The Sentinel=record., 1911-03-08
AseAHR AND HERMAE. Answer C. C.. LemIy's Communication Regarding the Saloon Business.

Editor Sentinel Record:
 Mr. Lemly has, in a communication
 reeroduced in your paper of the sec ond instant, male some extrayagant
 statements regarding the saloon busi- ness in Hot Springs. We. as saloon
 men of this city believe it would be
 an injnst.ee to IS and others engaged
 in that bnsiness, 10 allow such state
 mcnts to go nachallenged
 If Mir Lemly is sincere in his as-
 seuions and we have no reason to
 say that he is not, he is sadly misin-
 folmed, not only as to the volume of
 business done by the saloon men of
 this city. but also as to the expense
 necessary to conduct the same. It is
 not our purpose to engage in con troyersy with MT. Iemlg. nor to criti- else his communication beyond it's
 reference to the saloon business. We know tlis vocation from A to z, and are familiar with all of it's angles, and if there is a saloon man in Hot
 Springs who can stand one dollar more expense than he now has to pay, We don't know who he is, or where he can be found.
 MT. Lemly attempts to justify his suggestion as to increasing the Ii- cense to s3,600 a year by the intima tior that it would curtail the nuniser of saloons to 20; or in other words would force out of business about 35 saloons leaving 20, which could stand $300 a month to the city on an alleged income Of $100 a day. Upon our knowledge of the business in Hot Spring We take issue with him on this statement and most positively as- sert that 20 saloons would not aver age $100 day the year around, nor could they afford to pay license 10 the city of $S600 year unless they were so distributed over the city as to be five or six blocks apart.
 In estimating the gross income to each of the 20 saloons, of $36,500 q year, upon a basis of S100 a day, MT. Lemly has evidently overlooked the fact that there are 52 Sundays and five or six elections each and every year when the saloons are closed, or supposed to be, and generally fined if they are not; so there are about 5s lays of every year, or about ones sixth closed, losing, a basis of $t00 a day. $5,S00 completely wiping out the net profit of $5,450 according to MT. figures, with $35O to spare for the loss account.
 Another evidence of the fact that he is totally unfamiliar with the sa- loon business, is his assertion that one-half of the gross receipts con stitutes the profits We don't know tie source of his information on this point, unless it comes from the drux business, the profits of which, are by no means a criterion by which our profits can be estimated-since it is ! generally conceded fact that the pre- feature of the drug business cannot be discounted as money maker.
 Again MT. Lumley tells the public, with as much assurance apparently, IS if he had been reared in the sa- Ioon business, what it costs to run q saloon tae receipts of which are $100 , day, or S36,500 a year. A saloon with such an income could not get along with two barkeepers very well, md if it did, would not have a man whose services were worth less than st00 month, which would be S2s400 a year for two more, or $400 above Mir. Lemiey's estimate. He places the owners expenses at $2,000 a year. which Is much smaller than it should be if ne lives as most men do n the saloon business. The rent he also places at s2,0O0. This would force the saloon man from a desirable loca- lion and suitable house on Central ayeiuo for a while.
 Taking everything together MT. I-emles is little severe on the sa- oon man. The cold blooded feature of his communication is that he makes no provision for the S5 or 40 men. wao, according to his figures. his high license policy would force 5ut Of business. He makes no pro- vision for the property owners whose house would be vacated under his high license policy. If Mir. Lemley's ideas were carried out there would be plen- Iy of vacant houses on Central ave- hue in a short time, and it would be ! long time before there would be my tenants for then. The truth is, NIT. Lemley is druggist and not q saloon man and we imagine would be as incapable of running a saloon IS we would be of conducting a drug store outside of prohibition communi- ties.