Weekly Republican, Volume 56, Number 13, Plymouth, Marshall County, 30 March 1911 — Page 1

WEEKLY

MEPUBL

Count v Recorder UailO VOLUME 56 PLYMOUTH. INDIANA. THURSDAY. MARCH 30, 19) 1 . NUMBER 13

TIE Sil

I. IT IS A BUSINESS PROPOSITION. II. ' IT IS A SOCIAL AND MORAL PROP OSITION.

. The Business Proposition: (1) Stated in general or'wholesale terms it is about this: Plymouth will Lave five saloons if the c'ty goes 4 wet Each of these saloons- will t?ke in during the year, on a reasonable estimate, $10,000. For the five saloons this would make a total of $50.000 a year. - How will it help the business interests of Plymouth the legitimate business of the city to have $50,000 turned from them into' somet other channel of trade! The amount the saloons will take in might be more or less than the amount estimated. The 'argument is just the same. How can the business men of Plymouth think for a minute of turning from themselves so large an amount of money each year wi'en it has been going towaid them for the past year and a half or more? ' (2) Stated in particular terms, this saloon proposition may be rjiven by showing what the experience of business men has been during the past nearly two years of dryness. Either the busines men of Plymouth do not tell the truth or their business has been the best the past two vears that it has ever been. We do not believe there is to be found a business man in the city who will Bay that. his business has been poorer during the two dry years than it was "before. - Doctors, grocerymen, dry goods men, blacksmiths all businesses which have been interviewed on the point are emphatic that their business and collections have been better under a dry regime than with saloons. Three doctors were recently sitting in a restaurant, when the saloon question came up. All were positive that patients who paid not at all or very slowly when we, had saloons, now pay all their bills and frequently pay cash. Will the physicians vote w t so that hey may return to the eld conditions! Grocerymen are as emphatic that their business is better without saloons than with them. Their story i? much the same as that of the doctors: customers pay better and more of it. Are the grocers going to return to the old order and lose the money they are now getting ? Here are some other experieces. gathered partly iuring the dry period through which ' ly month has just come : What Traveling Men Think. A Plymouth lady sat in the seat in front of two " runners' ' evidently coal dealers in a railway traia recently and overheard the following conversation : " Going to stop at Knox!" "Yes, I'm going to drop off there." "My house wont let me stop there any more." y "The people there didn't used to buy much coal nor pay for what they did buy, but it's different now. Since the saloons went out they buy lots of it and pay for nearly every bit of it. Collections are Better. A Plymouth man has a brother . who is a miller in Monterey. He says collections have beengood in his business since the saloons are outrof business. In Bourbon. A Bourbon merchant fays it makes a big difference in the credit business when the saloons are knocked out. You can trust people and get your easier when there are no saloons. Wtut Better Houses Owners of houses in Plymouth say rents Tare higher and can be collected easier when here are no saloons.. House hunters here say you can hardly find hou3 to rent, and this when the town was dry. A Real Estate man says when tha town went dry, property went up 23 j, er cent. And it was good property that people wanted to buy, He cays this wej to til over tha county. -

