The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1907-03-05
THIS Space BOUGHT AND PlID FOR.
ATLANTA'S EXPERIENCE
WITH LOCAL OPTION.
Her Commerce Diminished. Her
Values Deprecated and Her
Growth Blishted.

For the purpose of further determin-
ing the truth or falsity of the state
rnents made by the advocates of local
option here, that by the adoption of
such law, both the moral and business
interest of the City of Paris will be
benefited, a comparison is made with
the practical workings of the law in a
large city. While Atlanta and Carlisle
are widely separated, the blighting eff
feet of the law was the same in both
places; business suffered, values de-
preciate1, while drunkenness increased.
In 1886 and 1887, Atlanta, Georgia,
tried the experiment of prohibiting the
sale of liquors. During the period of
this experiment it Slapped the life of
the city.
While her sister towns of Augusta,
Macon, Savannah, Chattanooga and
Birmingham, and the whole Piedmont
region enjoyed rapid and substantial
growth, she, with superb resources,
made little or no progress. Many of
her storehOUses and residences stood
empty. Her wealth of personal prop
erty diminished. Her rents went down,
Ter commerce tagged and the burden
of her taxes increased. Dlscord and
bitterness divided her citizens and
paralyzed their public spirit. Crime
and social disorder increased and neces-
STATED additional police protection.
These sacrifices bore no good fruit.
The cause of temperance and morality
was in no degree advanced. Drunken
ness only changed its form and no
honest man could say the change was
not for the worse. The facts depend
ed on no mans word. They were bit
ter realities to the property owners Of
Atlanta and the proof of their eXis-
tence is. not wanting.
! On the 18th and 9th of August, 1887,
20l business houses and 912 dwellings,
vacated by the operation of the prOhi-
bitory law, were occupied in the city.
Some Of these We're small, others large
and desirably located. They averaged
well with the average houses of the
city. Seventy-nine of the vacant
houses fronted on Marietta and Deca-
tur streets, or rather upon the single
street, the two ends of which bear the
names given. The vacant stores on
this street were as follows:
Decatur street, numbers 81, 81, &C,
108, ia, lie, III, LIS. 120, 122, 1874, 147.
$50, 152, 1872, 172, 18S, 224. 229, 23l,
234, 254, 26e, 270, 284, 294, 295, 298,
300. 302, 30S. 3l8. $40, 800, 336. Mari
eta street, numbers 10, 26, %, 90, AZ,
SO, lis. .126. lbs, .163, 1877, 176. 17S, 179,
1874, I37. 1919, POI, 206, 23S, $50, 252, 269,
266,. 2S9, 359, 397, 401, 1913, 439, AL,
442, Az. $50, 454, 455, 456, 467, 1876,
498, 500. SOP, SOP, and 522.
These numbers do not include unoc-
cupied basement stores. The vacant
houses on other streets stared the
public in the face from every side.
So many houses never remained empty
before IN the history Of Atlanta. After
the reputation Of the law they quick
ly filled again.
A depreciation in rents was newt
able when the number of houses SO
largely exceeded the demand. In every
instance where a room or building be-
came vacant under prohibition, it either
stood unGccupied or was rented at a
lower figure than before. The decline
IN rents throughout the city was from
10 to so per cent. Store rooms in the
Kimball House block, perhaps the most
desirable property: in the city, upon
which the leases expired during lr)hi-
bition, re-rented at SO 1-3 and 80 per
cent. below the rental received for
them before and since under license.
The loss IN rents on a prominent
national bank building, on one of the
best corners in the city, was three
thousand dollars per year. Offices IN
this building that formerly rented for
$40 per month were rented at $3.50.
Even with such reduction, many Of the
rooms in the building remained vacant.
Tenement houses on Chamberlain and
other streets. which usually rented
easily for $40 per month, stood empty
at So. The large business house on
Alabama street, occupied by Messrs.
Tanner, Currier & Heath, wholesale
groceries, rented under prohibition for
Sl,70O, as against So, 900 under license.
On the opposite side of the same street
and between Pryor and Whitehall
streets, blocks of houses which ordinari-
~ rented at 81, 200 and 81, 500 each,
brought ST., 900 and 81 200 under prohi-
bition.
Mr.. T. S. Healey, one of the largest
property owners IN Atlanta, made the
following statement in 1887:
L have never yet found man hunt
ing for building, who said he had been
attracted, to Atlanta because it was a
prohibition city. have had many
stores vacated by rlen. ot,engaged in
the iiqour traffic, VINO said they were
compelled TO close out their business
because of the blight put upon the city
by prohibitory law. Two thirds OF my
property is renting at lower rates. than
when the city was under license. Some
Of my stores are renting for Is per
cent, and some for so per cent. les ];
than then. Even at this reduction, ]
am unable to rent all of them, for the
reason that there is no demand for
them because of the stagnation in bust
ness and the number of people driven
from the city by the prohibitory law.
Ny store room at No. 20 Peachtree
street, has been vacant for foer months.
NY store at the corner of Broad and
Water streets has been vacant ayear
nave four stores on Marietta street,
Tor which, am unable to get tenants
&C tWo-thirds the former rental. One
store, which / formerly Rented for. S75