The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1938-10-27
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Mr.. Editor:

MIR. Editor:
Surely some people have been
Will Rogers slogan (All I know
is what I read in the papers,.
After reading the three column
add of Voters Research Bureau,
which appeared in your paper
last week I writhed inwardly at
the naive assumption of those
who wrote the ad. Do they real
~ believe that Montana people
will be so easily, fooled? I don't
and MI. Editor I think you
don't, but with your permission
let's not take a chance. May I
set the facts clearly before the
people.
/. The saloon keepers under
Referendum No. 40 wouldhave
us believe that THEY ARE THE
CHAMPIONS of LIQUOR REV.
ENUE. Lets get this straight
once and for all. Referendum
No. 40 brought the state $1,161,-
908.55 in the 16 months since
its operation, and that is ALL
the REVENUE the SALOON
brought the state. The other
81, 900, 100000 and more derived
from Liquor, CAME BY WAY
of the STATE LIQUOR STORE.
II the people vote down No. 40
the state will still have seven
eighths of its liquor revenue.
2: The saloon crowd crys
"BOOTLEGGERS, BOOTLEG
GERS!" and then advertise in
their own Trade Paper the
Tavern Topics" that before
the legislature passed the law
permitting the saloon, Montana
had TOO bootlegging joints OPP
Grating in defiance of the law,
and now under Referendum No.
40 scarcely half of these have
been transformed into licensed
places. May I ask, Who ARE
THE SALOON KEEPERS? Could
they by any chance be the
former B~OOILEGGERS? And
what about the other half of
those 100 dives? Are they all
closed under Referendum No.
40? Could it be possible that
the former B~OOTLEGGERS are
now all converted to LAW
ABIDING citizens, and if given
the right to continue their
business will continue to be
LAW ABIDING? If so it will be
the first time in the history OF
the saloon business.
8. The saloon crowd points to
the revenue they bring to the
municipalities in which they do
business. Hardin is a splendid
example of their benefic ence.
$22OO.00 has come to Hardin
through the nine places we
have. The city council says this
is not enough to pay for the
extra POLICING these NINE
PLACES have made obligatory.
Montana has only about five or
six communities where there is
a chance to break even. All the
others are like Hardin, forced to
pay out additional taxpayers
money for POLICE and JAIL
and Courts. Big hearted aren't
they?---
4. Whoever knew of a time
when the saloon crowd didn't
run the city and county and
state governments, except when
the saloon was out? Well, they
will run governments again if
we give them Just one half a
chance. They already have so
much control that they run
things as wide open as they
dare. Any citizen can verify
the fact that in Hardin the
State Liquor Board issued a
license to unqualified people,
people with prison records in
several communities of Mon
tana, and then disclaimed all
interest in the matter when the
City Council refused to grant
the license. It would seem that
with eight places already locat-
ed here that the STATE BOARD
might have shown more con-
sideration for HARDIN. I don't
believe they would hire a per-
son with a criminal record to
have control of their personal
bank accounts or property. Who
are. they working FOR? If any
body is Interested in finding
out ask the members of the
city council.
5. Then too, Mr.. Editor, this
whole set-up at present is eth
err one of two things and in
either case is so impossible that
it will not long remain as it is.
If it is stupid then we had a
mighty poor bunch of legislat-
ors in Helena in 1887. If it was
deliberate then the saloon