"wr
Mi
The Commoner
lY, 1918
M", collections prompt and more and better
sold. This Is especially evident mmonr
small fellows, the little wooers and bakers.
ly of these are men born in foreign lands,
heretofore strong opponents of prohibition.
are xor it now after having seen its effects
their neighbors and their increased purclias-
t power.
?he big employers of labor, like the nackin
ues, smelter and railroads, are a unit in say-
that prohibition has greatly increased the
:tiveness of the workers.
fFewer accidents in industry are reported
;e me men nave oeen snut on tneir -supply or
lor.
GRAND ISLAND LUGES NEW PLAN
Hi Grand Island dispatch, dated April 30, says:
elimination of the saloon has had a notice-
beneficial effect on business, according to
'consensus of oninion of leading merchants in
various lines of business.
i. Li. Joseph, secretary retail merchants' na
tation ; TJiero have been fewer calls at -my
e in the past year than during the previous
r. The "slow pay" people have shown'
rked improvement and some- of tho "nn
Ids" have come to life. As far as navlncr hills
concerned conditions are much imnroverl
long the laboring classes.
Police COUrt records Bhow Ipkr rHsinrilAr a-nri
iinkenness, fewer petty crimes, and a decrease
jmmorauty. The number of arrests on such
trees has heon tint morn fhnn 7fl nor nanf
F-- w HW MAW W VMM. . w JfV VbilK
faring the period from May 1, 19l7, to April
r iuis, the total arrests for intoxication and
inected charges was 14. In the same period
the preceding year the number was 492.
m May i, 1516, to April 25, 1917, the last
year, the numuer of arrests for drunkenness
disorderly; conduct was 296 as compared
6i xu the period the city has been without
)ons. Arrests on Immoral counts dronnori
118 to 38; Only 9 assault cases have been
ceted in police court in the cast year, whero-
f;here were S3 assault cases during the pre-
is. year. During the last twelve months
city was wet there were 24 arresta for iHr-
rbing the peace while since prohibition, be
ne effective the number of these arrests have
jreased to 18. Bootlegging might be expect-
?to assume serious proportions in the city
riy placed in the prohibition column, vet
we were only, 39 arrests on charges of -dnlnt-
p the prohibition law, while during the pre-
)US year With 24 saloons and a larirfi TiiiTMni-
g clubs there were 21 arrests for the illegal
we of liquor. Ponce officers say that when
rand island had saloons they made nearly twice
i many arrests on any Saturday night as they
jw make in a whole month on intoxication
larcres.
ti -
HASTINGS MUCH PLEASED
A Hastings dispatch, dated April 30, says:
no year of state wide prohibition In Hastings
is done more than any other one thing to boost
iusiness, right moral conditions and stimulate
ule collections of old and new accounts accord
ing to the consensus of opinion of leading busi
ness men, not one of whom would return to the
ild regime, were it possible.
It's a "sixty-to-one shot" for improved condi-
lons in Hastings according to the pplicei records
the following statement of Mayor William
jfadgett shows. He says:
I "The best evidence I can give in regard to
flibe way prohibition is working In Hastings is
gfcy the number of drunks handle by the police
department the last years of the? saloons, which
was more than three thousand. During this year
rpf dry Nebraska they have handled less than
Iflfty cases. I am against 'the Hindenburg line'
If or light wines and beer."
y A remarkable falling off of the number of
fcases docketed, tried and determined in district,
tcounty and police court records and compara
tively small number of divorce cases filed in
i- Adams county are among the numerous other
instances of improved conditions of a dry Ne
braska for twelve months.
P C. G. Lane, president of the Hastings Chamber
'of Commerce, and president of the Exchange
National bank, replying to a question on pro
hibition In. Adams county, says: "I will say that
in my opinion it has been of great value to the
county both economically and morally, an effect
'which has greatly heightened the tone of the
population of the county and increased their in
terest in thing of Importance to the well being
of the nation.
"No one possessod of ordinary common sense
ever had the temerity to argue economic ad
vantages derived from the traffic of intoxicating
liquors without the dollar sign being stamped
upon him so plainly that the argument was
downed in the sea of profiteering. The year
1917 held in its hand the gift of complete loss
of the winter wheat crop and a badly damaged
crop of corn, the two most valuable crops of tho
county, yet in tho many drives for monoy for the
prosecution of the war and its various activities
the money was easily raised. Tho savings of the
people who had not been accustomed to savo be
cause of the saloon and its Influence is gener
ally believed to have had much to do with tho
results, so I consider the, effects to have been
most beneficial.
"In morality, the feature of most significance,
as above stated tho effect has been to heighten
and broaden tho tone of our people and to cause
them to turn their minds to things worth while."
REPORTS FROM OTHER CITIES AND TOWNS
Below are extracts taken from roports made
from different Nebraska cities and towns to tho
Nebraska State Journal, Lincoln:
BEATRICE Conditions without saloons are
perfectly satisfactory to the business interests
and citizens of Beatrice generally.
GERING A. B. Wood, editor of tho Goring
Courier, commenting on tho prohibition situa
tion, says:' "There are no business men or well
known citizens who express unfavorable opin
ions, even among those who doubted the ad
visability of statutory prohibition. The com
ment is that the final end of John Barleycorn
will come when Nebraska is also bounded on
tho west by dry territory as she now is on tho
other borders."
YORK Everybody in York county is enthusi
astic for state and national prohibition. It has
been dry for years and as a result the county
has shown great progress in material improve-
ments and in education.
