The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1909-08-11
Dry TOWN in
IOWA LEADS
Mason City's Taxes Are Low
and Its Progress
Is Great.


cay which has the distinction of be-
mo the largest town in Iowa without
ne saloon, where the sentiment is
hacked by majority of the voters.
Il fact. numberless children have
here grown up to manhood and
vomanhood who have never seen a
saloon unless they have been out of
the city. 1t is also fact that great
many common laborers, as well as
railroad men, join with large major
Nv Of business and professional men
in their opposition to the saloon.
But Mason City is not the best 10
Gated city in the state, if one had the
selection, to try the principles of pro-
hibition. Minnesota is wet state
and Mason Ci,y is only about thirty
niles from the line, and its people are
in call phone distance to number of
Minnesota breweries so that orders by
letter or by wire can bring the
goods" on the same day as ordered.
Careful inquiry from those who are
in position TO know, reveals the
fact that close to 1000 cases of beer
are SHIPPED into this city every year
Ii may run little over it or it may run
little under, but the estimate is very
close. So far as the 'bootlegging"
business is concerned, there is prac-
tcaly none of it done here.
The city supports eleven drug stores
and all but two hold permits. But if
an estimate would be safe at all it
might be recorded that as much mon
ey is expended for liquors through the
drug stores as is expended through
importation. This is not made as
criticism upon the method employed
by local druggist, for it is assumed
that it is legitimately sold, but as an
estimate that some tangible conclusion
can be reached as to what city of
i,,OOO people is paying in a prohibi-
ton state as its annual liquor bill.
1t would not be far from the fact to
state that the annual drink bill of
Mason City, a city of IS, 900 people
would be safely covered by 5000
Now for some comparisons. What
Goes 1t cost TO police Mason city?
Here it is from the last report just
issued. One chief of police, and FIVE
assistants, all drawing a salary of 49,
oso.I. And no one will claim that
tue city is poorly policed, for if they
10 they are wrong. AS to the num-
Oct OF DRINKS. The orders of the
mayor to the police officials have been
very definite to arrest all drunks and
consequently few have escaped.
inlrty-two have been tried in the
mayors court and $40 in the justice
sourt, making total for the year of
ooi. They paid into the city treasury
more than enough to pay the salary Of
'ne mayor. This looks pretty good in
COMPARISON with some of the cities of
'ne state where saloons are maintain
60. Fort Dodge has police outlay
OF 1894, Ottumwa S40,8S7,
Marshalltown S17,31S, Oskaloosa
1913 and Boone So, 462.
And then again the levy for all mu-
nelpal purposes for Mason city is now
20 mills, being quite little increased
y the past few years. One would
naturally infer that cities with saloons
would not have as large levy where
" much is derived in the way of Ii
eenSes, but is such conclusion cor
'ect! Here are some figures along
tina, line
Oskaloosa has levy of 20 mills,
ne same as Mason City, and has
saloons which pay into the