Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-05-20
Looker-On In Iona

| Looker-On In Iona
Wesley, May 2O-All last week the
| WRITER was in the towns surrounding
| Marshalltown and naturally the clos
| ing of the saloons in that city was the
uppermost subject of conversation
There was general opinion that they
would not stay closed And the opln-
ions concerning the saloon business
were as numerous as the speakers. IN
questionably there's a big crowd or
men, nearly all young men and single
men that were sorry and said SO to
have the saloons shut up. And further
| more this element were sure 1t would
kill Marshalltown." one man in Tama
said Marshalltown was getting $40
worth of trade daily from Tama. He
! did not explain where he got these ex-
! act figures. Merchants in the small
towns near by, all are glad to have the
J saloons closed in Marshalltown. This,
| for two reason, the first being the one
story that the saloons draw trade to
| Marshalltown, and secondly they con-
slider saloons a bad thing morally
speaking for Marshaltown or any other
| town. Temperance men can safely
claim that the majority of business
men object to saloons in any town on
| mora, grounds, but in many cases bus
mess greed overcomes moral senti-
| ments. Such business men say I'VE do
not want saloons in our towns but
if Nextown has open saloons we can
not hold our trade unless we can have
| one.
wellsburg in Grundy county has
closed it's saloons within the last few
months AS a matter OF curiosity the
| writer asked some Of the business
men, what effect this has had on the
trade of the town. A we'll posted
blacksmith says it has made no differ
ence to him. He gets his patronage
| from class of farmers tina, come to
| town to trade or have WORK zone in his
! shop. They don't come to town for
| beer for nearly all that want 1t keep it
| at home. A merchant says ne can see
| no difference in his business, his Gus
| homers are not drunkarcs. A grain
dealer said he took in 700 bushels more
| of grain than Nextown during the
last three months. Another business
man said he'd give more for a good
grain buyer that would pay a cent
| higher than adjoining towns, than for
three saloons to draw trade.
! An automobile dealer is convinced
we shall soon need the formation of
| AN Automobile Thief Association
Says the business of stealing autos j.
already quite an industry in the cities.
Three were stolen on one day recently
| in Chicago That with the increasing
sales of certain manufacturers in tho
same vicinity it will be comparative
ly easy matter for an expert to take a
machine and get hundred miles away
in short time, and once in a city Of
any size they easily sell or trade the
machine to innocent purchasers" He
advises all owners to, somewhere out
OF sight, place private marks SO if
machine is stolen Identification wiz
be possible and sure. Those OF us who
don't ride in chaises," can still sleep
nights.
Speaking of autos, Grundy Center
can make quite an automobile par
ade,, as there are over fifty machines
owned in town costing at fair esti-
mate, $4,000. The town boasts of
three garages. Recently one of these
garage men took a travelling man from
one town to another. eleven miles in
eighteen minutes. One farmer near
Grundy Center has three autos on the
place. Altho well along in years, he
enjoys running one himself, and so do
his two boys, SO to avoid trouble IL
the family, each one has a machine.
With no reference to Grundy Center,
bank cashier recently said, "do you
know of the big amount of auto notes
our Iowa banks are carrying? It runs
into hundreds Of thousands of dollars.
And it's good paper, too. We don't
take machines as security. Oh, no. IL
some rich man in town or farmeS
wants to borrow a thousand dollars to
pay down on machine, we don't care
whether it's to buy a threshing ma
lchine, a house or an automobile. Only
as a rule they mention what they want
1.-THE money Tor, and ii would surprise
Iyou, how many well-to-do people owe
tus for the money they have put into
automobiles. Some of them will pay
dearly for their fun. It's none of our
funeral, but there'n be day OF settle
ment and the banks will not be the
losers" And then followed the story
one hears everywhere, OF the man that
owes the grocer, but still rides in
81 500 machine. Another noticeable
thing is the large number Of hal
played out secondhand machines TO be
seen everywhere now. They are fire.
Iquently sold for 10 cents on the dollar
~, ~ in. ,,ri. Ss.* are matched ND and
run quite awhile Only there's big
dump pile fof automobiles soon to be
started in every town.
! a. M.7-1r