Imperial Valley press., 1914-09-08
The Matter With Kansas.

nlent against pIOnlDIlioI. IL Sd! > 'i'"'
prohibition ruined the grape industry
in Kansas" It claims that in the SOS
this industry was over 100000 per
year and it is estimated as less than
$4,000 now
The grape industry wasn't the only
industry ruined by prohibition.
There was the minet julep industry.
Prohibition killed the mint julep,
hence there was no more demand for
mint except in a few homes where
they made mint sauce for spring lamb
dressing.
Their there was the blow to the egg
industry. Men no longer use eggs for
cggnog, since the eggnog departed.
When prohibition came the hens had
been doing their best in their free
way to keep the egg industry alive
and you could get eggs for s cents
{. dozen. Since prohibition hit the egg
industry you have to pay 2 cents
apiece for eggs.
In fact, prohibition has killed about
every industry in Kansas except the
raising Of wheat and corn and alfalfa
and fruit and livestock; potatoes and
peas and cabbages and garden
sass: chickens and ducks and geese,
and korses and mules.
It lusted up many of our most
prominent gamblers, paralyzed the
beer gardens and absolutely killed the
bart enders' union
Prohibition has left very little Of
Kansas except the growing crops in
her fields, the stock in her stock pens,
the dreary round of work, work, work
in her factories and stores and other
industries. 1t has left US little to
do in hours of leisure exzpt Just to.
fall in love, to get married, send our
children to school, go abroad occa-
sionaliy, join the church when we feel
like it. run into each ether with ex-.
renslve automobiles and store our
money away in dusty bank vaults, in
stead of giving it to cheerful gentle
men with white aprons who used TO
stand in front of cut glass bars and
say lafrequently: This one is on the
house"
Where once the thriving business
Of the saloon sent the clamorous odor
o. Its prosperity out upon the side
walk and clear across the street. we
tnd nothing but shoe stores, clothing
oIer, dry goods stores, meat markets.
ocery stores ard other activities Of
unhappy people
Where once you saw long lines Of
alen on Saturday night going ioyfullv
INTO rooms where the doors always
swung in, never out; where there was
sawdust on the foor and a merry crowd
standing around the mahogany bar.
where they were treating all around,
and = man could get his salary check
cashed and spend it right there on
his boon companions, and then 90 en-
Enthusiastically home and break up the
furniture and give his wife a black
eye. Instead of all those manifesto
lions of earefree people which char
acterlzed the saloon day we now have
nothing but gloom. We see men 90
ing quletly 'nto butcher shop or gro
Gerry store o. department store to per
their weekly salary checks casbej
and then going moodily home with
shoes Off the children and beef
steak Tor supper and the fixings for
hea1y Sunday dinner the next dav.
and vcu Know instinctively that there
viii he no hilarity in that home thar
right and nothing to cheer the lives
Of these people except such sober ac-
tyitis5 as mother may introduce into
the family circle.
There is nothing in that family to
look forward to except comfortable
Sunday dinner and maybe church in
me laornlng and Sunday school; pos
sibly q decorous ride around town in
the family motor car in the after
noon
Ther Monday they begin the same
rounl all over again and spend the
next week doing nothing but work
iags and playing and riding and eat
ing and sic ping and buying new
olothe4 and ,aking music lessons and
going 70 parties and theatres and
eycrfetding each other at dinners, and
dnrlog the iirelong week father never
come home and breaks in the door
with ! warWhoop and goes 10 smash
sng hp the furniture or caressing
nlotliet with his doubled-up fist and
kicking little Tommy just to see what
Tommy would do, and doing other
sline ~ sheH ihe pride Of strong