La Junta tribune., November 02, 1912, Image 13

About La Junta tribune. (La Junta, Bent County, Colo.) 1881-1939

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What Representative Men of Kansas Say of Prohibition
end have murk more than doubled
since the enfircemeut at the law
began.
It la my t* !t«i that crime hat'de
creased with the enforcement of the
prohibitory Itv, although we have j
Missouri’s state line saloons work-
Ing over time to supply us with
drunkenness and Its consequences.
Our busiuess men. almost without
exception, are pleased with the re
sult of prohibition. They lose less
money on bad bills and sell more
goods tn legitimate lines by reason
of the fact that the head of the fam
ily is not tempted to "blow in" his !
’-arniiigs in saloons before he gets
homo.
Bfttsr Than High License.
The matter of the enforcement of
the prohibitory law has so definitely
become a part of the governmental
policy of this city and state there
Is practically no talk on the sub
ject any more In my Judgment, the
people of this city would repudiate
a return to the Joint system or would
repudiate the proposition for the re
peal of the prohibitory law by an
overwhelming majority. In the Aug
ust primus i*-* In our state one of the
d**ino< ratic candidates for the nomi
nation for governor was an avowed
but he was roundly
beat'-n with three candidates in the
race. This Is a rather unusual situ
ation when you remember that the
democratic party In the state of Kan
sas has been the only purty which
has ever committed itself definite ly
In favor of the resiibrnisslon of the i
prohibition amendment Th** last
few years of rigid law enforcement
have been so beneficent In their ♦ f
feet* that already there is no par
ty which would dare go before the
p**ople of Kansas on an issue of re
submisslon.
We ar*- familiar here with all the
arguments, but our experience in
Kansas conclusively proves that stati*
wid prohibition badly enforced Is
better than high license, and that
prohibition rigidly enforced settles
the question beyond argument. We
sincerely hope that you will Im* sue-*
<©s*ful in your fight for state-wide
prohibition in Colorado If you do
not win this time, try It gaain for
this question Is never settled until it
is s**tt|««d right. If the women of
Colorado feel about the liquor busi
ness as the women of Kansas do.
The Greatest Issue of_ the Hour
Will Colorado follow Kansas on tho Prosperity Road7 Shall Colorado
Continue to Pay Tribute to tho LIQUOR TRUST?
II PROHIBITION DOES PROHIBIT “SEARCH ANO SEIZURE”
II If you doubt it. read the letters from Kansas on an- does NOT mean that private homes con be searched by
|| other page. You may doubt it. but the liquor trust does officers. The report of the Liquor Trust to that effect ,is
|| NOT. They are spendings2so,ooo to defeat it. maliciously false. Read the bill.
Who pays the taxes caused by the saloons of Denver, Pueblo, Trinidad, and the mining
camps? Every taxpayer in Dry Territory, whatever his sentiments or habits, must vote
I * or Prohibition in self-defense. /
Women I “Saloons Make Prosperity”
|| Yes. for the 302.500 persons engaged in the business.
|| But who pays for this prosperity?
|| Will you vote to lift the burden of broken hearts from Attimml Drink Bill 01,702,100,090
the lives of our sisters in Colorado? ° mmt * 100,220,000
I 01,000,070,090
Wmgem Pal* 90,201,070
II ' Every true women wtU help LH/uer rnem’m Preen 01,007,077*00
|| WHO PAYS THIOILIT WHO OKT» TNI SOODLET
II The American people are becoming thoroughly aroused to the curse of the liquor traffic
I from every view point. The trust is frightened, and is turning back its ill-gotten millions
II to defeat the peopled will. Will you stand for it? *
| TAKE YOUR CONSCIENCE ALONG TO THE POLLS!
| DRY COLORADO LEAGUE OF LA JUNTA
there i* not any doubt shout the
Wltn heart lieet good wishes for
outcome.
the success of your effort*. I remain.
Sincerely yours.
WM. B. 81-TTON, JR
Attorney.
Prohibition a Cain In Kvsry Way.
Kanui City, Kan.. (H 15. 'l2.
I>*ar Sir: Replying to your let
ter of October L'2d, will ssv that the
prohibitory law in Kansas i« strictly
enforced In towus of all sixes.
Of course. I will not say that
there is no whiskey being sold, but
It Is being sold In such small quan
tities as to be hardly noticeable.
