THE OMjVHA DAILY BEE : MONDAY , SEPTEMBER 22 , 1890 ,
FOR HIGH LICENSE.
An Able and Logical Argument bj Hon ,
Edward Rosewater.
A SOLUTION OF THE LIQUOR QUESTION ,
Nclraaka's ' Perfect System of Saloon Regu
lation and Restriction.
PROHIBITION 'IN IOV/A / A FAILURE ,
The LAY ; Opsiilv Violated iu All of the
Larger Cities.
SIGNIFICANT CRIMINAL STATISTICS.
Tlio Ultcp Fallacy of the Statements
of Amendment AUvocnloH Sbmvn
by ilic Hecoril.s or
the Courts.
The following nro the opening arguments
of tin second day of the debate on the prohi
bition Issue at Grand Island , bcin ; , ' these of
Kx-Oovcrnor Lnrrabeo for prohibition and
Hen. Kdward Kosowater of Tim Bui : for
high license. Tlio speeches tire produced
without abridgement from the notes of THE
Bix's stenographers :
( tor. r in it < i ni-ts < iitGi'3tKXT.
lie Gives History of Ijlipmr rjc is-
lalioii in lowii.
Ilx-Govcriior Larrnbcoof Iowa made the
opening speech on Friday afternoon. Ho
spoke n follows :
Ladies nnd gentlemen : I think thcro la a
passage of scripture that says , "Where nfow
arc withered together in my nnmo there I will
bo with thoin , " or something llko that. I
feel ubout that wny this afternoon. Whllo It
is nn unusual thing for mo to au-
drcss a smull nudicncc , It Is n ,
pleasure where the person * nro
willing to listen to mo ; It Is a pleasure for ino
toiloiny best to entertain thoin. I caino
hero by Invitation of the manager of this
sugar palace to address you ott the question
of prohibition ,
It was Intlimitcil hero last evening that for
eigners were Invading Nebraska to tell you
howtovoto. I don't feel myself to bo a for-
elgnci : In any Htato of the union , I think
that question of nationality was 8011101 ! sev
eral years ugo at largo expense , that this wns
n nation , as some say , with n big N.
It was nn expensive Job but It was settled so ,
I don't feel as if Iweroaway from homo nt
nil In Nebraska , espoelally as I ilnd tens of
thousands of good Iowa people scattered all
over this state. 1 fcol it a duty I ewe to my
friends In lown to come hero and give my
testimony concerning this question to bo pre
sented nt your next election. Thuro Is an
other reason. One of my own children lias
located in Nebraska. I feel an in
terest on that account. So that is all the
npolopy I hnvo to inako for bclnp hero today ,
1 expect there is no portion of the earth that
is nioie productive in the food and staple
productions necessary for the sustenance of
man than Nebraska. Hero Is u grant ! oppor
tunity to build up a great and power
ful stnto. You have material ad
vantages ; you have the blood ; youlmvesomo
of the finest people from all the eastern states
located hero to build up this state. It is in
its infancy yet ; the state has hardly moulded
( ESf its policy for the future ,
why , when you consider that this state is
to exist from now to eternity , you can see
the Importance of setting.out right. It
Is like | : i young man setting out in
business. If the young man is born with
good , healthy constitution observe the
laws of health , sobriety and temperance , and
takes wise counsel , the chances nro ho will
become a useful man and a useful citizen.
The chnncea arc ho will enjoy n happy lifo.
On the other hand , if ho takes evil counsel ,
does not observe the laws of health , bad re
sults ore likely to follow.
It Is just with nations and states as it Is
with people. A state that follows the advice
of its wisest men and women , n state that
permits wisest men and women to dictate its
policies is sura to lead to gocd results.
That has loen the case with our nation in
the past. On the other hand , a state or a
nation that adopts improper policies , or Is'
governed by Ignorant men or careless men or
headstrong men that do not act wisely , you
may rest assured disaster will coma sooner or
later. P ogresslvo civilization always has
grout questions to meet ; there seems to ho
something for every iitfe , every generation
has n .work to do. You remember in rend
ing the history of our nation nt the tlmo
of the constitutional convention n few moro
votes would huvo abolished slavery nt the
very llrst organization of our government.
The wisest statesmen of these times wcro In
favor of abolishing slavery , but It lacked n
few votes. Thcro were so many other things
to bo looked at , it is no wonder that It did
lack a few votes. Hut the evil was continued
and continued until our day , and wo know
the expense , wo know the loss that It incurs
after nn evil has grown to the dimensions
that slavery did In this country. SVo huro
learned what it cost ; millions of tna treasury
and hundreds of thousands of lives and the
sacrificing of the health and properties of
millions moro in addition.
I remember well the contest that was
waged over the Kansas and Nebraska bill for
the possession ol this fair country which you
Inhabit , and many of you gentlemen remem
ber It , but what seems strange to mo at the
present time Is to look buck and think and
know that wo found strong men defending
the cause of slavery at that tlmo right hereon
on Nebraska soil , and all through the north ;
It seems incredible at the present tlmo , nnil
wo can hnrdly believe that wo could Ilnd zral-
ons advocates of slavery in the north , hut
such wns the fact.