NORFOLK The dry year in Norfolk has
brought about considerable satisfaction among
the business men and citizens. Business men
agree that business has increased rather than
declined and the absence of saloons has in fact
become a welcome byword when tho topic is un
der discussion. Police court records show that
only half the number of arrests were made dur
, lng the first dry year as compared with tho same
records of the last wet year. Only 55 arrests
were made this year as compared with 156 dur
; ing the last wet year. All of these arrests were
made for disorderly conduct or drunkenness.,
. The records show that during ttie first six months
, of .the dry year the traffic of "liquor had not as
. sorted Itself; that the liquors purchased for tho
dry period and previous to the time that the
prohibitory law went into effect were exhausted
', in about six months and after that tho arrest
, of bootleggers have been booked. Interviews
with prominent business men and citizens who
were in the early days favorable to licensed
saloons show thatthere has been a decided
. -change in views and that Norfolk is entirely in
, favor of the continuation of the prohibition
law.
KEARNEY Kearney has been dry three years
this spring and its citizens are now so thor
oughly adapted to the change that an anti-prohibition
measure of any nature would be want
ing for support now in this city, which form
erly rolled up a heavy vote on the wet side. The
number of bootlegging cases during tho past
r ar are limited to seven as against nearly
twenty before the state went dry. Other than
that there Is a dearth of business done by the
, police magistrate as compared with past years,
business men seem all of ono accord in that
there is more money, more judicious spending
and a brighter air of plenty today than was
ever before apparent.
NEBRASKA CITY A comparative report of
the police court record for the past two years
shows that the number of arrests for drunken
ness during the last year of the licensed saloons
was 151 to 11 during the first year under pro
hibition. Five arrests were made during the
past year for illegal possession of liquor, and
the police force has been reduced. Merchants
report that there are less book accounts and
r
that in most instances pcoplo who formerly had
accounts with them aro paying cash.
SEWARD -It is almost impossible to locate
an adhoront to tho "wet regime" In Seward to
day, except possibly a portion of tho ox-saloon
keepers. Many of those who voted against the
amondraont are now enthusiastic for prohibition,
Tho police records show that, under tho prohibi
tion law, thcro wore only three arrests for in
toxication and these took placo early in the
year when plenty of the firewater was storod,
pending the continued drouth. During tho cor
responding period, tho yoar previous, forty-seven
arrests wore made for drunkenness. Rooms
formerly occupied by saloons filled by other
lines of business and moro spaco Is eagerly
sought. Banks report increased deposits, and
former saloon patrons have opened up bank
accounts for the first time In their lives. Re
tail collections are in the same favorable com
parison with the other conditions, and it Is un
questionably the unanimous verdict that prohi
bition has done what its friends claimed it
would do 1. o., "prohibit."
WEST POINT The institution of prohibition
in this community, as Judged by its results, hat
been an unmixed blessing to the town of West
Point and Cuming county. For nearly fifty
years this town of 2,000 has been known and
recognized throughout tho state as a strong
hold of the rum- power, as an oasis in the desert
and pre-eminently "wet." From authentic, re
liable and conservative sources it is known that
the receipts of tho grog-shops in this city for
tho last 15 years of business, averaged $150,000
per annum, this amount being spent over tho
bar. The benefits of this large sum of money,
now expended for the necessities of life, must
be apparent to everyone. It Is seen in the im
proved condition and appearance of former
topers and their wives and children. At least
forty men in this community were classed aa
drunkards for many years. They worked only
as necessity compelled them. Their families
suffered privation, but today these men, without
a single exception, are comparatively prosperous
and happy, their wives and children are well
fed and decently clad and they aro accumulating,
1n a greater or less degree, a surplus for use in
emergencies. - These are solid facts, patent to
every citizen, and the change Is so great, so
beneficial, so apparent, that many former advo
cates of license have changed their views and
loudly acclaim the benefits of tho new law
and none more so than the former victims of the
drink habit. Since the first of May, 1917, West
Point had only one liquor case in the municipal
court. The office of the police judge Is nonr
productive, the one justice of the peace has
nothing to do. In tho opinion of many well in
formed persons, If a poll were taken of the ad
visability of returning to the old conditions, a
very large majority of the citizens would vote
to remain as we are.
COLUMBUS Columbus had thirteen saloons.
Very few drunkards have been seen on the
streets since May, last, and tho police judge is
not earning his salt in that line, as there aro at
this time no complaints filed for drunks or fights
or any other disturbances. Merchants say they
are selling and delivering more goods to the
parties who were Indulging in Intoxicating li
quors, and who spent their hard earned money
in saloons, but who are now providing much
better for their families than in the past. Only
one arrest has been made of parties bootlegging
and tho ex-saloon men are stricly obeying the
law.
FALLS CITY The first year of state wide
prohibition has proven satisfactory to the busi
ness interests of the town's of the County. There
has been no loss' of trade due to the closing of
the saloons and more cash has been paid for
groceries by families who were troubled by the
presence of saloons. The trade of Falls City
has been greater and tho people generally have
enjoyed greater prosperity. The police court
cases due to intoxication have fallen off 75 per
cent. What liquor cases have caused arrests ar
mostly transient bootleggers.
Count Czerin knows now just how Czar Nich
olas felt when he was trying to hold onto his
crown with one hand and keep the duma under
control with the 'other. The Austrian premier
is trying to show the kaiser how engrossed he
is in the task of winning the war while he is
attempting to prove to the folks at home that
he Is doing his best to secure peace.
I