The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1908-04-17
PROHIBITION KAN
SAS.

The following is the reply of Gcv.
ernor Hoch and the Mercantile club
of Kansas City, Kan, to the Brewers
SANDER.
The financial condition of Kansas
City, Kansas, under strict law-en-
forcement regime, has been widely
quoted as an illustration of the bene-
fits of prohibition in large city, and
as practical demonstration of the
fact that a prohibitory law can be en-
forced. Therefore, the liquor trades
press bureau has made that city a
special target for attack in it's des-
perate efforts to stem the tide of pub
lie sentiment that threatens to sweep
large areas of territory into the dry
column at the April elections. True,
the evidence submitted, so far as it
goes to prove the failure of prohi-
bition," had to be manufactured, but
that was no hindrance to the liquor
press bureau.
Literature-press articles, circu-
lars, placards, etc.-has been circu-
lated, not only wherever there was a
pending election on the saloon ques-
ton, but throughout Kansas itself, its
object being to show the alleged pow
erty-stricken and generally forlorn
condition of Kansas City, since the
complete enforcement of the prohibit
tory law.
A particularly fragrant misrepre-
sentation of the conditions in Kan
! sas City was the circular entitled
''The Camera Can't Lie"
The Mercantile club of Kansas
City, has published an eight-page
| folder, entitled kansas City, Kan
sas, Under Law Enforcement, which
contains complete detailed refuta-
ton of these falsehoods. This docu-
ment is valuable prohibition testi-
mony, coming, as it does, from an Or
ganization of 200 of the city's fore
most business men.
Thousands of copies of the Ca
mera Can't Lie" circular have been
sent over the country. 1t is displayed
in saloon windows, and sent to vot-
ers. One side carries an article ask
ing the people to believe that Kansas
City is a bankrupt city, filled with
vacant houses. The other side is COW
cred with reproductions of photo
graphs of buildings purporting to
show "10S of the more than 400 va
cant storerooms in Kansas City.
Truth About the "Vacant Stores"
A careful canvass of these 10S
buildings made by representatives
of the Mercantile club shows that at
the present time 81 are occupied and
50 vacant. Two are half occupied.
One building is vacant now but has
been rented for imemdiate use.
The great majority of the buildings
shown in the pictures are in the
flooded districts. Many of these were
damaged by the food of 1903 and
have ben vacant ever since. It was
the flood, not the drought" that
hurt them. Many were built by
brewers and never intended for any
thing else but "joint" uses. In some
cases the brewers have refused to re-
model their buildings to fit them for
legitimate trade, or have refused to
rent them at all
The truthfulness of the camera is
shown in several instances by the
fact that the pictures of buildings de-
clared vacant show them to be occu-
pied Others of these pictures are
labelled with the fictitious street
number.
A count made by postal carriers
March Z showed total of III vacant
storerooms in Kansas City-not "over
400"
The following statements are indi-
cative of the opinions of the leading
business men Of the city, as set forth
in the Mercantile clubs publication
so far from bankruptcy in this
city, it is not even overburdened with
debt Real estate values have stead
lily increased. The number of build
ings, also, shows steady increase.
OF course, there is a similar increase
in population. In short, this Is
prosperous, we'll behaved city, good
place in which to live, a good place
in which to invest money.
Dudley e. Cornell, Mayor"
Dealing in the sale of factory