Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1910-10-18
WHY NOT TELL THE TRUTHq

One of the claims of certain advo-
Gates of prohibition is that notwlth-
standing the loss of $240O year sal
loon license in Dallas the city has
saved more than this amount on the
expenses of its police court since the
saloons were voted out; in other
words, that the expense of Furnishing
lawbreakers while the saloons We're
running cost the city more than the
$240O it received from saloon licenses.
The Observer will not say that the
persons who have been circulating
this report among the farmers of Polk
County have wllfully told a falsehood,
but it will say that they have
been misrepresenting the facts 1t is
certain that II they only had taken the
trouble to examine the city records,
they would have found absolutely no
grounds for such assertions.
The records of the Dallas police
court show that from July /, 1907, to
July 1. 1908, (the last wet year in Dali
las,) the total number of arrests was
rs. OF this number, 10 persons were
arrested for such misdemeanors as OBJ
structing the sidewalks with merchan-
disc, telling fortunes without license,
refusing to pay dog tax. unlawfully
posting bills, tc.-misdemeanors
which could in no possible way be laid
to the existence of saloons The re-
naming 6S arrests. not all of which
were due to the liquor traffic. were
classified as follows,
Drunkenness .............s.... Do
Fighting ................... a
Using obscene language. e......... i
Gambling ..............-.,.,
Assault and battery. y............... 4
Seven OF the persons so arrested
were found mot guilty." making the
total number OF lawful arrests 6l.
Flfty-five were arrested for drunk
enness, an average OF a little less than
a month. These 55 arrests for
drunkenness. classified as 10 residence.
were as follows:
Non-residents OF Dallas. s......47
Residents OF Dallas. as............. 81
OF the eight residents of Dallas ar
rested for drunkenness. FIVE were /
found mot guilty" The five dis
charged were abs TO prove by reliable
witnesses that they had not been
drunk at all. but rather that they I
were merely lot OF mischievous boys
bent on a lark az a late hour. one OF
the witnesses testifying IN behalf OF
part OF them was the arresting officer
himself. Taking away the number I
who were found to be Innocent. the
actual number OF residents Of Dallas |
found guilty Of drunkenness In the |
year was only Three. Bear In mind, this 1
was for the entire year ending July 1. I
lses. during which time there were
four saloons in Dallas
Tho actual amount Of money paid /
into the city treasury In fines during /
that year was ff26. only - OF the
persons arrested and found guilty
refused 10 pay their fines These re-
oeived jail sentences amounting IN the
aggregate 20 ~ = days az hard labor /
Some of these prisoners worked: ]
others refused 20 work A. the records /
DO not show how many worked. we viii I
take the safe side and say that none
of them worked. although u is known /
that many Of them did. Allowing the |
expense OF boarding these idie prison
ers f1K days AZ 81 a day. fand the
city never paid 81 for three meais.D 1
the total cost 20 the taxpayers vas
s41.So. The total expense of the police
court for ne year. inciufinE wines
fees. vas tt17.To. AddinE an this sx-
pense together. We have.
Court expen.es and fees. ....fisf.5o
Beard q prisoners. ease
Total cost o. ety. .ti71-fc
10 pay ttir fataf cosf 81 ftTI18.
~ L-Lr r.rLll.l In manar lnaa tha l