The Kansu* City Star of Wednes
day. November 2. 11*10, states the
proposition with absolute truth I
helped put this matter before the
public and know that it Is the truth
The of the people Is very
much In favor of the enforcing of the
prohibitory law and a* years go by
the feeling Is more general that
Kansan will never go back on prohi
bition. There Is no question but
what the people of Kansas have gain
ed in Innumerable ways through pro
hibition They have more money in
the bank. Their domestic happiness
in more general. The effect on
the growing boy o.* girl I* B of neces
sity the best if the prohibition ques
tion was resubmitted In Kansas, the
resubmisslonlsts would lose by an
overwhelming majority.
1 If there Is any more Information
you desire or auythlne specific In
connection with the enforcing of the
prohibitory law 1 will! lie pleas* d to
answer any Inquiries you may make.
There Is Just one thing In connection
with prohibition in Kansas. It took
a % long time for the people to real
ize Its benefit but as the years go
by and the people recognise the b©n
• oflt of prohibition It makes the en
forcing of the law much ••asler
Yours very truly.
HARRY W BEDELL.
Secretary Hanking Trust Company
Prohibition Coed for Misslsfippl.
Ja boon. Miss . October 26. I‘*!2
Dear Sir: Your letter received.
1 am very, very busy, but take time
to say that state wide prohibition has
operated well In Mississippi. Crime
turn decreased, and much money
which formerly went for the pur
chase of whisk* y In a saloon, goes
to purchase the necessaries and some
of the luxuries of life. The law Is
well enforced in thla state. Of course
there are some violations in the larg
er cities, but this Is trpe of every
law that was ever placed upon a
statute book.
Yours truly,
KARL BRRWKR.
Governor of Mississippi.
Prohibition Good frr the Profession
al Man, th« Banker and the Roal
Estate Man.
Kansas City, Kan.. Oct. 28, T 2.
D* ar Sir: After many years of ac
tual experience with the liquor ques
tion. we arc convinced beyond any j
question of doubt that prohibition
from a strictly business standpoint
will pay any community. We Wave
seen man after man. and we are
speaking of reputable, high class
business men. thoroughly convinced
that prohibition pay*. Men, who an*
not prohibitionists themselves,
men who believed In high license,
men from all claa ©*, who originally
opposed th" law and thought it would
Interfere with the progress and
gnwth of our city, aeknow ledge that
prohibition had not only Improved
th'ir business prospei ts, but hart
given us a far b**lter general citizen
ship.
Th** old shelf worn theory that a
good business town must be a wide
open town Is torn to shreds when ac
tual experience, farts, proves to the
contrary. What Intelligent man or
woman will deny tl at $2 00 worth of
groc« rl©s is not better for the man
and his family than 12 00 worth of
beer And It Is very point that
brought the business m*n of Kansas
City, Kansas, to a realization that
when the money of the wage ••artier
did not go for liquor, more of It went
into staph* articles like dry good*,
groceries, sho«*s and the essential*
of life The merchant In the dry
town will find a better cash trade,
n better class of customers and be
largely aloof from bad debts The
professional man will have three
fourths lean charity patients, the
banker will double his savings ac
counts and the real estate man will
have a steady. .Prong demand for
homes This is not theory, but facta,
drawn from experience. We have
proved that the saloon, the gambling
house, ami all their connections In
cidental and otherwise, are not a
necessary adjunct to any city, and
that the actual cost of their main
tenance far exceeds any revenue
derived therefrom.
The Saloon and Graft Go Together, j
The effect politically has alao been
marvelous. With the saloon element
stricken from it* power In civic af
fairs, graft receives a stunning blow
and th* greater proportion of pover
ty, wretchedness and want Is no long
er a fa« tor in the city’s make-up. It
la an unquestioned fact that since
the closing of the saloons there has
n great awakening In the city
for b« tier things and a prodigious
. stride has been made which has
aroused and stimulated civic pride
' to a de ;re.* hitherto unknown.
A an*. * ssful city consists of a
dean government and a thrifty, hap
py people and It has been our ex
periem •• that "wet goods" make peo
pie neither happy nor thrifty. A
compai-son as real estate values
and rents before ami after perhaps
would nr h fair an our population
has very materially Increased since
the saloon* have been doted, but
you can g.-t all kinds of statistics
from I* d records showing marvel
oua evidence all down the line of
the grewii ami development of Kan
sas Clt> Kansas, since th** prohibi
tion law was absolutely enforced.
