Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 54, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 March 1911 — Brother Carr Don’t Believe Saloons are Good for Business. [ARTICLE]

Brother Carr Don’t Believe Saloons are Good for Business.

Fowler Republican-Leader. ? One of the excuses for favoring saloons is that they, are good fdt’ business. That dry Fowler is better than wet Fowler is visible to the naked eye. The men, women and children wear better clothes and look happier.

.They are happier. There is no doubt of it. At one time In Fowler there were as many saloons as there were gro.cery and dry goo<? stores. A handsome prize will be given for information that will show how Farmer John can come to town with a load of corn, leave some at the saloons and still have more corn to trade for drygoods and groceries. There is neither food, clothing nor knowledge in liquor. Then how can ihe sale of such an article which does not aid, but prevents, the toiler from working, be of business benefit? It can’t be. It is not in the goods. The postoffice receipts for the year ending July 1, 1903 were $3,861.9L For the year ending Dec. 31, 1910, the receipts were $6,843,91. A gain of forty per cent.

That business is better in a dry town than in a Wet one is visible to the naked eye. The people look better and wear better clothes. There is a reason for it. There is the mathematical demonstration. There are the figures of the Fowler postoffice. The census shows that there has been no increase in the population. But the saloons help pay the tax. Look at Chicago, or any large city. The saloons pay millions of dollars into the city treasury. They have been paying large sum* for many years. The tax is high. The debt very, very large; almost beyond hope of payment. If the saloons help pay the tax, then the tax in cities should be low and the cities should be out of debt. But the opposite is true. Why? Because the finished product of the saloon is crime and poverty. It costs a city more to suppress crime and support the poor than the liquor dealers pay for licenses.