Daily Arizona silver belt., 1909-02-20
WOULD GIVE PRIVATE STORES EVEN BREAK WITH BIG
 CORPORATIONS

PHOENIX, February l9.--Consider- able interest is manifested here in the merits of the bill which has been in troduced into the council to prohibi: persons, firms or companies from using script checks, punch-outs or other evi- denee of indebtedness payable in other
 wise than their face value in money, or to compel employees to purchase goods of any particular stores. The measure will not affect tho merchants of Phoenix but many other cities in Arizona are directly concerned in the passage of the bill, which is similar
 to the law passed in Montana and New Mexico. It will be fought nasd
 by the large mining companies, how eFer.
 Relative to this bill, C. R. Temple, . realty man of Douglas, who is in the city, stated the following today in an interview with your correspondent:
 "Thero is condition prevalent in certain cities, notably Bisbee, Douglas and Clifton, whereby certain powerful mining corporations maintain general merchandise stores whose immense prof. it's are taken from the wage earners and at the disastrous expense of every independent business interest in the communities where the big companies department stores are maintained.
 "It is an old saying that figures do not lie. Figures here are eloquent. The payrolls of the districts and cities are as follows: Warren district, $475, ,000 monthly; Copper Queen and Calumet & Arizona smelters at Douglas, $l20,000 monthly; Fl Paso Southwestern pay roll, $30,00O. The bank deposits in Bis bee December, 1908, were $l,943,46s; in Douglas, $64i ,30l; and the combined population of Bisbee and Douglas is about 30,000.
 "The city of Tucson, with a popula, tion of over 10000, has possible pay roll of $100,000 monthly. During the season five hundred tourists spend an average of $l0 per day for four months; let us assume that outside of these two sources of income Tucson has trib. utary payroll of $20o,O00. This gives Tucson q possible revenue of $3,6OO,000 exclusive of her jobbing trade. In less than two years We have seen Tucson develop from an insignificant Mexican pueblo into city of over 10000 inhab- itants. On the other hand certain con. ditions have made Bisbee and Douglas with payrolls exceeding over $7,000,000 per annum the slowcst towns in business development.
 "It is estimated that deduction for the Copper Queen stores of these two cities amounts to 65 per cent of the pay rolls, or $409,500 The average profit ,f the stores is g per cent, figuring on which basis but 35 per cent of the pay rolls or $22l, l,500 reaches general circu- ation.
 "lf the present system which the | aw will abolish, were not in effect and | Douglas and Bisbec had one hundred | md twenty-five merchants with front | lge of thirty fec each, this would give IS six blocks, three hundred feet on 'ach side of the street, and the average earnings of each merchant would be '9,S2S per year, based on the present 'ayroll, were the business equally dis ributed. The average wage per day in he Warren district is $400. or SEQ | ,nr ,noufh Thnra ara 4 mn ,na,, o,, ! 'loyed, making monthly payroll of 4S0,000, and the distribution of this mount at an average of $S,0O0 to each merchant would give sixty merchants daily business of $266, from which t 10 per cent profit they would earn 5000 per annum. But arguing from
 25 per cent basis Bisbcc would have o5 merchants covering seven blocks