The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1907-09-19
suit of Saturdays sales, $4,000 came
from the laboring meni
His Friends.

NOW, understand, am speaking TO
you honestly and kindly The work
ing men are my friends, every one
Of them, and / am friend to the
working man. In behalf of the work
ing men of my home city, helped-4to
pass a law in Georgia recently which
will stop the child slavery in the great
mills of my state. / have always been
a friend of the labor unions.
1.-The banker felt elated over the
heavy deposits of the liquor men on
last Monday, but think of the part you
men pay of that $4,000, and how
much more good it would have done
in the hands of your wives at home.
You laboring men pay every dollar of
the saloon mans license and your
taxes are infinitely greater than those
of the rich man, who may own prop
erty, but keeps away from the bar
room. You don't stop to think of ne
waste of money which is going on
daily, and all earned by the sweat and
tell of the laborers of the city.
1t Pays Best.
Mr. Business Man, Mr. Merchant,
listen TO me. If all that $4,000 depos-
tied in one bank by some of the WINS
key men on one day had not been
given by the lahorlng man to liquor,
it would have gone into shoes for the
children, clothes for the wives, or
homes for the families 1t would have
been a blessing to the merchant and
a help to his business. 1t would have
created hundreds of homes, and real
estate values would be increased. l
would rather see a hundred humble
cottages filled with honest working
men than one thousand palaces sitting
on hill.
You talk of me as being a crazy
fanatic. Well, l am a fanatic When
it comes to the prohibition question,
am a fanatic, and l will die one.
Where did the saloon mans money go
after it went to the bank? Was any
of it kept in this town? No! The great
er part of it went to the town from
which the liquor was purchased. The
liquor dealer averages 20 per cent
profit on his receipts. Now, IS per
cent. of his receipts will have to go
to pay for the liquor which he pur-
chased in northern cities. And yet,
there are merchants in your town with
a reasonable allotment Of brains who
say that saloons are necessary to
maintain the city and keep down
taxes. They may quote figures, but
let me tell you that while figures cor
rectly added up will tell the truth as
will nothing else, figures incorrectly
added will tell the biggest lie that
can be told.
Dispensary.
My home city of Rome, Ga, has
maintained a dispensary for several
years, the tax to the city being $780,
900 annually. And yet the people OF
%1,o 11arri lot fF
do my part to seek the adjustment or
this dispensary, with the loss of the
Sc, 900 license, but with the know
ledge that the city would be richer by
quarter million dollars, which would
be kept at home to bless the city
and assist in it's march of progress.
There is not a dollar of wealth In
this country today that has not come
from the Iaboring man. / know
where reforms come from The labor
ing vote of this country controls the
future destiny of the nation. And the
reforms of the future will be made by
vote of the labOring class. The wages
OF sin and drunkenness are the ruin
and damnation of the labor unions of
| the country"
| At this point Mr. Wright read an
article by John Burns, the great
Briton, whom he quoted as doing
more for the salvation and better
ment of the laboring class than any
other living man today. The extract
was entitled 1.-THE Relation of Drink
to Trade and Labor" He then re-
sumed as follows:
Liquor and Labor.
They say that women and children
are behind this movement for prohi-
bitiOn in Pensacola. l declare that
the churches and their organizations
are no more against the liquor evil
than are the labor unions Of the
United States today The future of
Your organizations and your struggles
for your rights depend on your thrift
and scbriety, and this fact is recog-
niZed by your officers. Some men
talk of the saloon being the working
mans club. but it is not so. The
working man does not need the bar
room, and never asked for the estab-
lishment of them in this country.
Il am glad to see the secret orders
of the country lining up On the side
of prohibition. The Masonic order,
probably the strongest secret order
in the world, will permit no liquor
dealer to join the order in most of the
states of the Union. The Red Men,
knights Of Pythias and Odd Fellows
are taking similar action to prevent
the liquor dealer from securing mem
bership in their orders, and are doing
all they can to secure the establish
ment of the prohibition laws.
Regulation.
Now, brothers, l want to impress
two things on you. Your city coun-
ell says that it is going to regulate
the liquor business by driving out the
little stirksrs and letting the big per-
ftTne bottles remain. They would
drive cut the little devils on the out
side and let the big devils with three
tails remain. They would make the
saloons respectable! Now. | tell You
that a great, big, fine mahogany-fui-
nished barCoom is a bigger he'll shop
than any other place in the world