Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1916-05-17
Prohibition in Kansas

Ex-Congressman j. ID. Botkin of
Kansas says:
Kansas became a state on January
20, 1861. Early in statehood she be-
came impressed that the saloon was
a serious detriment to society and
would prevent the development of the
young commonwealth along the lines
OF highest citizenship. The agitation
Tor dry state began at once and was
continued with relentless vigor until
the saloon was abolished. We were
met with the usual wet arguments;
that you can't build a state or a city
without revenue from the saloon; that
to Danish the saloon would prevent
progress, increase taxes, and bank
rupt the state. But we saw things
differently, and on the End of Novem-
Der, 1880, voted prohibition into our
constitution. The following winter
the Legislature enacted laws to make
effective the new provision of the con-
stitution. Prohibition became effec-
tive May /, 1881. Here are some of
the results as outlined in a recent let
ter from the secretary of state:
As result of prohibition the an
nual expenditure for liquor has been
reduced from $21 per capita, the aver
age in the United States, to slips in
Kansas. llliteracy among Kansas peo-
pie has been reduced to 2 per cent
the lowest in the United States. There
are AZ counties out of a total of 105
counties in the state, which did not
send a prisoner to the penitentiary in
1914 There are 81 counties that did
not send an insane patient to the asy-
lum in that year. More than a dozen
counties have not called jury in ten
years to try a criminal case. Fifty
three counties were without prisoners
IN their jails that year, and % coun-
ties were without inmates in their
almshouses. The Kansas death rate
is the lowest in the world-8h for
each 1000 population. There are more
students in the colleges and UNIVERSE
ties In proportion to the population
than any other state in the Union.
"The State bank commissioner pub
lished his official statement under
date of March "a, 1916, showing the
deposits in the 957 state banks. four
private banks, and IL trust companies
to have been on that date, $141,714,-
.072.21. He also stated that the de-
posits in the 300 national banks
amounted to over $100,000,000 or a
total of $242,000,000"
As an evidence that the people are
satisfied with prohibition / refer you
to the fact that two years ago a man
of means and of good ability and per-
sonal character ran for governor on
a re-submission platform as an indie |
pendent candidate OF 528,0O6 votes |
cast on the governorship this man got |
47,021. There will never be another |
effort along that Line.
Catholics Against Saloon
John f. Cunneen, the noted Catho-
lie orator and former head Of the
Catholic Total Abstinence Union of
Chicago, recently gave out the fol-
lowing interview regarding the at
titude of his church on the saloon
question:
THE Catholic church, through the
plenary council of Baltimore, branded
the saloon business as dangerous and
dishonorable, and called upon the
Catholics engaged in it to get out of |
1T. All the great Catholic societies |
refuse membership to those engaged |
IN the liquor business. In Maine the |
Catholics have a majority of the |
church membership, and you know
how Maine stands on the Nliquor ques-
ton. In Cambridge, Mass, the Cath
Ollie church membership equals IL per |
cent of the total church membership, |
and for % years Cambridge has out
lawed the saloon.
while the Catholic may vote as he |
pleases upon the saloon question, the |
church gives him no argument in fav-
or of the saloon. On the contrary, all |
the arguments are against it. The |
Rev. James Z. Cassidy of Fall River, |
Mass, once said: You dare not pray
for the saloon No Catholic who |
follows Father Cassidy's advice will |
not favor the saloon"
In Colorado
For the first time this year, or since |
the three saloons that formerly oper- |
ated in Milliken closed, a drunken |
man was seen on the streets. He |
was attracting so much attention that |
friends took him home before the town |
marshal could arrest him. All Milf |
ken merchants report better business |
since the saloons closed than ever be- |
fore in the history of the town. The |
buildings made vacant by the removal |