Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1910-03-24
DRY TOWNS PROSPER
STRIKING EXAMPLES OF PRO-
HIBITIoN IN RUsK COUNTY

HIBITIoN IN RUsK COUNTY
BRUCE AND INGRAM NOT DEAD YET
Mills Shutting Down Cause Depres.
sion in Trade, but Bank Deposits
Show Unprecedented Increase
Judging from the stories floating
around Ladysmith recently, many OF
us had formed the opinion that as a
business proposition Prohibition had
proved a failure in the villages of Rusk
county that voted out the saloons last
spring. But on investigation the News
Budget has learned that it is not the
business men of these towns that are
making so much noise about the town
being dead" Bruce and Ingram were
two villages to be voted dry last spring.
1t so happened that in both of these vii
lagos the saw-mills, upon which the
business of the town is largely depend
ent, shut down last year much earlier
in the season than in former years and
have been employing only small part
of their usual quota Of men during the
nine months since the saloons quit
business.
CONDITIONS AT BRJJCE
Bruce is village of about 700 popu-
lation, eight miles west of Ladysmith.
During the past year more public i'm
povements sidewalks, crossings, etc.
have been made than during the past
five years. This statement does not
include the water works and electric
lights put in last year, There are no
more vacant business houses than there
were year ago.
That the town has been more orderly
is evidenced by the fact that there have
been but four arrests made by the
marshal-two for horse stealing and
two for drunkenness. Of the latter,
one got liquor at Murry and the other
at Ladysmith. The horse stealing case
originated at Ladysmith. In former
years arrests for drunkenness averaged
from Is to 20, many of whom were
unable to pay their fines and were i'm
prisoned at expense to the village.
Eight of the leading business men,
on being interviewed, stated that their
business has prospered the past year,
notwithstanding the mills being shut
down. One man claims great increase
in his business in the face of the fact
that another business in the same line
has been established in the village.
Another reports $500 less debts on his
books than nine months ago, and wants
it clearly understood that he is in favor
of dry town.
One man who worked and voted for
the saloons last year, now sees the err
ror of his way and is talking as loudly
in favor of a dry town. A well-known
farmer living south of the village one
of the old settlers of the county-was
heard to remark: eve hope they will
keep the town dry; we never knew un-
til we experienced it how much better
a dry town is.
The records of the Lumberman' s
State Bank furnish most convincing
comparison of the deposits during wet
and dry year:
Mar. 16, 1908. $100, 082. 81
Mar. 16, 1909 .... ................ 104, $50. So
Increase "wet' year.. 4,578. Oh
Mar. 16, 1910 O..................... 136, 351. .28
Increase ''dry" year.. 81 ,690.76
The savings deposits in the bank have
more than doubled during the nine
months "drouth.
The mills started up few weeks
ago and Bruce people are beginning to
perceive that it was not the absence
of saloons that caused business to ap-
pear somewhat quiet.
CONDITIONS AT INGRAM
There is a false impression on the
part of a number of people in regard to
the conditions at Ingram, village of
about 500 population Is miles east of
Ladvsmith, which has had no saloons
for the past nine months. The state
ment has been made that nearly all of
the business men there are nowin favor
of license, while we have learned this
week that the opposite is true and that
the business men, excepting those
serving meals and furnishing livery
teams and excepting former saloon
keepers, are against license. One
merchant signed the petition to vote on
the license question, but that does not
Indicate any more than his disposition
to let voters express their wish at the
polls.
While it is true that more than half
the voters lost employment when the
Ingram Lumber Co. s saw-mill shut
down in August, the merchants say
that they never have lost so little by
poor accounts, and there has been work
for actual residents who wanted to
work. The village has not needed to
help any poor; the taxes generally have
not been so high as the year before,
though as much street work was done;
the town hall was paid for and about
$3.50 was paid on account of party
whose sickness was directly caused by