Middletown transcript., 1907-11-02
SOME CORREsPl5NDE

Milford, Delaware.
October %, 1907.
Mr.. Francis r Kelly,
Head ofFirm ai Francis Kelly q Co,
Wiimingfon. Delaware.
Ny Dear Sir.
knowing ri tlia sslislsnrt ised mil,
DDS Of the run, regime Df tile State. u VA
not with anlazement that read your inisr
view in the Star of October 9th, headed
Delaware License System ia Best in the
Country, IAN article that libels Milford
seriously reflects upon the common seiist
and the yeracity OF the business men d
our community, and insults the inteIIi.
gence of the voters of Delaware, by the
grace Of whom you are permitted C
do business today, but not after the fifth
day Of November, thank Godl
| You say that you deal in ''facts'' nnt
"surmise, /" and add that during the five
months lat winter when the saloons
were closed in Milford, sit was the worst
period Milford ever had in the way d
enforcing law and order, and the good
citizens Of the prosperous town were only
too glad when the new people were grant
ed liquor licenses for the three hotels.''
What are the facts, Mr.. Kelly? Esquire
Truitt's Aldermanic records show that
from November 1st, 1905, until April LIST.
1907, the five-inonths when the bars were
hermetically sealed, there were but ten
| (10)arrests for drunkenness and disorder
ly conduct and seven of these convictions
were caused by the Law and Order
Society During the five months follow
ing the reopening OF the saloons, from
April lst, 1907, until Sept. 1st, 1907, there
were fifty.two (52) arrests for drunk
enness and dieorderly conduct. The
records show the lawlessness increased
four hundred and twenty per cent, apo
after the reopening Of the saloons, and
Esquire Truitt himself says that in every
instance save four rum was either the di-
rect or the indirect cause of the distur-
bance THESE are the facts, Mr.. Kelly.
You have the audacity to say that the
"good citizens of Milford were only too
glad when new people were granted ''liq-
uor licenses" and add, :'but will go into
details" !" | will go into the details, Mr..
Kelly
The facts are that petition signed by
more than four hundred of our people
was sent to the Court demonstrating
against the re-opening of our saloons. 1t
remained for ycu to advance the 'surmise"
that our citizens were demonstrating
against something which they were ''only
too glad'' to getl And that absurdity is
as sensible and as near the truth as any
statement you have .dared ito make
about our splendid little city.
What about business conditions Read
this statement signed by forty-fiye Of the
fifty business men of our town:
"We. the undersigned business men Of
Milford, desire to enlighten one, Francis
E. Kelly, head Of the Francis Kelly Com.
pany, Wholesale Liquor Dealers of Will
mington, and to inform the voters Of Del
aware that we separately did greater
volume of business during the five months
when the saloons we're closed than during
the same five months of any previous
year in all our experience. And We at
tribute this enormous increase to the fact
that the money formerly spent over the
bars Of our town went into legitimate and
beneficial channels of trade.
"We desire to say furthermore that the
law and order of the town was never SO
good as during the halcyon daye and
peaceful nights when the saloons were
but an infamous memory"
SIGNED:
George II. Hall,
Asbury Smith,
F. L. Grier,
]. E. Holland,
Draper, Davis and Company,
Pierce and Carmean,
s. G. Evans and Son,
R. E. Pettyiohn,
G. Grant.
N. L. Prettyman,
Peter G. Hanseman,
John H. White.
E. F. Belts,
James H. Truitt,
Mark L. Davis,
C. NJ. Tatman,
J. Wesley Truitt,
William Gray,
William Viereck,
Robert Griffith,
John F. Houseman,
J. O. Brown,
H. W. D. Moore,
N. ]. Pierson.
Charles Holzmeuller,
w. L. Grier,
Mrs. Isaac A. White,
W. S. Shockley,
Henry Davis,
Thomas Davis, n
Robert II. Pierce,
John W. Herring,
William Pardoe,
Fl. N. Ennis.
W. G. Abbott,
c. D. Abbott and Company,
Thomas D. Pierce,
w H. Stayton,
T. G. Houseman,
James s. Horton,
F. w. Davis and Company,
L d. Short
The +. w. Caulk Company,
Willard F. Deputy,
Edward Atkins.
Mr.. Kelly, Wholesale Liquor Dgsfer,.
these men and hundreds of others down
here will never give ''sleep to their eyes
nor slumber to- their souls until this
infamous privilege is withdrawn and this
great business demoralizer driven from
our Commonwealthas it has been scourged
from all DixieIand, by quickened
public conscience backed by the ballot |
and by the will of free men.
Mr.. Kelly, the Saloon and entrenched |
privilege must go Yours, etc.,
tSigned) John P. Holland.
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