Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1916-03-22
SEATTLE "DRY" AND LIKES 1T

SEATTLE "DRY" AND LIKES IT.
The country is watching Seattle to
see how prohibition works out in a
large city. Seattle is the largest
city that has ever had prohibition,
and the whole state OF Washington
went dry on January list, 1916, the
same time when the repeal Of the
mulct law went into effect in. Iowa.
Temperance forces all over the~1tnif-
ed States kept close watcl~<of the
battle .waged between tx wei and and
dry forces of Seattle, S1d one of the
strongest single forces for, the vets
was the Times, 1tae largest newspa-
per in that city,: When the dry for
,ces carried the day, Editor c. B.
Bleeleesl<; Of the Times, at once set
about to watch the working of the
new order Of things. In an Interview,
published in a leading paper of Kan
sas City, Mr.. B1ethen, says:
"My paper fought against prohibit
ton. We fought it on economic
grounds alone. We believed that in
great seaport city with a popula-
ton of upwards of 100000 prohibition
would b. destructive; it would bring
on economic disaster. We believed
that under our system of licensing
saloons we had the liquor traffic
about as we'll controlled as it could
be and we wanted to let it alone,
and so we fought as hard as we could
fight. But, in spite of all we could
do against it, prohibition carried and
| it went into effect in Washington
January 1. We have had a month
of it now"
| "And how has it worked out?'
Business Expanded Quickly.
1--WE already knew that it is a
great benefit, morally and from an
economic standpoint. It's moral ben
eft has been tremendous. Seattle
had 26O saloons and had an aver
age Of $500 arrests a month for
crimes and misdemeanors growing on
of liquor drinking. In January we had
only 400 arrests, and sixty of those
were made January and we're the
results of hang-overs from the old
year: That in itself is enough to con
vince any man with conscience that
prohibition is necessary. There can
be no true economy in anything that
is immoral.
"And on top CT that great moral
result, we have these economic ia cts ::
In the first three weeks of January
the savings deposits in the banks of
Seattle increased Is per cent. There
was not grocery store in Seattle
that did not show an increase of
business in January greater than ev-
er known in any month before in all
the history Of the city, except in
holiday time. In all the large gree
cry stores the increase was immen-
Sc. In addition to- this, every dry
goods store in Seattle except one,
and that one I have no figures from
had wonderful increase in business
Each store reported the largest bust.
ness ever done in one month, except
in holiday time ,,,:, SO
The Women and Children Profit.
II wished to- know in what class
Of goods the sales increased so great.
LILY, and so I sent to all the grocery
and dry goods stores to find that
out. And to me it is pitiful thing,
and it makes me sorry that we did
not have prohibition long ago-that
4 the increase in sales in all the dry
goods stores was in wearing apparel
for women and children, and in the
grocery stores the increase was made
up chiefly of fruits and fancy groc
cries. This proves that it is the
women and children who suffer most
from the liquor business, and it is
the women and children who benefit
greatest from prohibition. Money
that went formerly over the bar for
whisky is now being spent for cloth.
ing for the women and children, and
in better food for the household
1T is just like this: When you
close the saloons the money that for
merly was spent there remains in
the family of the wage-earner, and