Omaha daily bee., 1916-10-31

Think OF how they long for you over ther-
Now. here In Omaha, ever since lows
adopted prohibition there any Omaht
rcople going over there to attend the!
heaters and stop at their hotels and buy
shoes?
Well; not SOFAS you could notice 1t.
BIT. the Council Bluffs people, and all
that part Of Iowa, are coming here; and
you are getting ready to give them kick
right square, in the face.
Isn't the money of the man who comes
to get stein Of beer, too. generally as good
and as ready for shoes as the fellow that
don't?
Name one hundred teetotallers that are
rich and you can find that many beer
users that will cap them one better.
You stand up here and say that the peo-
pie who use beer and wine don't pay their
bills as good as the fellows who don't.
You stand up here and say that you know
any Of these dry fellows whose notes you
would rather have then men who drink.
Whose credit is better? Who are any great
err business asset to the town?
All; get right down to brass lacks; get
over your fit.
Now; look here. s352.ooo in the treasury.
II It was going to make your town better
off, socially or morally, you could do with
out that money But you are making con-
ditions worse, socially and morally; just like
every other prohibition city on earth has
done and always will. Because you are try
enforce.
Now then you wipe that out of your
treasury; $3.50, 900 is per cent Of 81 900, 900.
And suppose that you have to increase the
Of your property enough to make
up the $350,000. Where is 1t going to carry
you?
Or let us take 1t another way.
Suppose that the merchants of this town;
and let the drys lead off with this. and I
would like to see the list in the paper before
1 leave; the merchants Of this town would
agree to give per cent of the gross re-
ceipts from their sales to make up that
deficit? That would take 100000 worth
of business.
Where are you going to get TIT Where
Is It coming from?
Suppose that this city, or this state rather
adopts the idiotic idea that Kansas has and
that Iowa has. do you suppose that these
men who now come here with their cattle
and their shipments and bring their families
to spend vacation time; do you suppose
they will stop here?
That beautiful new hotel that you have
got standing over yonder; a credit to any
city In America, anywhere, that new hotel
would not be worth 40 cents on the dollar.
You say you don't want saloons. Don't
you?
Well, when you take your wife and start
from here to New York to do your buying.
and take her along for little vacation trip.
where do you and she figure on going? To
the ten cent stores and the cafeterias? Do
you take her around and show her the feed
yourself restaurants; nickel in the slot?
Oh, no.
You say Honey I have got $500 In my
hip pocket and we are going to have a good
time in New York. We are going to Rector's,
and we are going to Cavanaugh's, and we
will go from there up to the Astoria. and we
will go down to the theater'; but you don't
say anything about going over to hear
prohibition sermon .(Laughter.)
And the people of the United States carry
$2,5oo,o 900 day into New York City. Just to
have a good time. 70
Now, what do you do from Omaha to New
York when you take $500 or $1,000 when
you go there to do your purchasing; thous-
ands Of men all over this section of the
west do when they come to Omaha.
And they bring their families.
But do you suppose a man who can af-
ford that will come here, when he comes into
the Fontenelle, or any Of these other hotels.
and finds out that II he wants stein of
beer, or a glass Of beer for his wife or
himself, he has got to get from the bellhop
and sneak 1t up the back way?
Do you know that more than so per cent
Of the money that goes over the bars in
your town comes from the outside? 1t Is
velvet.
And the fellow who comes to buy beer is
generally pretty good spender at the store.
The LIBERAL minded man Is a liberal handed
man. And no city has been built up yet
that had contraction Of the heart and
palms daughter and appause.)
suppose YOU should hear that Kansas
City. Mo-. was going to close down and no
longer sell beers and wines, wouldn't you
business men in this town whistle?
should say you would.
Des Moines and Council Bluffs and these
other places over here have got behind
commercially and 1t has meant hundreds of
thousands dollars month to you in trade.
a F0rd ontnt ~
into the road half way between a prohibit
tion town and a licensed town. and even If
1t has got a dry deacon at the wheel, II
knows which way to go. Applause and
laughter) And all that your prohibition
town gets from that little Ford is the odor
Of the departing gasoline. (Laughter.)
Now, here you are, a great, big, splendid
city OF the west. You have some saloon
keepers who should be in the penitentiary
instead Of in Omaha. You may have some
any further in citing other groups. But
there are others.
Now. why don't you use the law that you
have instead Of destroying all the law?
Now, here Is the other points Is this that
you fellows have not thought about
You would have to have $1,000 900 increase
to just balance the books at per cent,
and on top Of that do you suppose that II
you were to adopt prohibition that these
$4,000 men and their families would quit
using these wet goods.
Why, not at all.
! see these ladies here tonight. Suppose
we were going to prohibit the sale of cor
sets In this state, would you quit wearing
corsets? Not SO as you could notice It.
(Laushter.l What would you do? God
bless your hearts, you would do the sensible
thinks You would get your mail order
catalogue or your Modern Priscilla. or your
Ladies' Home Journal end find the style
and shape you wanted, and send a $40 bill
In an envelope and buy two and wear them
both at the same time You would defy
that prohibition and you would say you
attend to your own business, will your"
You would be right. And 1t would be the
same thing with beer.
That is where you are misled In this
thing,
Now, then. the things that would occur
would be three:
One would be your druggist trade: under
this medicinal the Peruna drinkers, and the
Hostetter drinkers and the Lydia Pinkham's
and the group. would get theirs just the
There would be a great many alcoholics
added to that class.
But keep in good humor. II YOU ara
drinking Peruna and your husband is drink
death. tLaughter.)
You don't like that Nobody likes Peruna.
But you use 1t and get the habit
Now then, you will have the men storing
1t here for medicinal. mechanical, scientific
and sacramental purposes; and under the
they can keep It for these four
purposes.
There is not one word there which SAYS
you cannot give 1t away. That is not pro-
hiblted. Not thing about It,
I don't know what that was unless soma
Of the drys were afraid they could not get
a free drink. Uaughter)
Now, then; that money which is now
spent In Omaha, by the people who come
here from the outside, would not come here.
that is lost on your outside business. In the
second place. the money that is spent here
by these people would be sent away.
You spend 81 In Omaha, and whatever ID
left after you pay the wholesale price Of the
goods, the remainder of 1t goes to Others:
as soon as the saloonkeeper gets It he gives
Il to the grocer and the baker and the
It goes.
Some Of these dry people would make you
think that when saloonkeeper got a nickel