The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-11-10
The Kind Of Business Mayor Dawson
Has Killed.

Ardmore, Nov. ., 1911.
have Just read the following ar
tcle in the Morning Star:
The Star has been boosting Ard
more in every issue since it was born.
1 Mayor Dawson is so blind he cannot
see nothing but class legislation in
order to clean up the city so he can
have a monogram on his tombstone,
He did his duty Yes, and he has
killed the trade in Ardmore."
Killed what trade? Killed whose
trade?
| have been resident of Ardmore
for twenty-one years. and, considering
the failure in our corn crop and the
low price of cotton, I must say have
never seen legitimate trade any better
or illegal trade any poorer, than it
is in Ardmore today.
I have talked with several of our
leading merchants and they all tell
me their trade is good. Just yester-
day had a talk with R. w. Randol of
the Randol-Ditzler Dry Goods Co, and
he told me that their trade had been
so much better than they expected, it
had become necessary for Mr.. Ditzler
to make the second trip to market,
and he is now in the eastern market
for the second time In order to sup
Vly their trade When you look
around to find the trade that has been
killd by Mayor Dawson and the board
of commissioners, you will just find
three classes-the bootlegger, the
gambler, and the "bucosteerer. II
this is the trade the Star refers to
as being killed, God forbid that it
may ever be made to live again.
/ have known men who lived in
Ardmore for fifteen years and never
made an honest dollar, but walked
the streets day and night and steered-
our boys and young men, and the old
farmer, into the bootlegging joints,
and a few drinks of bad whiskey,
into the gambling den, and there he
was relieved of all his money and
turned out on the streets with an
aching head and heavy heart.
I know farmers who were victims
of the gambling habit, and when gam
bling was permitted in Ardmore they
would come to town with two or three
bales of cotton for the purpose of
buying the winters clothing for tbei:
families and they would be looked
up by the bunco man after they sold
their cotton, who, knowing their weak
ness, would say 70 him, Got good
game going up at Bills place; come
and go up, get a drink and win your
self a piece of money" The old far
mer goes up and is given a few drinks
to warm up his sporting blood. He
then buys $500 worth of chips and is
soon in the game. He is given more
whiskey as the game goes on. He buys
more chips as he loses and soon he
finds that all his money is gone. He
staggers out the back way and down
to the wagon yard to get his team. AS
he drives along the road home, his
brain on fire from the effects of the
whiskey and the loss of a nights
Steep, as he begins to SOBER up he
thinks of the good wife and the little
ones at home and how they will be
disappointed when papa arrives and
fails to bring them the long promised
new shoes and new dresses. Oh, how
miserable this poor fellow feels He
almost wishes he could die rather than
face his wife and little ones and tell
them what he has done. Here it is
that Satan gets in his real work. He
tells the poor fellow, Say to your
wife that you have been robbed. SO
the poor fellow when he arrives home
tells the wife of the robber that stole
into the camp house last night and
get all MS MONEY Willie ne Ndo 'iSrP I
ing. Imagine if you can the disap- !
pointment to this good wife and little
ones.
Bat thanks be to Mayor Dawson and |
the good board OF commissioners that |
bv their strict enforcement Of the law
the gambler. the bootlegging joint and |
the bunco steerer are gone. and Ard |
more is the cleanest town in Ollaho-
mo, and all good law-abiding people
can make living and work six days |
in the week. and our business is good, |
thank you.
FBLIX X. WEST.