The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1913-09-13
LIGHT SHEDS MORE LIGHT
On His First Letter, Giving Statistics
on the Wet or Dry Issue

be honest and in no way misleading.
IN my comparison of assessed valua-
ton I took Marion county, wet, and
compared it with Alachua. Levy and
Lake, dry, her adjoining nefghbors,
whose interest, business and oppor-
tUnities are alike; also St Johns,
wet, and Volusia, dry, adjoining
counties, and honestly tried to find
out which counties were the most
prosperous.
Again, l compared Marion, wet,
with Alachua, Levy and Lake, dry,
adjoining counties, and showed that
Marion had increased in millage six
times as fast as Alachua, p times as
fast as Levy and more than twice as
fast as Lake; also, st. Johns, wet,
the millage was higher than in Vo-
lusia, dry, adjoining counties.
If there is anything unfair in these
comparisons l am not able to see it.
took the same comparisons in city
and town property, and these records
show up in favor of increased pros
perity in dry counties. l can see no
justice or unfairness in my compar-
ison of city population: Ocala against
Gainesville, Live Oak, Lake City and
Tallahassee, which cities had their
colleges in 1900 as well as in 1910.
The number of scholars in 1900 and
1910 was but little different. st.
Augustine had its college in 1900 and
1910, DeLand had its college in 1900
and 1910; nevertheless, these re-
cords show the wet cities have not
increased as fast as the drys There
is no dishonesty in this comparison.
l am honest in comparing court ex-
penses in Marion county, wet, against
Alachua and Levy counties, dry. The
records show that court expenses in
Marion were 81 cents per head,
against % cents for Alachua and 81
cents for Levy, per head. Surely
there is some cause why the court
expenses in wet county are nearly
fifty per cent more per head than in
adjoining dry counties.
Here is the reason it costs more to
run our courts in the wet than the
dry counties:
Marion county in 1912 sent one
prisoner to the state prison for each
1900 persons, while Alachua sent one
for each 1900, nearly fifty per cent
IC
for each go persons, while Baker,
adjoining, one to each $500 persons,
OF to Bradford for each 5000 persons,
or Nassau, wet, one to each 1900, to
Baker, 1900, or Columbia, dry, for
2400; st. Johns, wet, one for each
600, to Volusia, dry, adjoining, one
for each 1900, or DeSoto one to 1000
persons. ~
These are cold, hard, terse facts;
there is no deceit or falseness shown
in this statement. The saloons make
drunkenness, drunkenness makes
criminals. 1t costs something to
prosecute our criminals, and the
state pays only for state cases, and
the people are taxed to pay the addi-
tional costs of the courts caused by
drunkenness. This is the grist that
comes from the saloon mill.
| am deceiving no one when l
compare Marion county, wet, to-
Alachua, dry, in number of banks
and bank deposits. Alachua in 1903,
when she went dry, had three banks
within her boundaries. Now she has
thirteen. Marion in 1903 either had
three or four. She now has five or
six. Alachua increased ten; Marion,
only two or three. Bank deposits
much larger according to population
in Alachua than Marion. There is
no lie in the statement that the sa-
looms are in business because of the
money to be derived therefrom, and
the money that goes to support the
saloon business is taken from other
lines of business.
l love Marion county. Her God |
has become my God; her people my
people; her prosperity my happiness; |
her misfortunes my sorrow. I love |
her clean and model homes, her pure |
and holy maidens, her young and |
manly men, but l hate, / loathe, !
abhor the business in this county that |
makes drunkards out of manly young |
men and makes our maidens the |
wifes and mothers in our brutal .
homes
By the grace of God, and the man
y, upright vote of this precinct,
which once had the open saloon, the
club room, the blind tiger, we are
going like men to cast one solid,
unanimous vote next Tuesday against
he licensed open saloon in Marion
county.
Vote, look at these hard, cold.
rue facts, and then if you want more
more criminals more Il