Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 59, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 April 1909 — COST OF OPTION ELECTION COMPARED WITH SALOON COST. [ARTICLE]

COST OF OPTION ELECTION COMPARED WITH SALOON COST.

A Good Investment—White County Could Hold an Election Every Week and StiH be Several Hundred Dollars to the Good. White County Democrat. Many persons are objecting to a local option election on account of the expense; but did you ever compare ’this election expense with the expense of saloons? Rather than go back to the old expense of supporting the saloons we formerly had White county could hold a county option election every week and come out at the end of the year with $50,000 to the good. Monticello could afford to pay the entire expense of a county option election every ten days rather than support the six saloons we formerly had here. Wolcott and the country adjacent thereto will pay more for the support of its one saloon in the next four months than two county option elections would cost the entire county. Do these figures look too large and are these statements wild? Figure it yourself. Statistics show the average annual receipts of every saloon in the country is SB,OOO. That is an average of $26.60 a day for each saloon. Formerly Monticello had six saloons, Monon 2, Wolcott 2, Reynolds 2, Chalmers 2, Brookston 2—16 in all. Counting them as average saloons, this meant $425.60 a day or $2,553.60 per week to support White county’s 16 saloons; $957.60 a week to support Monticello’s 6 saloons, or $159.60 every week to support Wolcott’s one saloon. Figure it out any way you want to. If you think these estimates too high knock off as large a per cent as you think is fair and you will still have enough left to pay for several option election during the year.