Arizona republican., 1914-08-19
QUESTION OF REVENUE

IN every contest between the TAX
payers and the saloon forces the argu-
ment of the latter has been that the
revenues from the saloons made taxes
lighter, and that if it were not for the
saloons the taxpayer would have to
bear greater burden
Although this argument is an exam
pie of sublimated idiocy it has been
more or less difficult to reduce to act
ual figures exactly what it costs TO
maintain the saloons and their re-
suits and weigh this amount against
the revenues derived, and strike a bal
ance
The common sense of the average in
dividual revolts at this saloon argu-
ment, but he is not prepared to figure
out exactly how the account stands
However, il the taxpayer will carefully
note the following figures he may ar
rive at enough of a conclusion to startle
him. He need not consider the question
from moral standpoint at all. All he
needs 20 do is to figure out how much
| it costs him.
In the first place ii is necessary to
| Ho' thN wv VI NOuHlitS III al iZollft
Graham and Apache, both dry under
local option,-as a basis upon which to
| make a comparison BY reducing the
| assessed taxes in these counties to a
! per capita basis and then figuring the
| remainder of the state therefrom we
| find that Arizona could easily get along
with $2,799,3S216 whereas the fact and
the truth is the taxes assessed for
| county purposes in Arizona amount to
| $4,742,61845, making a difference Of
$1,943,2 3629 which would represent
! exactly in taxes for county purposes
the cost of maintaining the liquor traf-
| fic.
To this must be added a great many
more items. For instance using the
same two counties as a basis we find
that we have sentenced to the peniten-
tiary, last year. 2S9 convicts, while If
the state had been dry it should have
sentenced but As convicts, making diff
ference of 244 convicts that can be
charged directly to the liquor traffic.
These conyicts cost to keep last year
$22536 each. or n total of $549Sl.S4'
which should be charged directly to the
liquor traffic.
BY using the same two counties as q
basis we find the state last year had in
the insane asylum $40 inmates, while
# the state had been dry it would have
had but 334, making a difference OF Z45
insane, which can be charged directly
TO the liquor traffic. The cost TO keer
these insane last year was, net, $203.6t
each, or total of $40. SS9.S4 for the
year, which can be charged directly tc
the liquor traffic.
Adding together the excess taxes, eX-
cess cost of criminals and excess cos
of insane, we find that these three
items aggregate $204S, 1887. which car
he charged to the fact that the state /:
wet
At the same time that we paid thi
excess Of county taxes and tins excess
Of two items in state taxes we received
| for the various counties revenues IRON
| the saloons amounting to $17O,9S0.34
! Thus we find that for every dolia
we receive as revenue We paid in tn
items mentioned $1,000 to get the on
dollar of tainted money AS Benjamin
Franklin would say This is payin
| entirely too much for our Whistle.
This does not take into account at al
i the expense of the reform school, Whic
can be charged up largely to the Equo
traffic Nor does it cover the loss O
economic efficiency which amounts I
20 per cent of the total business done
the entire state. Neither does 1t EN-
brace the original cost Of the hquo
consumed. Ws
we pay out over the bars OF ines
. saloons $1,000, 10000 every year. which
of course, is infinitely worse than vast