Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1911-04-06

A great ma ority of the citizens and
taxpayers of Phoenix would have voted
No" had an election been held to de-
eide whether a prohibition election af-
fecting this city should be held. The
decision of the majority would not
have been made because of lack of
moral courage to face the proposed is
sue, but that the attendant strife, tur
moiI, i'll feeling and unsettledness
which comes with a prohibition cleo
ton in any community would have
been evaded. Such a vote, however,
was not possible under our laws and
the election with the question involved
is confronting US.
1t is fair TO take as a criterion
what has happened to other communi-
ties which had regulated saloons and
changed to prohibition of what will
be the result here in Phoenix. Informa-
ton regarding conditions in places
where prohibition is supposed to be
in effect is anxiously sought by the
reading public of this city today and
this space will until the day OF election
contain information for the enlighten-
ment of the voters.
No apology is offered for the saloon
as an institution. but to be fair one
must admit an honest difference Of
opinion possible among men of affairs
in commercial lines who are making
an effort TO Guild Phoenix into a COM
mercial center Of the southwest. 1t is
a fact not to be denied honestly that
no commercial city of the whole coun-
try has been built by extremists.
During the past week where the
question of prohibition has been under
discussion much has been said regard
ing the cities or Long Beach, Pasadena,
Redlands and Riverside of southern
California; they have been referred to
as models which might well be followed
by Phoenix. The claim is made that
they are prohibition towns. Although
possibly larger than Phoenix. they are
not now. nor will they ever become
the commercial center that is possi-
bility of the future for this city. But
even residential towns that they are
they have not succeeded in successful
ly operating under total prohibition.
The law has been materially modified
from what it 4 proposed for Phoenix
at least TO the extent of permitting bar
privileges to their largest tourist hotels.
like the Virginia, Maryland, Green and
the famous Glenwood Inn. 1t was found
that in the conduct of these hotels that
a liquor license was absolutely neces-
sary for their financial success-not
that the money was made out of the
sale of liquor. but because tourists will
not go TO a hotel where their every
want can not be supplied.
But the cities above referred to and
the question how prohibition affected
them is not a case in point in Phoenix.
They are Suburbs of Los Angeles COM
mercially speaking. The plan of the
optimistic Phoenix man is to make for
this city a position in Arizona similar
to that now occupied bv Los Angeles
as regards southern California We do
not want to be a suburb.
The conditions that make CONNER
cial cities apply here if Phoenix is to
become such a city. Climate is a tire
mendous Phoenix asset. The winter
climatic conditions which have peo-
pied southern California with nearly
a millions souls in the past twenty
years, and which are building Los An
geles into a city of a million popula-
ton with startling rapidity, are not to
be compared with the perfect winter
conditions in Phoenix. Rightly
governed, Phoenix cannot fail To become
the great winter resort of the CONT
nent, but beyond and above her climatic
asset is the one of her geographical To-
cation. In a stretch of a thousand
miles the Salt river valley is the only
big agricultural easis, the one real ma