The log cabin Democrat., 1916-09-13
MAYOR SAOWSROW PROHIBITION HELPS Pa LITTLE ROCK PROSPEROUS In Address at Big Rally Mayor Taylor Comes Out Emphatically
 for Prohibition.

Little ROCK, Sept. l3.-One Of the features of the all-day rally held by the prohibition forces of the state at the First Methodist church yester- day was an address by Mayor Chas. E. Taylor of Little Rock, in which he came out squarely and emphat- ically in favor of the statewide pro- hibition law now in force and cited many proofs of it's salutary influ- ence in the state.
 He concluded by declaring that it will remain a law, and said: "I be- lieve that the experience of citizens with law which has been enforced from the beginning, and which has made such material reductions in the number of crimes, is such as to justify the prediction that the voters by large majority will endorse at the polls the prohibition law as it now stands"
 Mayor Taylor says that after eight months of trial he can make the pos itive statement that the law has been enforced in the cities of the state, and nowhere more effectively than in Little Rock, the states cap ital and largest city, and also in Fort Smith, Pine Bluff, Hot Springs, Argenta and Helena.
 Below is given some of the tes- timony offered by the mayor of the beneficial influences of the prohibit ory law:
 In eight months of 1915 there were 2,967 cases in the Little Rock municipal court, and the correspond ing six months this year, there were only 1892.
 The Pulaski county grand jury re- ported that "it returned fewer in- dictments and incurred less ex- pense than any preceding for many years"
 The first eight months of 1915 there were 795 colored and 431 white prisoners in the county jail, and for the same months this year there were 4O4 colored, and 2O4 whites.
 The Fort Smith records for the first 12 months when there were no saloons show total of 2,226 arrests, for all offenses against 5,697 for the preceding 12 months.
 The first six months of this year there were 554 arrests in Argenta, against 1864 for the same period last year.
 It is estimated that 15O packages of liquor are received daily in Lit tie Rock and 50 in Argenta, aver aging four quarts to the package. This gives an average annual con- sumption per capita under the pres ent law of four quarts, compared with an average annual consumption, for the whole country, acording to U. $. revenue statistics, of 99 quarts.
 There has been an increase of 10 per cent in the number of real es- tate transfers.
 There has been an increase of 456 telephones in use in Little Rock.
 Merchants in ten lines of busi- ness consulted by the mayor testify that collections have been much bet ter, and that sales show steady increase
 Thsre was a gain of 2,7O2 car loads of freight received over the various railroads, and of 3,949 car loads in outward bound shipments.
 The postal receipts at the Little Rock postoffice, for the 12 months ending June 30, show an increase of S360 0,543.63.
 The bank deposits for eight months show an increase of S3,5OO.- 900 and the bank clearings a gain of 11,OOO,OOO.
 There are savings accounts in Lit tie Rock banks aggregating more than a half million dollars, mostly in small amounts.
 There is an increase of 25 Der cent Tn the number of patrons of the building and loan associations.
 The city library reports an in- crease of 10,2O6 in the number of volumes read.
 Why should any citizen of this great state," asked the mayor, mo matter what his personal and pri- vate views are concerning the liquor business, desire to have placed again on the statute books law that will nearly double the number of arrests in cities and towns, law that will indirectly bring to innocent persons unnecessary sufferings, a law that will handicap the growth of cities, and retard the moral growth and development of our people?"
 The mayor said, further, that "if the charge is true that Little Rock is in bad way financially because we have no saloons then lot of