Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-02

people are not permitted to spend money
for a bad purpose they will invest II
for a good purpose. Mr.. Atkinson, wee
president of bank in Armourdale. one
of our suburbs says that their business
has increased 80 per cent. The president
| of one of our savings banks has written
me that not only has Its business IN
| creased 80 per cent. but that 40 per
| cent of the new customers are OF the
| class that formerly spent all their money
| for liquor.
'One of our business mef, who was
| asked his opinion, wrote to friend say
ing: I have been in business In Kansas
City Kan. for seventeen years and there
are more houses and good houses being
| built; more people are buying homes.
and good homes. and seeking invest
| ments than In any year since nave hVed
here. Like most of the musiness men OF
this city. in the past | have believed in
high license and local option. Now am In
| favor of closing the saloons and keeping
them closed. Drinking is not necessity;
| it Is only habit
| forcement of the prohibition law" con-
| tinued Mr.. Trickett, said that it would
| destroy the prosperity of our city: they
said it would stop the erection of build
| ings, but the official records show that
during the year after the closing of the
| saloons. from July 1. 1906. to July 1.
| 1907, Kansas City, Kan, showed in
crease of 2037 per cent in building oper-
ations, the largest of any city in the
| Union The next largest gain was q
per cent Three times many laborfng
| men bought homes in our town last year
| than ever before in its history.
Crime Decreasing.
The effect upon crime and disorder
| has been similar. The closing of the
| saloons has reduced our court expenses
S25 600 year. which was formerly spent
the time the saloons were open there was
| never a term Of court that did not re-
qure from six to eight weeks to try GRIM
inals. Since then no term has been more
than three weeks and one term We did
not have single criminal for trial. This
| month the same court opened its session
and it took only three days to try the
criminal cases on the docket. Before
the saloons We're closed the city fathers
were wondering where to get money to
build an extension to the jail. Today
its doors hang idly on their hinges; we
have no use for the jail we have.
Il have a letter from the mayor of a
city where there were only two arrests
last year, and those were two men who
got drunk at Independence. Mo-, and took
the wrong road to get home. l have a
letter from the police Judge of our own
city showing that day after day goes by
without a single arrest in city of over
100000 people. Fifty thousand people
gathered in the heart of the city during
carnival week last fall and there were
stated that it would have been impossible
to have had it had the saloons been open.
II have here letter from the COM
missioner of the poor farm stating that
the sending of old people over the hills
to the poorhouse.' Their sons and
daughters are taking care of them instead
of making them subjects of charity.
Il have a letter from the secretary of
the Associated Charities of our city stat
ing that for the first time in twenty-five
years the Associated Charities had not
burden greater than it could bear.
II have a letter from the director of
the Orphans Home stating that during
the time the saloons were open the aver
age number of children they had to care
FOR was fifty-six. Today they have twenty
to care for. less than half the number
they had when the saloons were open
Every saloon was closed July 3. 1906.
Less than three months after that our
schools opened. In former years we had
to employ from six to eight additional
teachers by reason of the increase In
population, but there was such an unusual
demand for admission that We had to
employ eighteen new teachers. l went to
the teachers and said: Whence comes
this large demand for admission to our
public schools? The result was a list
of coo boys and girls from twelve to
eighteen years of age who attended the
public schools last year for the first time.
And they gave as a reason why they had
not attended in former years that they
had to assist q drinking father to earn
u living for the family.
Three "Wet" Towns Left
Nor are these improvements and con-
drtions peculiar to Kansas City. KAN
said Mr. Trickett in conclusion. They
have been duplicated in every city of
orr state in which the prohibition law
has been enforced: in Topeka, Wichita. |
Junction City, Fort Scott. Coffeyville, In
dependence and other places. You may |
go all over the state and the people Will |
tell Won that every single city, without |
an execution where the prohibition law |
has heen enforced has enjoyed BOOM |
a nrosperity such as it never knew be- |
fore I believe that the prosperity of |
Kansas is due quite as much to the pro-
hibition law as to the good crops. There |
are three places in Kansas today where |
a man can get a drink. where the law is I
openly defied-LeaVenWortn, Atchison and |
P'ttsburg-and III every one of them the |
population has decreased. On the other |
hand, the population of Kansas Clty, |
Kan has Increased more rapidly than |
that of any other in the state; next comes |
Wichita, Topeka and Parsons-an pro- |
hibition towns.
Il think / have answered YOU ques
ton" said Mr.. Trickett
A section of the conservative party
tloduced a resolution in the Berlin ri
star Friday requesting tine GOVERN