PRGPOS

D Big Crowds Come. A hardware merchant of - Plymouth says the biggest crowd that he ever saw in Plymouth was one dry Satur day last Fall. "It was the biggest crowd the city ever had," he said. Better For Dry Goods Man. "As far as I have noticed," said a Plymouth dry goods merchant 'just as many people come to Plymouth when it is dry as when it is wet. Only there's this differenc, they pay for what they buy better. And they buy better things; shoes and coats and so on, because they do not spend all their money in the saloons. ,; Good for the Blacksmith. 'As many people come to me," affirms the blacksmith, "when it h dry as when it is wet. Thev don't fan'I tr.e off so much when it is dry They liavp raorp coin in their pockets. Wi.en the-fellows spent their di liars in the saloons they were apt. a i of l im-, to 'let their, horses go v itiiout s! ots. I dont know how it w. with tiir ir children, some of the sbec dealers will tell you that." As the Grocer Sees It. "I have a fellow in mind," said the grocer, "who went home drunk regularly every Saturday night. His family expected it as much as anything Now that it is dry he comes in here and buys a big armful of groceries and pays for them and takes them home every Saturday night." "I really couldn't say, and I wouldn't want my name mentioned in the paper said another merchant" as there is any difference in the size of the crowds which come to Plymouth to trade when it is dry or wet, but I know they leave a lot more money in the regular businesses of the town when it is dry, and there worth a lot more to Plymouth when they are here and it is drv than when it is wet. Dry Conditions. Contributed by the "Wet" Side. Everybody knows through common report that conditions have grown worse instead of better under dry regime; that the longer local prohibition is practiced, the greater the contempt for it becomes; that instead of suppressing the traffic, prohibition has driven it from legitimate, open licensed channels to secret and illicit haunts from which no revenues whatever are derived. Under the restrictive features of the recent statute on the subject, followed bythe action of the County commissioners, there can be but five licensed saloons in Plymouth. These five, if they are established, must pay an annual tax to the City and the County of $700 each or an aggregate of $3500 a year. We submit that five regulated, licensed retail liquor dealers ofknowa financial responsibility, from whom a substantial revenue for the public treasury is obtained, are" far preferable to past conditions. Being in perfect sincerity, we ad vise the voters of Plymouth to vote "No" on the proposition which is to be balloted on March 31st, which con. templates the prohibition of tho sale of alcoholic liquors in the City of Plymouth. At the same time, we recognize the rights of the voters to take an opposite view of the situation from that which appears expedient to us, and we have neither criticism nor abuse for those who do not agree with us. The purpose of the local option law is to give the voters of municipal units and others units the right to express themselves on this subject, and every citizen with a voter's qualification has a right to hold and to express hisreonvictions without being subjected to .calumny and vituperative attack. Especially do we deprecate the foolish talk of proscription and boycotting and the like, this being wholly unfair fnd un American. Whether a man shall vote dry or wet, he is justly entitled to his views, and to proscriba Mm for such would be equivalent to the act of holding him vp luilis stern cd ridicule becausa

of 1 js religious belief cr hia political affiliationsT This is not a matter to quarrel over,. but one to settle with calmness ad judicious reasoning. It is not a

matter of sentiment, but one of common sense. We ought to be able to adjust this matter without unneighborly outbreaks, persecutions and personalities. The man who stoops to these things is not a good citizen because he does not under stand tht obligations of magnanimous citizenship. It is our firm belief that Plymouth will not be benefitted morally or fin ancially by voting for the prohibition of the retail liquor traffic. Nothing can be gained by placing a city in a false position; by labelling it dry, when we know in truth and soberness that it is wet. It is impossible to suppress the raffic simply by declaring against saloons. What good will be accomplished by making Plymouth dry with all surrounding cities wet! Continuing the argument began Friday on the saloon as a business proposition. It is foand that the bank deposits of Plymouth show a most wonderful and astonishing increase during the dry period. This increase in deposits has been accompanied, of course, by a proportionate increase in the resources of all the banks, which has enabled them to do more business and occupy a more prominent place in the financial world. Would you be atonished if yo.i were told that the deposits of the Plymouth banks increased more than $367,000 during the two dry years in Plymuth! Here are the figures for two wet years and for two dry years." They run from September 30 tc September 30 of the years given: Year Deposits Wet Years . - $663,405.57 - - 640,474.43 1907 1908 Total 1909 1910 - - 1,303,880.00 Dry Years - - $751,942.07 - - - 919,794.23 - - $1,671,763.30 1,303,880.00 Total Increase $ 367,856.30 Bank deposits are the surest indication of the financial prosperity of a community. WINS BOURBON PRELIMINARY Miss Hilda Stockman To Be Orato For High School Good Program j at Contest. Miss Hilda Stockman will repre sent Bourbon High School at th county Oratorical and Musical con test to be held at that place next month. Her subject is. "Night Reveals the Stars." The program of the preliminary contest held Friday night was as follows : Piano Solo Inez Slough Musio H. S. Orchestra. I. "Civic Pride," Marion Young. II. "Women Toilers" Emma Beck. Music H. S. Quartette. III. "The Evil of Trusts" Richard Coar. Winner IV. "Night Reveals the Stas Hilda Stockman. - V. "Civil Duty" Owen Miller . Music H. S. Orchestra VI. "The Educated Farmer" Walter Shakes. VII. '"Selecting an Occupation Walter Parks. Piano Solo Lulu McCoy. Music H. S. Quartette. Plans Landscape for Country Home W. N. Nolan and son .Schuyler went to Chicago to deliver a land scape job to -Mrs. Chas. S. Kihler to be used on her Bourbon summe home. The grounds : jre laid out in a large orchard to the rear - of the beautiful home and a wide automobil drive comes up from the road to the garage at the farther side of the cr chard. To the north of the house is a croquet ground also a tennis court both surrounded with shrubbery which will be composed of shrub that bear flowers the entire summer Usy Cos Vctisj Hictine The Empire Voting machine will be on exhibition at the courthouse Friday and anyone desiring to da to may see and use the machine. This is the same kind of a machine that b noT7 used' in Fultca county.

