Omaha daily bee., 1906-02-02
OUR LETTER BOX
The Liquor Dealers side.

OMAHA, Neb.. Feb. Ito the Editor
OF The Bee: The saloonkeepers OF Omaha
are not seeking to terrify the Sunday clos
Ing advocates by threatening to boycott
them. They are swinging no clubs. as
one Of the daily papers has industriously
sought to have the public believe. The
saloonkeepers have revived their organiza-
tons. not with any hostile intention. but
for the very potent reason that their
financial interests demand q close alliance
OF the liquor forces and unity OF action
from this time on. A systematic effort
has been inauguratcd to wipe out the
legitimate liquor traffic by certain crowd
Of enthusiasts, who seem to have no re-
gard for the welfare of the city and less
consideration for the interests of cap
italists. real estate owners and business
men. The saloonkeepers are driven to nut
up defense against the onslaughts of the
rabid opponents Of their business inter-
| ests, and they have the warm sympathy
of all practical and communsensed men
who stand for justice and fair play. our
people have never resorted to underhanded
trickery TO maintain their rights, nor do
they fall so low as to heap personal abuse
upon their enemies. The prohibition crnnks
blow up saloon buildings with dynamite
forcibly enter retail liquor establishments
and destroy bar fixtures and glassware
They constantly abuse and villify brewers
and saloonkeepers and strive in every pos
sible way to injure the reputation and
business interests OF honest enterprising
men who have exchanged the sum of 81 900
or more for the privilege of conducting a
lawful business for a given period. The
saloonkeepers of Omaha, yielding to a
popular demand should not be censured
for making an open effort to keep the back
doors of their places OF business open
on Sunday. If given a chance to vote
on the question it is safe to predict that
fully eght-tenths of the adult population
of Omaha would declare against Sunday
closing. The capitalists, the manufacturers,
the real estate owners and the business
men of any metropolitan city. as a rule are
opposed to the rigid enforcement of pur-
itanical laws. This is not Omaha's first
trial of the"ld." on three or four oc-
casions in years gone by, the fanatics
made similar demonstrations against the
time-honored custom of permitting the
back doors Of the saloons to remain open
on Sunday. The lid" went down to be
speedily raised by public sentiment. The
liberal minded citizens of Omaha, COM
prising, we have stated, eight-tenths
of our adult population, want to see the
back doors of the saloons kept open on
Sunday. The majority should rule; it is
not proper for the tail to wag the dog
We have had three dry Sundays in
Omaha, the results OF which argue strongly
against a continuance Of the lid" I'm
licensed drug store dram shops have done
a rushing business. and thousands of dol
lars have gone to Council Bluffs Florence
and other nearby towns that might better
have been kept in Omaha. There has been
fully as much. If not more. drunkenness
on the streets each Sunday since the lid"
went down as had been noted previous
to the enforcement of the Sunday closing
law. Nothing has been gained and much
has been lost, by this so-called reform"
movement, and our people honestly believe
the leading Civic Federatonists, many of
whom are heavy property owners and
thorough business men, have come to this
| conclusion. Liberal minded citizens who
oppose Sunday closing are using clean-cut
| arguments in support of their proposition
| and do not undertake to bring others to
/ their way of thinking by brute force, or
threats of any kind or character. The
| Incorporate temperance advocates may
| think they can gain their point by mali
ciously prosecuting and slandering those
who differ with them on this important
question. If so, let them proceed. 1t is
certain that they will not be met with
| similar ammunition. The saloonkeepers
| have never been known to throw mud at
! the enemy. The other fellows are per-
| mitted to enjoy an absolute monopoly on
that unholy species of warfare.
c. E. FIELDS,
]