Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-01-03
Looker-On In Iona

1
Our rivers are SO low but little ice will
be cut in our running streams this
year Big family cisterns in many
towns that were never empty before
now fail to respond to the pitcher
pump. Travelling men from the Da-
kotas report similar conditions One
knight OF the grip declares. so scarce is
water in many towns out there. the
water pitchers in the hotels are only
one third filled and the use of bath tubs
only & memory.
! And here Is something that perhaps
our scientists can explain. None OF the
flowing wells in this town or vicinity,
so the writer is told. are affected by
this dry spell. The water rises to the
/, same height as a year ago and in vol
ume is the same.
! The story comes to The writer that
! in a thriving town Yves. of here. a re-
sponsible man financially and other
; wise. offered to build a new. modern.
up-to-date thirty-room hotel-some-
thing the town needs to compare with
! other business enterprises thereon
condition the city council would give
him a permit to run pool room, i. e..
I! have billiard tables, and allow pool
/ playing And he was turned down af-
ter three weeks Of almost continuous
meetings of the city fathers. This coll
umn is seldom used to discuss political.
financial religious or moral questions.
but it does seem. Probably better
continue along other lines. only ii will
not be out OF order TO mention tina, the
hotel trade OF that town can be in
creased four fold with modern. big
hotel in operation. Nearly all of the
money left at such a hotel will come
from outsiders. and a large percentage
Of it will be Immediately paid out to
dealers in that town for supplies of all
kinds. To Offset this. pool tables will
be kept from running by the action of
the city council.
Speaking of hotels. several of the So
a day houses now have raised their
rates to s2.25. rooms 15 cents and
meals 80 cents, and they stick to il.
having no pets or favorites. Neither
are they making rates for show people
or stay-a- week trade And this rate is
paid cheerfulIy in towns where there is
only one good hotel. One landlord was
feeling very good over the fact that he
had all thru Christmas week. when
/
during the holidays. he had fourteen
Western Union Telegraph linemen and
he made them pay full rates. SO day
for board and lodging, his regular rate
for transcients. He added. Why should
give them rate? The Western Union
always charged me full rates.
In these towns. however. there is an
increase in the number of good res
taurants. Travelling men can figure as
we'll as hotel men. An increase in the
. lodging and breakfast trade is notice.
able, and a decrease in IL o'clock din
ner and o'clock supper trade. Again
in the larger towns some rooning
houses are being opened. custom
much more general in the western
states than in Iowa All Of which
serves to remind US how true 1t is that
everything has gone up in price. ex-
cepting postage stamps and newspa-
pers.
Even that statement should be quail
fed. Ben Davis has gone down. At
last he is getting 1t in the neck. we are
becoming sensible, discriminating and
wise. A sign in Muscat;ne grocery
! reads-"Ben Davis. SIS cents per bushel
-Jonathans $3.50 And once more
how about that big freeze we had late
last spring? When not only all the
blossoms were frozen but even the
leaves from the apple trees fell Of. We
We're ito go without apples this year"
On the contrary everywhere in the
Iowa stores have apples been plenty
and reasonable IN price. Should think
they were. nice. great big red sound Ben
| Davis SIS cents bushel on New Years.
| It falls to the lot OF the writer to
visit the wet and dry" towns Of
Iowa alike. One law seems to govern
both. They are dry when the ma
jority. or IS per cent say 30, and wet"
when voters in other towns say so in
the same figures. But strange to relate
| such towns are not satisfied State it
another way would be better. In such
dry towns. the out and out prohibi-
zionist wants the mutt law repealed
| and the saloon men in the wet" towns
want to repeal the mulct law. Both
| working for the same object 1t ought
to work. But it will not this coming
| legislature. The average business men
; in both wet and dry" towns are
standpatiers insofar as our liquor laws
are concerned. Grinnell, Eldora, Tama
| Toledo. Brooklyn, Newton are prohibi-
| ton towns because the larger number
of business men believe dry town
has more and better trade, better NOR
ais. increased population and less pov-
erty. Marshalltown, Waterloo, OsIea
loosa. Carroll. and the river towns be-
lieve the above is all bosh. so they have
saloons. The prohibitionists are work
ing to repeal the mulct law dropping
resubmisison for the time being. The
saloon interests want the old local op-
| ton license by vote system But
neither side will win out in 1911. We
politicians. we democrats and we re-
publicans are too wise TO be caught
this year. Liquor legislation IKE
tariff legislation always spell disaster
to the party in power.
a~Ms-.'>.-n>s'