The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-12-28
SALOONS IN IOWA
ARE SHORT LIVED.
Final Closing Of Bars on Friday Nigh.
Means Loss Of Revenue for
County, State and
Nation.
100000 IS INVOLVED
In Some Small Towns Virtually All
9saExpenses Of Municipality Wore
Met by Saloon
Licenses.

nual license tax paid by the grog
SHOPS VIII be cut off from the county,
city and federal government. OF this
amount. cities will lose 1902, 400, coun-
Ties $l50,600 and the federal govern
ment s12,550, state officials say.
There were 500 saloons operating
In Iowa in 1915. The average license
tax paid by each establishment for
the year is figured at $1,000. by the
state officials. This included $500
per year mulct tax, but does not in
|clude SIS paid annually to the federal
government for the right to operate.
The records show that in 1906 there
were in Iowa 1,77U saloons, which
paid annually in license tax $1,474,14s,
not including the federal tax. This
averaged $865.S5 per saloon.
| In 1908 the number Of. saloons drop
ped to 1912. That year they paid
$l,S77,057 tax, or an average Of $9O0.S6
lper saloon.
In 1910 the saloons numbered 1856
and the tax paid was $1,224,225, an
average Of $953.51.
BY 1912 the number Of grog shops
decreased to TAI, and they paid ST.
043,336 tax, an average Of $1,4OS01
for each establishment.
In 1915 the number shrunk to 5O2,
the total tax being $765,55O, an aver
age Of $1,000 for each saloon.
Steady Decrease in Revenue.
In the last nine years the amount
of saloon tax received by the cities
and counties has been reduced 80 per
cent. Adjustments were made so
that the loss of revenue was made up
in other ways without any inconven-
.ience. In some Of the towns where
saloons remained. 1.-The city councils
made up for the loss by increasing
the tax In the remaining establish
Iments.
The highest tax on saloons report
ed to the state was $1,000 by Summer.
Iowa, which had only one saloon
Hhe population OF Sumner was 1,400
lin 1910. Bellevue In Jackson county
reported one saloon and an annual tax
Iof $4,000 in addition to the 5000 mulct
tax Many of the towns had $4,000
tax on the grog shops.
In the smaller places where the sa.
loon tax was high, the revenue from
that source practically paid all of the
municipal expenses. The people in a
measure were relieved of city taxes.
The effect of the closing on these
places will be that the city council
will tax property as is done in other
places.
New Liquor Legislation.
AS to what will happen on January
L. fNI-
lowing statement of the effect of the
liquor legislation passed by the thirty.
sixth general assembly, for the state
historical society:
For some years growing hosttl-
ity toward the liquor business has
been manifest in the general assem-
bly, of Iowa This anti-liquor senti-
ment seems to have eliminated in the
thirty-sixth general assembly in the
passage of number of acts designed
to wholly abolish the liquor business
in Iowa.
"In the first place the so-called
mulct law, under which the liquor
business has been conducted in Iowa
for many years, was repealed to take
effect January 1, 1916. The effect OF
this repeal is to revive statutory pro-
hibition throughout the state. More.
over, by Joint resolution of the two
houses. a prohibitory amendment to
the constitution is proposed. Like all
proposed constitutional amendments.
this proposition must be adopted by
the next succeeding general assembly
before being submitted to the people.
In the meantime statutory prohibition
will be in force.
"In order to make statutory prohi-
bition effective, number of so called
law enforcement acts were passed.
Judges of the district and superior
courts Of the state are authorized to
issue search warrants for the seizure
of liquor. and are given jurisdiction in
the matter of serving notices, trial
and Judgment in liquor cases.
Effect Of Iniunctions.
when a person has been enjoined
against selling liquor, the Injunction
is effective throughout the state, in
stead of only in the judicial district
as heretofore Those who violate an
Injunction of the court against the
selling of liquor the second time are
more severely punished than first Of
tenders. Indeed, anyone convicted a
second time for violation Of the liquor
laws of the state is deemed persist
ent violator of such laws and sentence
for each subsequent violation of the
law shall be imprisonment in the
state penitentiary or reformatory for
not more than one year.
at is made unlawful for any rail-
road, express company. or other COM
mon carrier. or any person, corpora
ton. steamboat, or steamboat line to
carry intoxi ~,t'ug liquor into the state.
- 49, - point to another within
~ sts for the purpose of delivering
t..e re to any person, corporation or