The Detroit times., 1916-07-26
What Is a Saloon
License Worth?
5v MoRpEN WARD

A max very clos, 10 the liquor in
terests C. Jackson recently made the
statcmei > that q saloon license IN
that cits was worth 10000 As a
license in Michigan Is issued for
one year. the gentleman probably
meant 10 imply that IN his judgment
license is worth $4,000 a year
a few years ago, the town OF De
wit. Iowa, Jet the saloon license TO
the highest bidder. aud II brought
silb0o There has been four sa-
. looms in the town. and when the law
passed limiting the number 10 one
for every 1000 persons. Dewitt, hav-
Ing less than 2.ooo people, could
have only one saloon 4 number Of
licenses IN that state brought up
wards OF $4,000
The county dspensaries In Co
lumbia. : G., turned into the county
treasury rs high as an average OF
$4,000 year net profit during the
time the disponsary system was IN
operation in that state.
II a saloon license Is worth &c.,
300 a year In Jackson. how much
ought Il 10 be worth in Detroit? II
saloon license will bring Sll.600
1t an auction IN an Iowa town. how
much would It bring in a city like
Detroit
Upon the basis OF 100000 persons
In Detroit. there Is one saloon for
every $40 persons, or one saloon for
every ia families, and that rate
holds good IN the wet towns all over
the state. including Jackson. II
saloon license is worth $4,000 in
jackson, It certainly is worth that
amount in Detroit Is IL any won
der there is clamur for saloon u
censes at FIVE per cent Of their est
mated value--a little more than four
per cent of what license actually
sold for in an Iowa town when let
10 the highest bidder, and not two
Der cent of the actual profits Of a
county dispensary in South Caro-
lina7
At $4,000 apiece. the 1900 saloon
licenses arc worth $l3.000000 AZ
s26.0 900 apiece. they would make a
profit Of S33.s00,O00. The question
naturally arises; How comes It
that the members OF the common
council do not look into such mat
tsrs7 Why are licenses sold for
$500 when men who claim to know
their value say they are worth $lO-
600? The only answer ! know Is
that the saloonkcepers arc the real
city government and sell the H.
oenses to themselves as cheapiy as.
the law will allow
The members OF the common
souncil fix the price at the figure
agreed upon among the saloonkeep-
trs
The village board in the little
town Of Warren gets $1,000 year
FOR saloon license, hut the big
men i'm the able common council OF
Detroit have 10 take $500 for IL
,cnsp-fvc per cent of what 1t Us
claimed IL IS reasonably worth.
Isn't IL about time that the Not'
,rs of Detroit took charge OF the
,ity government and elected ma
jority OF the common council who
will represent Detroirs 100000 peo-
Gle instead of her 1900 saloons?
II Detroit has to have saloons
Why not limit them 10 say one for
every 1000 TO 5000 people In the
city and sell the licenses TO the
highest bidder as the towns In Iowa
did? Under those conditions, IL
rense ought to bring SO 600 to 49,
300 each, or s2.OOO.oOo 10 100000
year instead Of the mere SG5o,ooo
that the 1900 saloons now pay In
Little enough compared 10 what the
licenses are worth under fair esti-
mate. ma mere bnsai, 'lr TO what
he / 300 cost Detroit every year.