Yours truly,
WILLIAM MBRRIAM.
Of Merrlatn. Kills & Renton. Real Ks
tato. |.« wins ami Insurance
'Not to Enforce tha Law Where
Do Not Care to Per
jure Themselves.
Garden City, Kan.. O* t 2.', 1912.
I>ear Sir It gives me great pleas
ure to Inform you that prohibition is
,an Imni'ns success In our town, nnd
as far a** I ever heard In the whole
state. W.* enforce the law- It Is
1 not hard to enforce If you ha\** self
respecting men In office—men who
do not «ar t«> perjure themselves
when they tak#- the oath of office
No on** but a whisk*•>• idler or wills
'key drink* r ever questions the wis
dom of th* law Our town has about
4.000 In I) * bitaut s We have one |m>-
lie -man, who is on duty at night on
ly. There art* no Joints and while
there are some "Jjojtleßger*’’ they
aro vigorously prosecuted. Did you
ever hear of a town advertising Its
saloons? Well, we advertise that
we don’t have them and It works
both ways—keeps undesirable citi
zens out atid attracts the b**st class.
To answer your questions specific
ally: The law la enforced. It Is not
as hard to enforce as other laws
when given the same chance Liquor
users and such are the chief law
breakers. Prohibition has reduced
crime and eliminated poverty. Our
taxes are lower.
If the question is ever resubmitted
It will be carried again the same
way. but it is considered a very dead
Why don’t the women In Colorado,
with the power of the ballot, do
more to eradicate this awful curse
from their state?
Respectfully,
WALTER HARVEY,
Mayor
Would Not Want to Go Back to the
Old Order of Things.
Kansas City, Kan., Oct. 28. iJ*.
Dear Sir: R* plying to your letter
of October 2.1 d, regarding the effect
cf closing Joints in Kansas (itv. Kan.
I am quite sure the effect has been
very beneficial, ami that conditions
are fully as favorable now as was
stat**d In the advertisement you speak
of In the Kansas City Star of Nov.
2nd. 1910.
j Th«* law Is still b'iug enforced,
tlier** are no open Joints or saloons.
A few private place* are found now
and th«*n and <l**alt with summarily,
but on th** whole the prohibitory law
is enforced as well as other laws.
Hankers t«il me there Is a mark
'd Improvement In th© hank account*
of working m**n since th** law has
been enforced a*id the general effect
has been good I do not think our
people, any cons'derable number of
them, would want to go back to th©
<>ld order of things And I cannot
conceive how any on** who has travel
l**d In prohibition Kansas and In oth
er st«t«s when* th** saloon flourishes
can help to s**e th** bettor conditions
- listing In Kn* sas
Truly yours.
THE MERCANTILE CLCH,
W. F Jaques. Sc r t irv Mercantile
Club.
WHAT
LA JUNTA HAS
1912
No saloons.
Boys' club.
Four hotels.
Four parka.
Three banka.
One city hall.
Three hospitals.
Nine churches.
One court house.
One skating rink.
One planing mill.
One kindergarten.
Four lumber yards.
One fire department.
Six school buildings.
Three livery stables.
One 25-ton ice plant.
Two steam laundries.
Free delivery of malla.
One cold storage plant.
Three telegraph offices.
One seven-ton Ice plant.
One band and orchestra.
An altitude of 4,060 feet.
Twenty-four social clubs.
School population of 1,500.
Throe moving picture shows.
Seven thousand population
bank cn posits of $1,000,000.
A $40,000 high school build
ing.
Twenty-three passenger trains
daily.
One star and three rural
routes.
Most Aunsblne of any Colo
rado city.
Miles of brick aud cement
sidewalks.
Santa Fe shops, employing
1.000 men.
Monthly payroll, all sources,
of $100,000.
One public* library of 15.-
000 volumes.
Water and sewer system
owned by city.
One railroad reading room
and club house.
Thru* printing offices and
one newspaper.
Twenty three fraternal aud
secret societies.
Average monthly postofflce
receipts of $1,500.
MennonUe Sanitarium, five
miles west of city.