The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1909-10-29
LEAVENWORTH AND THE Law

For 26 years the city OF
Leaveaworih. was openly in rebel'l IN
against the constitution and laws oil
the state. Occasionally there wa:
man who said word in favor o.
law enforcement but that kind 81
men were so few that they really
cut no figure in the management OF
the city.
As late as two years ego there
were $50 open saloons in the city
of Leavenworth. They were pay
ing into the city treasury the sum OF
IS. 900 a month for the privilege OF
defying the law. One hundred and
fifty buildings were rented for saloon
purposes at an average rental
according to the Leavenworth Post,
of Sac per month. That meant a
rent income of 81, 500 per month.
There were 900 families living GU
of the saloon business who were
either renting or who owned houses
in the city. All told the Post
estimates that the saloon
business brought into the city ID
the way of licenses and rents the
sum of S27o, 600 per annum.
But Leavenworth didn't grow.
1t was as big IS years ago as it was
when finally the attorney general
took a hand and commenced to
drive the jointists out of business.
And in spite of the big revenue
from the saloons the taxes continued
high. OF course the government
was extravagant and rotton. II
couldn't well help being, for
government that enters into ar
arrangement with violators of the
law to take bribe from them is
bound 10 be rotten.
But there were a great many
people who were honestly of the
opinion that the city of Leavenworth
couldn't get along without joints.
They really believed that it meant
the ruin of the town to shut them
up. Of course it was plain
enough that they hadn't made the
town prosper but then they had
paid a lot of money into the town
and where was the money to come
from to pay the city bills when they
were shut up.
Where these people failed in their
reasoning was that they did not take
into account the fact that for every
dollar these joints paid into the
city treasury they sent So out of the
city to pay for booze. 1t was a
losing game, but the people who
thought the city must have the
saloons didn't analyze the whole
situation.
The joints have been shut up.
According to the Post, $50 jointists'
families haye left the city on
account of the fact that they have
been driven out of business.
Not a dollar of joint revenue is
collected by the city. No rooms
are being rented for joints. AND
vet for the first time in quarter OF
a century Leavenworth is growing
and might be said to be almost on
boom.
In the last IS months, according
to the Post, more Improvements
have been made in the city than
were made during the entire IS
years of open saloons and lawless-
ness. The streets are well lighted
aud the cutters are we'll flushed.
Within a year the people of the
town have spent more than half
a million dollars in improvements.
The city employees are paid
promptly and the city is not going
into debt. In year the city has
gained $500 in population and
outsiders are making investments
in the town which they never did
before. The saloons are gone and
the merchants report that their
trade has increased from IS to rs
psr cent. They are getting the
money that used to be spent in the
saloons.
The fact is that the people of
Lsavenworth have found out not
only that they can get along