The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1916-11-03
ADVERTISEMENT
Statewide Prohibition
Means State wide Ruin
STATE GOVERNMENT WILL
COLLAPSE.

m No state with one-half the city
,rd; population of Missouri has ever
Oisu thought Of adopting statewide
&C, prohibition.
No prohibition state ever did
mer depend so largely upon the rev.
IL enues which come from the liz
oil uor and allied industries of the
large cities as does Missouri.
The State government today
is not in such a financial condi-
mol ton as to be able to withstand
the shock Of %subtracting be-
II tween three and four million
n dollars per year from its rev.
$3.50, enues. Everybody knows that
the state revenues today are by
,ranc law so levied as to be barely
adequate to meet the necessary
expenses of the state govern
ment. Statewide prohibition
in Missouri will therefore mean
A nothing less than a total col
B lapse of the state government.
an b The disastrous conditions re-
indie sulting from such an occurrence
,over would be universal throughout
.ach the state. There is but one way
to avert a calamity so terrible
wi and unprecedented, and that is
to scratch the yes" on Amend
Land ment No. 8.
DESTROYING THE FARM
borrc Frs MARKET.
hal Every Missouri farmer knows
that the value of his farm de-
riple ponds in large degree upon the
easy availability of the market for
farm farm products. Without an act
i've, profitable and convenient
over market, there is no money in
Paul farming. Every Missouri farm
nor er knows this to be the fact.
ness The better the market, the bet
may ter the price of the farm. What
. SD ever Injuries the farmers mar
now ket lowers the value of the farm,
All and hurts the farmer. All this
Q is known to everybody and is
not and is not open for argu-
aiol ment. 1t must be taken for
the granted. It cannot and will not
bel be denied that THE MARKET
sys MAKES THE FARM.
reg 1t has never beer and it never
ma will be possible for a rich farm
ing community to exist without
Ten great cities to buy and consume
on' the products of the farm. The
arg nearest and best market for
IN Missouri farmers is found in the
three great cities of st. Louis,
~ Kansas City, and St. Jospeh.
They are among the greatest
grain and live stock markets of
mn the world.
Missouri farmers have been
" tOld-and it is TRUE-that
~ the manufacturers of malt and
spirituous liquors in this state
buy and consume one-ifth of
their crop in the manufacture of
their product. In substantially
similar proportions they absorb
the wheat crop, and other grain
crops. But by far the biggest
and best market provided by
the liquor industry of the cities
for the products Of the Missouri
farm lies in the PURCHASING
POWER OF THOSE WHO d.
RECTLY OR INDIRECTLY
DERIVE THEIR LIVING
FROM THIS VAST BUSINESS.
The advent of statewide pro-
hibition would at once shut off
TEN MILLION DOLLARS A
YEAR IN WAGES, in the city
of st. Louis alone. SIXTY
THOUSAND WAGE-EARN-
Frs in st. Louis City would be
thrown out Of employment. and
$4,000 people would find their
income gone. One-ffth of the
city Of st. Louis would be as
completely blotted out as if a
fleet of hostile zeppelins had
poured their deadly fires upon
1T. The railroads would at once
lose 100000 0 per year in rev.
enue; real estate of the value OF
S16,000,000 would become ten.
a%ntless, and $3.50, DOC, 900 of CAPT
tai would be driven from tn.
borders of the state-and where
capital goes, there goes labor
also, to find employment.
In the presence Of such fnan.
cial ruin no business interest il
our great cities or in the coun
try could remain unaffected.
In the midst of such wide
spread disaster the Missouri
farmer cannot stand unscathed
When the PURCHASING power
Of the cities is seriously i'm
paired the SELLING power o.
the farmer is just as injurious
" affected, because the CITY
WAGAE-EARNER is THE
FARMERS REST CONSUMER