treasury our usual county taxes
of $4OO, which was based upon what our
bar-rooms had been paying, and after
paying this $500 to the county, our usual
assessment for bars, we then had lett
a net profit of $2.016. Now of this $2.91G,
one-half goes to the town of Clayton and
one half to Clayton school district MAX
ing about 81 600 to the school district
tn1 $1,000 to the toNr.
The moral influence IF the dispensary
is best shown by the following schedule:
From July list, 1898, to July 1st 1899,
under the open bar system. the arount
of town fines collected for that period
was $212.7O. From July 1st. 1901 to July
1st. 1902, under the dispensary ysi4m
the amount of town fines collected was
So This report is quali}ni to by +.
l. Hinton, mayor, during both periods
OF the open bar and the disponsary.
While we had bar-rooms. our academy
was very poor and a very poor school
running barely four months, and with
an average attendance of 80 to 100 for
the four months. Under the dispensary
system we have built a commodious
academy at cost of about $4,000, with
six study rooms and an auditorium, and
| we now have six teachers and an aver
age attendance of $50 pupils, and run
ming nine months in the year against
four with open bars. Besides nearly
half the streets in our town have been
macadamized without a dollar of addi
tional tax upon our people. Our town
tax is % cents on the 800 worth and
70 cents on the poll. The dispensary pays
about as much to the town government
as the people pay by taxation.
During the last years operation with
the open bars our population was go.
Our population now is over 1900 Dur
ing the dispensary. we have built and
are running a first class bank with
10000 capital stock, also a cotton mill
with $120 600 capital stock, and one lum
Der planning plant with 100000 capital
stock and are now planning for an oil
mill.
The dispensary has grown more popu-
lar every year since the organization.
and we would be at a loss to know Row
to run our town government without It
from a moral standpoint. With the
open bars ladies rarely went into the
business houses on Saturday, and picked
their chances on other days. frequently
/ going the back streets rather than to
come i'm contact with disorderly 'eople
on Main street, both black and white. in
| fact business was nearly suspended on
| SATURDAYS so far as the ladies were n
cerned. On Sundays people would sit
/ around in the alleys and back Gays Of
the bar-rooms, and the traffic as rery
! demoralizing to all passers-by. tfh
the 6ispensary, on Sundays we ee 10
| congregation of people, the town with a
better odor. the church bell with more
! reverence. and the police courts IN
/ known.
Looking upon this statement from a
! financial standpoint. so.ac Of you may
! think we have gone INFO the business