The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1916-04-21
PROHIBITION IN A BIG CITY.

big city. Seattle Is tie largest city
that has ever had prohibition, It
aud the whole stare OF Washington
became dry January | Of this year.
The stongest single force that work
ed against prohibition in tie state OF
Washington vas the Times, tue lead
ing new spaper Of Seattle. In its cam
paign against the passage OF the pro.
hihitory law it used all the familiar
old arguments such rs Prohibition
doesn't prohibit, that 1t would force
down rents. that so much property
used for saloons all AT once made EN-
pity and nonpToductlve in one day
would have a bad effect, and so on.
The editor of the Seattle Times,
Maj G. 4. BIethen. the man WHO
made the light against prohibition.
lie was asked no" prohibition was
working and II all his prophecies had
come true. lie said
My paper fought its damnedest
against prohibition We fought it
on economic grounds alone We be-
lieved that in a great seaport city
with population Of upwards OF 300,
it, would bring on economic disaster
We believed that under our ~ stem. Of
licensing saloons W. had the liquor
trat1iC about as we'll controlled AS 1t
could be- and we wanted to let it
alone aud SO We fonght rs hard as We
could fight. But, in spite OF all We
could do against 1t, prohibition car
ried and II went into effect In WASH
iugton January /. Va have had a
MONTH Of II now. 4"
And how has it worked Out?'
ave already know that II is great
benefit, morally aud from an econom-
h. standpoint. Its moral benefit has
been tremendous. Seattle had 280 sa-
looms and we had an average Of , 900
arrests month for crimes and INSIDE
meanors growing out of the liquor
drinking IL January We had only
made January and were the results
of hRugOvers from the old year. TIA u
In itself Is enough to convince any
man with conscience that prohibit
ton Is necessary. There can be no
true economy in anything that is i'm
moral.
an Il ~
suit we have these economic facts;
la the first three weeks Of January
the savings deposits In the banks OF
Seattle increased IL per cent. There
was not grocery store In Seattle
That did not show an increase OF bus.
mess III January greater than ever
kno"n in any month before in all the
history OF he city, except in holiday
time, In all the large grocery stores
the increase was immense In add.
tion Ia this, every dry goods store In
Seattle, except one, and that one |
have no tx ores from had wonderful
increase In business Each store re.
ported the largest business ever done
IN one month, except in holiday time.
| wished to know in what class of
goods the sales Increased so greatly,
and SO | sent TO all the grocery and
dry good stores To find that out. And
to me II Is 4 pitiful thing, aud it
makes me sorry that We did not have
prohibition long ago--that the In
crease In sales In all the dry goods
stores was In wearing apparel of
women and children. and in the groc-
cry stores the increase was made up
chiefly Of fruits and fancy groceries, |
This proves that IL is the women anu |
children who benefit greatest from |
prohibition. Money that went form
erly over the bar for WhiSkey is nov
helng spent for clothing for the WON,
en- and childen, and In better food |
for the household -
at is Just like this: When you
close the saloons tbs money that was
formerly spent there remains In the
family Of the wage Garner, and his
vile and children buy shoes aud
and better food with 1t.
Yes, SIR, We have tound In Seattle
that II lie better TO buy SHOES than
booze, The families of wage eaTnerS
in seattle are going to have more
food and clothes and everything else
than they had before. ~
And is the prohibition law EN-.
"A bsoIutely, Prohibition does
prohibit.
"And how about the empty saloons
and the landlords who own thsuiy'
Many OF them have already been
made over and are occupied by other
businesses, Nillventure the proph.
ecy that In one year 'rom to-day YOU
wont lind place in Seattle where
there was saloon. They will all
ha occupied hy other businesses. And
prohibition has not lowered rents