St. Johns review. (Saint Johns, Or.) 1904-current, 1914-10-23
SALEM SUFFERS
BUSINESS LOSSES
FROM DRY RULE
Store Property Rentals DrOp$75
a Month in City
BANK DEPOSITS OFF 100000
Fourteen Business Houses Quit in Less
Than Year. School Attendance Less


Many Oregon papers have
been loaded down within
the past three weeks with
repeated assurances that
business is Fine in Dry
Towns"
The three most important
Oregon cities TO become
dry" nine months ago were
Salem, Oregon City and
Springfield.
IF business is fine in those cities
the taxpayers and most Of the
business men would like 10 have
the drys" explain just what
they mean by cine" If they
had said business is thin, +" then
they might have been more easily
understood.
Let them answer first about
conditions in Salem. Council.
man John ID. Turner, of Salem,
an attorney, Is sponsor for the
following facts about that city;
Solem went "dFy" December / last,
cloaing ~ saloons, three restaurants
and two Wholesale houses md withdrew
liquor permits from eight drug stores
ard out OFF m nnuunl license revenue
u sl5,i0 Ninety men and q monthly
payroll Of 5000 were put out Of com
mission. Most of the men have left
The city, M buildings vacated by
these concerns nro ulill empty, except
dix, which have been occupied by ten
ants who have vacated other buildings,
several of the best buildings being
boarded over and used MS billboards.
Moro than five hundred modern dwell,
ings nrc "for rent" " Store property
rentals ON State street have dropped
from slsj 90 $40 n month, but "buh
ness Is fine
Fourteen other business places have
slcsed since December I last aside
from the saloons rud restaurants. In
tluded are three shoe storcs-two by
thcdff and one voluntarily; one of the
largest dygoods stores has been sued
for the first time In twenty years,
Roorcs Of olcrks have left the city,
caufing the loss ~ more pnyrolls 90
the city, bat Cuisines IN fine
4 lending rrohiliiionist promised to
build ~ new dwellings II the city went
"dry." Nine houses were begun. two
have the windowH md doors In, but
have never been finished; M work han
been done ON the others, besides their
bare frames.
Building permits from January 20
August the l"ai rinc wet months ~
1913, we're s1,sDai, from November,
1913, to September. 1911, the next I
eleven "dry" months, they were Sl2O.. /
600 less, or SECS, 100,
The grammar school opening day en-
rollment In 1913 was 1910; ON the sgmr
day lali, li6n, hut "busincss O. fine. "
Bank deposits show decrease ~
$500 9la since the town went "dry,"
rven after allowing for the slS5.1ol
deposited this year from sale of bonds
In Boston The decrease therefore
really should be t7pioi2, but "busi
ness is fiuc
The attendance at the "Cherry
Fair" this year WAS about one half
what u was the last "wct" year The
Association before the clcc.
lien which made Salem dry" told
The Cherry Fair promoters that they
would make up for the donations usu.
ally made by the saloons, hut utterly
Jailed TO do so this year and the pro.
noters refused to hold that carnival.
The "Cherrians, consisting Of 100
zeal boosters, but Of no prohibitionists,
hen pledged their personal member.
hip for the necessary funds requiring
he payment on their part of s500. To
.uh IL in, the Methodists then turned
heir church into a restaurant, put the
'itehen in the pulpit aud competed
With the legitimate restaurants for the
title business that their proprietors
'ad hungrily looked for as a possible
nnual godsend.
Business must be Cline" In any eity
,hen building permits, payrolls, bank
deposits, bankruptcies, closed stores de.
populated dwellings, depressed realty ,
alues, school enrollments aud carnival
tatistics all tell So dreary story of ,
iteral fact. Maybe the prohibitionists
nean that the "agitating business is
inc.