T E WILL CLOSE SUNDAY I BUT THIS CLOSING DOES NOT MEAN EXCEPT TO THE CITY "MAIL CARRIERS WHO REST ONE DAY iNATUREOFTHEORDER General Delivery Window Will Be Open to Accomodate the Traveling Public and Specials will Be Delivered. The Plymouth post office will in all probability be closed on Sundays beginning soon, except in certain particulars. Postmaster Steiner has just received a communication from First Assistant Postmaster General Grandfield in which.it is stated that the De partment is very anxious to give the post office employees the benefits of one. day of rest in ceven. Section 3 of a recent act of Congress provides as follows about Sunday work: "That hereafter for services required on Sundays of supervisery officers clerks in first and second class post offices, and city letter carriers, compenatory time off during the working days in amount equal to that of the Sunday employment may be allowed" etc. Under this act the Postmaster General seeks to close post offices throughout the country except as follows : ' ' "The general delivery window should be kept open a sufficient length of time, to accomodate the traveling pubtip and these patrons of; tne office who'cair for urgent" personal mail Mails should be received and dispatched as usual and distributed to boxes enough clerks being detailed for duty on Sunday to carry this plan into to effect. Business vmen who desire their mail regularly on Sundays should be allowed to rent boxes even though their mail is delivered to them by carriers on the other days of the week. The Department realizes that a search of the carriers' cases by the general delivery clerk would consume a little time bui it is anticipated that patrons will refrain from -ailing for mail on Sundays unless the occasion is urgent and that under such circura stances they would be willing to wait Any person desiring an important personal communication delivered to him on Sunday should be accomodated upon payment of the prescribed fee' for special delivery service. "To prevent any delay in the first delivery on Monday morning carriers should be required to report a little earlier on that day to route their mail. The Sundav collection from street boxes should not be discontinued." Continuing Mr Grandfield pays: "The Department requests our earnest co-operation to bring this Sunday closing, and suggest that if you have-any doubt as to the attitude of the public on tie subject, you take the matter up with the press of your city, with ministers and religious associations, and with commercial bodied and that you report to the De partment the result and whether the plan outlined in this letter cannot hd put into effect immediately." Obituary Harold Francis Munn, infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Hayes Munn, who reside two and one half miles northeast of Donaldson on the old Munn homestead, was born January 8, 1911 and departed this life March 29, 1911 age 2 months and 21 days. Mrs. Munn with her baby, came to Plymouth last Friday to spend a few days with Miss Harriet Munn on east Washington street. Saturday afternoon the baby was taken ill, and a physician called, but all that kind hands could do was to no avail, and on Wednesday morning at 6 o'clock little Harold quietly fell asleep. A host of friends extend their sympathy to the bereaved family. The funeral will be held at the Christian church Friday, March 31, at 2 P. M. Revs. S. H. Yager and Baker, officiating; burial at Oak Hill-

FF G

Circuit Court News. Elias Berger was restored to reason by the court and judged of sound mind and capable of managing his own estate,, and the guardian was ordered to make final report and be discharged. Mary Dinkeldine received judgement against Catherine D. Moneysmith fpr $1596.67 and costs. A motion for a new trial was filed in the Oregon C. Gibbons vs. Thomas

