Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1910-01-31
OUR BOYS
WILL LEAD
Provided They Are Saved
From Saloon, Declares
Rev. J. |. Seder
TWO BILLIONS THE COST
Each Year For Saloons and
Caring For Their
Victims.

Our boys will lead in the great
work of the nation which is work
of time, provided these same boys are
saved from the pitfalls of the saloon
T@is was the declaration of the Rev.
J. |. Seder, superintendent of the
Anti-Saloon League of New Mexico in
an address he delivered last night be-
fore a large audience at the First
Presbyterian church. In the morning
Mr. Seder spoke on Victories Won
and Winning"
In his address last night he cited
many figures to show the enormous
cost of the saloon in the United
States, estimating that one and a
quarter billion dollars is spent for
drink and three-quarters of billion
more in caring for the victims of al
coholiSm.
Five times as much money is spent
in this country for liquor than for
bread and eleven times as much as is
spent on education and 107 times as
much as is spent on home and foreign
missions. He said:
In New Mexico.
There are about nine hundred liq-
uor sellers in New Mexico. They APP
pear to be making a comfortable liv-
ing for themselves and their barten-
ders. They do more. They pay big
profits. Besides their own living and
profits, they pay round sum to the
Liquor Trust of this country. They
enable the brewers and distillers to
build and furnish elegantly the most
palatial residences, wear purple and
silk, live eXtravagantly, luxuriously,
wantonly, tour Europe or the world as
his fancy suggests. This at the ex-
pense of the laboring men, women and
children, who are but too often thinly
clad, poorly fed and worse housed in
weather pierced hovels
But let us sit down and figure out
the profit and loss. The 900 saloons,
with receipts of $4,000 per annum
each, a low average estimate. take
from the pockets of the New Mexico
public $7,200000 annually. SUI pose
these saloons pay an average license
money of $500 into county and city
treasury. This is probably a very fair
estimate, or at best these saloons pay
not to exceed 100000 license money.
Thus they take out of the communi-
ties $7,000,000 more than they return
in license money. In other words,
the territory hires these tax-gather-
ers' to collect less than a quarter mil
lion dollars and pays them seven mil
lion dollars for their services. Is shis
good financial management? Would
any railroad, mercantile or collection
agency pay such large commissions
for so little service? And why apply
er lines and make an exception where
the saloon is concerned Why not
apply plain common sense to that as
well, and let the saloon also stand or
fall on it's merits or demerits? And
We're this large money commission
which the saloon collects the only
consideration, the only loss, the only
extortion it might be quietly suffered.
But that is the smallest item. The sa-
loon robs the home and burns it
down, takes it's patrons money and
burns down his character, happiness
and life.
Concluding Rev. Mr.. Seder said:
And what value shall be put upon
a human life? Dan Patch, only
race horse, is worth more than $780,
O0O Is it eXtravagant to put a hum
an life at ten times that sum, or
million dollars-if it were your life!
AT such fearful cost, how can any
sane person say, that saloons pay? If
they do not pay. even as a financial
proposition, why not do away with
them without delay? Does it pay fin
ancially to have wolves among the
sheep or rattlesnakes among our
boys and girls? Who says it does?
Who says saloons pay the city or
state financially"