The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1918-05-24
HIS BREWERY STOCK
LOOKS SICK, BUT.
Seattle Man Not Sorry Now That
Prohibition Triurnphed at the
Polls Though His Brewery
Stock Declined so Pct.
His Lumber Mills are Producing
More Because Less Time is
Lost by Employees; His City
Property is More Valuable

The following letter from Mr. H.
M. Fillebrown of Pawtucket, Rhode
Island, to Mr. Simpson, superintend-
ent of the Rhode Island Anti-Saloon
League, sets forth in entertaining
fashion the beneficial effects upon the
commercial life of Seattle, Washing
ton. The testimony introduced is of
special interest coming as it does
from a Seattle citizen who had money
invested in brewery stock and who
naturally fought Prohibition.
May 7. 1918.
My Dear Mr.. Simpson:
| was coming East from Chicago
on the n. Y. Central train ON April
18th, and when in the dining car |
got the benefit of a conversation OF
some gentlemen at the table across
the aisle, one of whom had gotten on
at Syracuse and was evidently inter
ested in the Syracuse campaign. 1t
appeared from the conversation that
the other gentleman was from Seat
tie, Washington, and the Syracuse
HAL got dllCl Iilll lNidtiNS W th\ ~
suits of Prohibition in Seattle.
He asked him several direct ques-
tons, relative to his personal exper-
fence and in answer to one of them
the gentleman said that it had been
very disastrous to him. That it had
affected seriously the value of his
stock and that he had had to sell out
his brewery stock at less than fifty
cents on a dollar He also said that
it had seriously interfered with his
real estate investment and that prop
erty that he had formerly rented for
saloons, he had found it extremely
difficult to rent anywhere near the
same amount of money.
The gentleman from Syracuse
seemed very much delighted to get
this information and was making
memoranda of all that he had to say
and after he had taken it all down
the gentleman from Washington said,
Nov, hold on minute. You asked
me some direct questions and ! gave
you some direct answers, but | didn't
tell you the whole story.
''In the first place the money that
I got from my investment in brewery
stock which l sold at less than fifty
cents on a dollar, | invested in other
account of the improved conditions i'll
Seattle, that | have more than made
up for what | lost in the brewery
stock"
The gentleman from Syracuse
looked a little queer when he said
this and the gentleman from Wash
ington went on and said, Not only
that, but the property which ! could
not rent for as much to legitimate
business as | could for saloon pur-
poses, has increased in value so much
on account of Prohibition that it has
more than offset what have lost in
rent"
The gentleman from Syracuse
looked decidedly green by that time
and the gentleman from Washington
went on to say, q want to tell you one
thing. | didn't believe in Prohibition
and | fought it tooth and nail and
so did great many others who felt
as | did on account of the same rea-
son, but today if they were to try to
put the saloons back again into
Washington, | should fight just as
hard to keep them out as | did to keep
Prohibition out and little harder,
for I'll tell you that although | am
not getting the same dividends on my
brewery stock and although | am not
getting the same income from the
stores, at the same time | can sec that
it is greatly benefting Washington
and especially Seattle. We find to-
day that the turnover of the mer-
chants in our community is greater
than ever before; that bills are being
paid better than ever before; the mer-
chants are having more money and
are spending more money; the people
are having more money and are
spending more money, and if you will
come TO Seattle I'll take you down
town on any Monday morning and
show you string of women coming
down with their aprons over their
heads to deposit money in the banks
of Seattle. | have seen it not once
but many times. The increase of the
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