Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-03-28

productive labor would be of meal
culably greater benefit to the world.
There is hardly a citizen of Ottumwa
who cannot see the sophistry and ut
ter flimsiness of the defense put uD by
the local association.
Madison Warder.
A Reply to the Liquor Dealers Assoc
iation of Ottunwa-The Real Facts
in the Case.
lnasmuch as there was published by
the Liquor Dealers association in the
Courier of March IS, statement re-
garding the condition resulting from
the closing of the saloons in Kansas
City, Kansas, and inasmuch as we
believe these statements to be gross
Misrepresentation, and have been
given a wide circulation through the
press and by being posted on the bill
boards and in other public places of
the city, the Ministerial association
at it's regular Monday morning meet
ing, March 23, voted to present the
following statements from the Com
mercial club Of Kansas City, Kansas,
consisting of over 200 leading business
and professional men of that city,
backed by the assistant Attorney
General, the Honorable c. w. Trickett,
in order that the citizens may know
the real facts in the case.
In letter from the secretary of the
assistant attorney general, he says,
Il enclose circular gotten up by
our mercantile club which is COM
plete answer to the clipping you en-
close, referring to the liquor dealers
statement of March is.
1T answers every false statement
that the Liquor interests have made
and We consider it splendid as it tells
the exact truth about conditions here
since the closing of the saloons"
The Liquor Dealers association says,
There are now over 100 vacant bust
ness houses all vacated since the
saloons We're closed.''
In answer to this the merchants
club says, There is a great scarcity
OF business buildings in this city and
there are none vacant, other, possibly
than some small one-story affairs
built for saloons in the factory dis
tricts remote from business sections.
We could fill readily with waiting
tenants fifty well located store build
ings If built at once The last two
years have been the most prosperous
In our business history"
A careful canvas Of the one hun.
dred and eight buildings said by the
brewery workers, to be vacant shows
that at the present time fifty-one are
occupied, ahree partially occupied,
flfty-four vacant, but the great major
ity Of these buildings arc located in
the flooded districts. Many were built
when the Dreweries were crowding
each other for business in the pack
ing house and factory districts, and
were never intended for anything but
Joint uses.
Some of the buildings represented
as vacant are fictitious numbers, 9th
ers are little frame shacks unfit for
business uses. The vacant houses
enumerated are scattered over
a territory in which $4,000
people are served and are less
than one-third of the number of new
houses erected during the past year.
The liquor dealers forget to state that
when the saloons were closed they
themselves vacated 210 business
houses and many of these were under
long lease to the brewers and they
would not rent them because of the
hope that the saloons would be allow
ed to open again.
The Liquor association says there
were three times as many murders as
IN any previous year in the city. The
facts are there were LEES murders dur
Ing 1907 than in any of the previous
years. The Liquor association charge
that the firemen had to be supported
by private corporations because of re-
duction of license revenue, but the
facts are John McNarrey, chief of the
fire department declares, "At one
time when the saloons were running
the corporations did furnish money
to pay fremen, but since the closing
Of the saloons the fire department has
been increased from SO men in 1906 20
90 men at the present time, all paid
by the city which obtains the money
through taxation"
The Liquor association says, "There
mas been cut in the police depart
ment from IS in the time of the sa-
looms to 35 now. U. G. Snyder, cap
tain OF police makes this statement,
ASIDE from the argument which could
be used that not as many patrolmen
e1i 2 uSSuSu WiSll LIleIS are no saloons.
this statement is not backed up by
fact
The Liquor association says, "War-
rants issued to pay policemen for the
month Of October, 1907, are still I'M
paid The bank7 refuse to handle
them" The facts are this was during
the financial panic when the banks
were not handling paper of any kind.
The city is now paying cash for these
warrants.
The Liquor association declares
that city taxes have been greatly ,n.
creased since the closing of the ga.
looms, but the records show that the
levy for city purposes during 1907 was
reduced twenty cents on each one hun.
dred dollars Of assessed valuation,
The city debt of SEAS, 042.53 was lifted
last year and the city is now on a cash
paying basis in its general fund AS
result Of closing the saloon the Com.
mercial club states there was saved
to the city $2,000,00O per year which
was direct loss to the saloons. The
bank deposits have increased in two
years s3,786,5OS14. Grocery and
m