The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1907-06-26
Prohibition vs.. Saloon.

have never yet been in a town that
could see the business hurt in my line
by voting out saloons. ! travel princip-
ally Western Kentucky, West Tennessee,
and Illinois and there are a great many
dry towns in the territory, and l don't
hear of any complaint as to short bust
ness on account of no saloons. On the
other hand, l often hear merchants
say "since saloons went out our cash
business is much better. Men come in
and pay for their goods, when former
ly it was beg for credit" The laboring
people are the ones greatly benefited,
especially the colored portion of it in
the southern countrys. 1t is a very
common thing for merchant to say,
you see that fellow there? When we
had saloons his family were poorly
cared for. Now he and his family look
thrifty as most any one"
A gentleman at Fulton, KY, operat-
ing some kind of manufacturing plant
that now forget the exact nature Of,
said he worked from thirty to forty
colored men. when Fulton had
saloons | never thought Of trying to
work on Monday morning. The
negroes out gambling and spreeing on
Saturday and Sunday nights, and never
ready to go to work on Monday, and
on Tuesday about one-haf force, and
through the week l would have to adj
vance them money to buy provisions.
Only one or two owned
their homes. Saloons have been
out about two years or more now and
every Monday morning / have a full
force to work as any other morning in
the week and over one half my men
own their homes"
lust numbers of such instancesI hear
of but none have ever heard OF be-
cause of saloons being about the great
cry and argument in all places, when 1t
comes to a rating question is you take
away revenue for taxes to help keep up
the general city II expense. - That
amounts to nothing when you stop to
think of the amount of cash II SENDS
out of the city to Jobbers and manutac-
lures of liquors that live in palaces and
the poorly clad and most generally
people that can not afford to spend their
money that way that keeps it up. Peo-
pie that have money are generally TOO
good business men to waste their money
that way. In a town in Illinois not
long since one of my customers SAID,
1--WE are going to vote saloons back
here soon. " / said Don't do It if you
want your business to hold up. He
said, 'if we get them back we will have
ten saloons that will pay one thousand
dollars a year to the town for city rev.
enue and that means ten thousand
dollars TO use towards fixing up our
streets, etc" said but did you ever
stop 10 think of the amount of cash
money they take out of circulation that
goes out of the channels Of trade here
and no special benefit derived by It.
These ten saloons will do from twelve TO
fifteen thousand dollars apiece IN ousl-
ness per year. That means ten saloons
taken from Sl2O, 900 to $50, 600. There
will be left in your city as license from
saloon profit and expenses about So,oOO
apiece, which means about $50, 900. The
balance out to the Jobbers and Manu-
facturers of liquors and with poorly sup
portedTand badly abused families to
mournlitsI loss. If that amount was
spent with sdry goods, groceries or
clothing stores or in some other way
toward supporting the families there
would be more happy thoughts and less
broken hearts"
But mid the snuff if you want prosper
ity and. happiness. The business OF
the country to day demands sober and
Industrious smen. Saloon proprietors
themselves speak with proudness of a
bar tender that does not drink. There
are some that don't, especially on duty
could never see why saloon people
felt they had a right to disregard the
law any more than any other business.
OF course it is bad business and sup
pose eventually develops bad ideas in
mems heads and they impose on the
public by permission of dishonorable
officers in charge of the law.
The intelligence of the country is
against the saloon business and most
every where it is put to a vote the drys
are victorious, especially when left
with our farmers whose money comes
the slowest and hardest of all class of
people in my judgement. Many city
folks think farmers have nothing to do
but break up their ground and SOW
the seed and reap harvest. 1t is not
so; Many difficulties and sweat of the
brow come before the harvest isreaped
Ny old home of Meade is the
only county that can recall that ha:
....k ,,OkA of fhs