Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-06-18
that but one violation occurred during
the entire school year.

!
| City Solicitor Van Law is working on
an automobile ordinance. to comply
with the state law which goes into eff
| feet July 4. AS autos are beeomnig al
most as common as carriages in Mar
shalltown. their regulation. as vehicles,
/ becomes necessary.
| There viii be no asphalt paving this
| year That was decided upon at the
meeting of the council this week. AS
phalt appears to be too high. and al
| tho the council would like to have paw
| ed the intersecting streets between
| State and Church, and would have done
| SO had the price been anywhere near
reasonable. the members do not believe
in compelling the property owners TO
pay exhorbitant prices. The present
idea OF the council is to await the let
Ting of the contract until the frs.
meeting in January, when contractors
are anxious to secure early work for the
spring months. A price, at that time,
will be more satisfactory.
Delay In considering the Bernstein
petition for removal of saloon is but
another evidence that the city council
is disposed to recognize the danger
of unrestricted growth in the saloon
business. Some time ago the council
voted to discontinue issuing additional
permits. Whether this action was due
TO the wishes of saloons now doing
business or to a belief among council
men that twenty-five saloons in a town
of $4,000 people is plenty. can not be
determined. Citizens will decide for
themselves accordingly as they are
friends or enemies of the present coun-
cilmen. Certain it is that there is a
growing sentiment among citizens gen.
orally that this city has great sui
ficiency of what some are pleased TO
call a necessary evil. Such is the pre-
vailing belief among men OF breadth
and liberality of mind and Il is not
difficult to see how a councilman's mo-
tive could be a sincere one in his OPP
position to an extension Of the saloon
evil
Whether or not Marshalltown fs
ready for total prohibition of saloons
does not yet appear but there can be no
mistaking the temper OF the public
mind on the question of more saloons.
And it is we'll that this is so if we
consider the question only from the
commercial point of view. The aver
age saloon in Marshalltown must sell
$4,000 worth of liquors annually to
conduct profitable business. Some
do more and all seem to prosper. 1t
follows easily that at $4,000 annually
twenty-five saloons absorb from othsr
business channels In this city sSs0,00o
every year. Now If the business In
terests of Marshalltown We're taxed t.
build an interurban every year to
Grundy Center, there would be a riot
in progress Immediately bnt this IS
about the size of 100000. Thus, aside
from all other considerations, except
the commercial one the fewer saloons
we have the better will our legitimate
enterprises prosper Now the coun-
ell is, headed in the right direction
when 1t calls halt. Would it not be
a step forward to raise the mulct tax?
This would curtail the number
of saloons without loss of revenue 70
the city, but what is of greater conse-
quence 1t would lessen the consumption
of liquor, not in proportion to the de-
crease in saloons, but Very materially.
Any practicable saloon reform In a
town like Marshalltown must appeal to
the people who believe saloons are a
necessary evil and II would seem that
raise in the snulct tax, with a reduc-
ton in the number OF saloons. would
find favor today with majority of our
citizens.