W. Kelty and others. Chester C. Cooper, who had sued tbe Winona Interurban Railroad Company for damages, , was given judgement on the verdict of the jury to take nothing and pay the costs. In the case of Chas. H. McWhorton vs. Estate of Elias Compton forclaim disallowed the plaintiff was ordered enter a remittance for the sum of $450 of the verdict of the jury, leaving the verduct $200 or suffer a new trial of this cause, the remitance to be filed on or before the first day of the next term of court. Th trial of Jas. M. Shaffer who has used Milo Kesler for damages was set for May ll,to be tried before a jury. The plaintiff in the case of St. Boniface K. U. Society vs. Peter O. Kightley, Wm. Rober, Fred Dill and George P. Rightley on note, veeovor ed from the defendants $41 and costs of the trial. Schuyler C. Falcon!) iiy filed his bond for appearance thy ase of Eunice C. Falconbury against him bastardy. The case was set for May 8, in the next term of court, before a jury. Caroline Hartman received judge ment against John and Clara Hewitt on forclosure of mortgage. The case of Edwin W League vs. Wm. League on account was dismissed. Mary Jane Hill recovered $12.50 against the estate of Catherine Somers, which had been disallowed. Delia C. May and her husband Claud, were given the consent of the court to sell certain real estate for $250 to Jas. C. Crab. Allowances for February Terra: Jury $ 599.70 Court Reporters . . 125.00 Bailiff 75.00 Clerk... 83.15 Printing 62.50 Jury Com . . 12.00 Meals 26.40 Sheriff 128.00 MAJORITY IN FORMER CITY IS CUT TO 418 BY STRENUOUS DRY CAMPAIGN BY BOTH PAPERS. HEAVY VOTE IS CAST Other Cities and Towns Go For Sa loons by Small Majorities, But t Country Districts Are Dry.

ELKHART ID GOSHEN WEBT. WET TUESDAY

The "wets" were victorious Tuesday in option elections in , eight out of nine cities in Indiana that voted on the question whether or not saloons which had been eliminated in the county option elections, should be permitted to reopen. The cities that voted "wet" were; Princeton, Dunkirk, Columbia City, Elhart, Goshen, Washington, Greensburg and Greenfield. The "drys" of Fowler were', successful. " Returns from elections in a number of townships under the new city and township option law show that in the country districts the "drys" won almost uniform triumph. A notable exception was Parke county, where the "wets" won in each of the four townships, the only units .voting. Washington went 'wet" by 331; Princeton, 201; Elkhart 418; Goshen 140; Columbia City, 233; Dunkirk 92; Greenfield, 80; Greensburg, 137. In Elkhart city the wet vote was cut several hundred from what it was two years ago In Goshen the majority of only 140 was a nnall one also considering the size of the city A very heavy vote was cast ja each city. 7 V. V.

POINTS OUT DANGER IN "GALLON SHOPS"

Attorney W. H. Matthew Tells How Our City May, and Probably Will, Have Many Groggeries Instead of Five---A Communication of Interest.

To The Thoughtful Citizen. The thoughtful citizen in casting his vote at the Local Option Election desires to know fully all sides of the question. The public generally have been advised that under the new Proctor liquor law just enacted by the Legislature the City of Plymouth cannot have to exceed five saloons, which is true only so far as it goes. The same law permits and authorizes another class of places for selling liquor never before allowed which have been aptly called "Gallon Shops." Under this provision of the law any number of licenses may be granted to sell liquor in quanities not to exceed a gallon at a time. The law does not require any character qualifications of a liquor seller. Under its provision, he may be a convict fresh from the penitentiary, a confirmed drunkard, a person under age, a man of bad character and reputation, and in short anybody may apply and receive such a license and no matter how may times he has violated the law that is no ground for revoking his license or denying this one. Again there is no restriction upon his place, he may keep it in a cellar, a hay mow, a factory, indeed in any kind of a place and he may keep it in any manner he likes. So that if Plymouth votes wet it may not only have five licensed saloons but may have gallon shops without any limit as to number. These places with no restriction upon them will make a number of blind tigers under authority of law such as were never known before. No thinking citizen desires any such conditions to exist, and in order to make it impossible he must vote "Yes." William H. Matthew. The Liquor Slogan. The slogan of the liquor traffic and its supporters in Plymouth is "dollars against humanity." There seems to be no higher motive than money on the part of those who advocate a wet town. But it is impossible to see how the citizens of Plymouth would be benefitted from the standpoint of dollars leaving humanity out of the question. Thirty-three years ago LaPorte street was the best business street in Plymouth. A few years later it became known as saloon street, and one business house after another left that street to get out of the vicinity of saloons until half the business houses on that street were empty and property had depreciated in value almost fifty percent. One of the last big business houses to move to another locality increased its sales in the dry year of 1910 over $20,000. If a saloon is established by the side of that business house and another in front of it, only a few years will elapse until that business house will have to seek another location or quit business. Thirty years ago this principal saloon district on Michigan street was between Washington and Garro streets and property there was almost worthless. Now it is the best business section of the city. A saloonless community elevates morals and thus creates a higher standard of citizenship. It makes healthier, happier and more peaceful people. It makes more home owners and fills vacant houses with a better class of renters. It builds up bank accounts and all legitimate business and makes men independent instead of dependent. It minimizes bad debts and makes business more profitable and substantial. But the writer of this article never considers the liquor traffic from financial standpoint unless compelled to do so in answering those who place dollars above humanity. We hear much about conservation of our forests, mines and other natural resources. Are not our boys and

