Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-02
DRY" CITY PROSPERS
Kansas City, Kan., Thriving
Under Prohibition.
BUSINESS NOT SUFFERING
Bank Deposits Increase and Crime
Decreases.
PROSECUTOR TELLS OF IT
Saloons Closed Against Protest of
Merchants, Who Now Confess
That They Are Benefited.
BY WILLIAM F.. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald

1PTTed ME ~ Y. w liIhett tiit 'i''NeAii 7
states attorney, who had been incharge of
the prosecution of the liquor sellers in the
thriving town Of Kansas City, Kan,
which lies Immediately across the river
from the Missouri city of that name. and
Is the second largest live stock and meat
packing center west of Chicago. 1t has
also an extensive grain and -four trade,
eighteen elevators. large smelling and re-
filming works. the Missouri Pacific. Union
Pacific and Rock Island Railway shops
and several other important industries
The population which is about 10000. is
composed largely of foreigners, who are
accustomed to the liberal habits OF the
European countries In drinking wine and
beer and the slum element is said to
have been larger before the recent cteanS-
ing took place than in any other place of
the same number of inhabitants in the
nation. At the same time, there has al
ways been large and determined ele-
ment i'll favor of law and order and the
enforcement of the prohibition law For
many years the city government was
elected by the liquor element, which con-
trolled the voting population and was
able to poll 1900 majority for mayor
whose campaign platform was:
Damn the constitution and the laws of
the state Of Kansas. The saloons shall
rum
Kansas City's Morality.
Mr.. Trickett, having been appointed as
sistant states attorney, was instructed by
Gov. Hoch to close the saloons and en-
force the prohibition law in Kansas City,
and he did it. When l asked him to tell
me how 1t was done Mr.. Trickett said:
''On the Sth day of June, 1905. there were
256 saloons in Wyandotte county, Kan, of
which Kansas City is the seat; there
We're 200 gambling houses and more than
sixty houses of evil repute. On July 3. fol-
lowing, there was not saloon nor gam
bling house nor disorderly house in the
county, and there has been none since
Today Kansas City, Kan. is the largest
city in the world without a saloon, a
gam bling den a bawdy house. BY rea-
son of that fact and of the publicity CIV
en- to it., have. received inquiries from
Germany, France, England and Canada
as to the effects upon the morals of the
people. upon poverty and crime and upon
business and commerce. There are thou
sands of good people all over the country
VINO believe that the sale of liquor and
denS of vice are necessary to the pros
perity of a city or state. and l recall
that when the fight started in our county
delegation after delegation of business
men protested and said that if we closed
the saloons it would stop our growth, de-
Stroy the business of the merchants, de-
plete the deposits of the banks, stop the
erection of buildings. render houses va
of real estate, cause people to go over to
Kansas City, Mo-, to do their shopping
and spend their money and ruin our town
generally. One day g delegation COM
posed of two bankers and three mer-
chants, who had been appointed by the
business interests of the city, came to my
office and spent an entire morning pre-
senting their arguments and begging me
not to enforce the law. l told them that
/ was not responsible for the acts of the
legislature that 7 did ,n,,t
bition law on the statute books OF Kan
sas, but | had taken an oath of office to
enforce it, and intended to do so even if it
made desert of Wyandotte county and
and forest.
Woman Bartenders.
II did not know what the result would
be- continued Mr. Trickett Il did not
know whether the city would be injured,
but l had a duty to per orm and / per-
formed it to the best of my ability. Fo-
eighteen months Kansas City, Kan. has
existed without a saloon or a gambling
den or a bawdy house. The mayor who
declared that the saloons should run was
turned out Of office and fined a thousand
dollars; we ousted the chief of police and
the county attorney; five hundred build
ings are under permanent injunction not
to be used for the sale of liquor, and If
lHousdIu years from now any Individual
opens saloon in any one of those build
ings he can be punished. Fifteen hun
d ed citizens of our town are under per
manent injunction never again to sell lia-
uor in that county; more than one hun
dred former SalOonkeeperS are under
bonds to the same effect; more than on.
hundred others are out on bail with their
sentences of imprisonment suspended dur
ing good behavior and a hundred more
are banished from Kansas as undesirable
ri n cyyiIn
keepers who tried to evade punishment by
having their wives and children tend bar
We have judge who believes that any
woman who sells intoxicating liquors is
an undesirable citizen. When the wife of
a saloonkeeper is convicted he PROMPTLY
sentences her to six months in the county
Jail and fine of $500, but stays execu-
ton provided she will leave the state, and
that's the way we have prevented women
rom tending bar in our saloons We
have law in Kansas which makes the
man who rents a building for saloon as
guilty the tenant who sells the liquor
and we have large number of exiles and
other nonresident property owners on ac-
count of that law, who are afraid to set
foot on Kansas SOIL
Business Improved.
What has been the effect on businesso''
| asked
Have you heard of Kansas City. Kan.
being Wlpeu OH the map. replied Mr..
Trickett. Have you heard that Wyan-
dotte county has become a desc I? Have
YOU heard of any of our banks falling, or
any of our merchants closing their storesp
Have YOU heard of anybody going bank
rupt? On the contrary. the committee of
two bankers and three merchants. who as
l tolG you. came to protest against the en-
forcemant of the law about two years
aeo will now tell you o. anybody that
they were mistaken. and that the abou-
ton of liquor selling has been of decided
benefit instead of injury to the business
interests of the city. They will tell Won
that the deposits of our banks have in |
creased more than two million dollars
since the saloons were closed, and that |
the merchants have had to employ addi
tional clerks to attend to their business
Il can show you a letter rom the presi- |
dent of the largest bank in our city, who
was a member Of the committee that cam
to protest in which h SAYS that within
one year after the whisky Joints and
gambling dens were closed his daposits
Increased S1Tn0.0G0. He says in his let
ter: We think we have the accounts of
men OF this city. and have talked with
large number of them about the effect
OF the closing of the saloons on their
business. With a few exceptions they
have stated that they are pleased with the
results | believe this feeling is shared
by a large majority of tho professional
men and othe- intelligent citizens
Bank Deposits Increase.
81 can show you a letter from the
President of the Home City Ra~is ~ayr~
that his business has increased 46 per