young men and even our drunkards better worth saving? A saloonless community gives the boy and girl a chance; curtails the business of divorce and criminal courts; reduces the number of waifs; gives the wife a glad heart and dries the mother's tears. No man who is opposed to merciless big trusts can consistently support the brewery and distillery trusts

the most merciless of all trusts which are seeking to fasten their tentacles on every community and completely control the politics of every city and county in Indiana, compelling legislatures, county commissioners, and city councils to make all other questions subservient to the liquor interests. The advocates of saloon are very much afraid of blind tigers, but nobody ever heard of one of these men lifting a hand or giving a dollar to suppress blind tigers; on the contrary they are always ready to help shield them from punishment. These men should recollect that saloons have been closed in Plymouth only a year and a half and it is unfair to test the results attained in so short a time after the open saloon has prevailed for more than forty years and left its devastating effects. And, by the way, would not any man who is afraid of tigers, rather risk his chance of getting away from one blind tiger than from two tigers, one with open eyes and the other blind? They tell us that we cannot make men moral by law. Paris green will not make potatoes grow, but it kills the bugs and lets the potatoes grow. They tell us there is more excitment in a saloon town than in a temperance town. Yes, and there is more excitement in a slaughter house when cattle are killed than out in the pasture where they live and grow. The South Bend News of March 21, says the three murders committed in South Bend since January 1, and five-sevenths of' all other serious crimes were committed in saloons or were directly connected with saloons. If a horse could read, it would make him laugh to see the virtues, honesty, morality, wealth and loving kindness of Plymouth's saloon keepers as depicted in last Saturday's paper by "The Wet Side." On LaPorte street property has increased in value 25 per cent since the city voted dry and it will soon regain its old time business prestige if we have no saloons. "The Dry Side." List of Allowances First Nat'l Bank, int on Funding , bonds '. $ 45.00 Chas. S. Cleveland, salary. . . 50.00 L. M. Shakes salary 100.C0 Wm. Hahn salary 107.90 Daniel Jacoby salary 125.00 W. B. Hess salary j 43.75 Fred H Kuhn salary 25.00 J. E. Bergman salary 20.00 Frank Vangilder labor 20 00 A. R. Clizbe labor on no J B. Bowell labor on'nrt ios. Swindell labor ..2o!oj John Birkhold cleaning fire hose 2.10 A Beagles, draying jq Frank Fertig, fireman ...... 8.50 Ed. Jolly labor "gg Louis Becknell labor . " " 4o0 Sam Dent labor Jess HcXeelv labor 770 Henry Singleton labor ...... c65 Chas. Suter labor " 10 Otis Kebert, labor J. W. Guyse labor ... . .... i 75 Sam Rust labor 330 Olive Pfender labor . . ! 'gj Herb Gibson labor ....." io"o0 R. A. Chase, 4 mos sal . 8200 Will Give April Pool CociaL The Epworth Le of the jfethodist church will give a silver offering Apnl Pool social ai the home of A. C. Kring on west South street Friday evening. The evening wMl K in various games and light refresh. Luenis win oe served by the girb.