It Is . o with all evils. Thcro Is a dis
position on the part of many people toadhero
to things as they exist. There are two classes
'
01 licoiuo , coiisi'rvuiivo UHU progrcssivo ; 1110
consorvnllvo portion of a coininuntty always
Hue to let UiliiRs remain p.s tlicy nrc , as our
iloinocnitle fricntU xiscd to say tit the com-
incnccmcnt of Ihovns , "Tlio constitution as
It was , mul tlio union ns It Is. " Conservative )
jiooplovlll frown at anew Wen. On the
other baud , iiroBresslvo people nro al
ways reaily to bettor the con-
ilitlon of any roinmunlty. If
iiu Improvement Is proposed , I don't ' care
whether It Is u sugar palace , electric He'its '
for your city or n street railway or a sugar
innnufucturhiK establishment , you will Ilnd
men always ready to advocate It nnd talio
liolil niul do what they can to forward It ;
while , on the other hand , conservative people
will say : "Woctm'tdo Unnil wo might , lust
ns well not undertake it. " Thcro is this dif
ference between pcoplo you will ilnd In every
community , I don't care -whether it is a school
district , or n church or n political party or
upon this question of temperance.
.Material welfare U not all pcoplo need to
make them great , nnd Intellectual welfare In
addition h not suftldcnt ; because with alltha
Intellectual advantages , if you nro dclluleut
in moral training you can not accomplish the
bust results.
Jly friends have quoted somoillstlneuishcd
peimcmcii from Massachusetts on prohibition
nnd 1 will nuoto from Professor Fisk. Ho
refers to this question of moral trulnliiR nnil
moral education ; ho says , "Wo owe In this
country as n nation largely our success to the
character and the work of the early settlers
of Now Ktiglimd. VVo owe largely our suc
cess ns a nation to the principles oC tlio town
meeting. That is the promotion of the
ability of pcoplo to govern themselves , "
I know it Is bald by some that the failure of
the southern confederacy WH largely ac
counted for by that disregard of tbo town
meeting , VVo have mot hero today to carry
out this town meeting principle , tno urln-
ciplo of the Puritan fathers. 1 care not what
nit ) the decisions of courts ; I care not \vhut
iivotUa decisions of legislatures. The town
meeting Dually governs In the end. It is the
pcoplo that muko tlio decisions of the court ,
rulu our congresses and rule the state legis
latures.
Now It is to upon this temperance ques
tion , 1 heard it remarked lust evening that
bccauso prohibition was voted down in Penn-
sylvnniannd Connecticut and other states it
was n rvuon why it should bo voted down in
Nebraska. That is no reason ull. Tills la u ,
pojr stlvo civilization , our people are pro-
"
giusivo , "Wo adopted prohibition in Iowa
several years ago and If the experience of
lown h of any advantage to you or will assist
In forming your opinions nito your duty nt
the next election , I urn pleaded to glvo my
testimony concerning it. I have lived in
lown over thirty-seven years. The state was
admitted InlSJO. You remember In thosedays
It was customary to levy licenses upon most
trades nnd occupations. I know in lown nt
Hint tlmo they levied license on retail liquor
dealers , nnd tlieyelmrgcd merchants n license
for doing business of selling ordinary Roods
nnd wares : they charged clock pcddlera n
lIcuiHO nnd pill makers , and charging-
license wns the rule. But It soon became tin-
popular in Iowa.Volmdnclnsiof settlers
that brought good morals with them In tbo
early settlement of our stnto ; wo were fortu
nate In that respect' Anil I don't know
whether you have observed it or not , but 1
have , that in Iowa , and in every
locality In a now country , It
Is very apt to bo governed to
n greater or less extend by the tend given to
It by the early settlers ,
I Know sorno counties in Iowa which wcro
settled by men of the highest moral standing ,
and the mnrics can bo seen thcro today ; while
on the other hand some counties were settled
by n different class of men , nnil Itstiowsa
distinct class of people there today.
I say tbts license principle wns distasteful
to the early settlers of IOWA in 1317 , and the
legislature authorized the county commission
ers to submit the. question to the voters ot
each county whether to license the retull
dealers or whether to not , license them. That
was the llrst .step toward prohibition In Iowa.
Our code was adopted in 1S. 1. and the log-
isinuuo mat nuopiuu IIIUL cuui * n.micu u SVM-
ute slating In express Ian gunge that the pco
plo of Iowa would take no share In the profits
nndsalc of intoxicating lluuors. That was
the character of the men and it was not a po
litical question nt that time. It was a demo
cratic measure at that time. The democrats
bad control of the legislature that adopted
that measure. This was continued until
1S. > , nnd then a law passed by
our legislature prohibiting the s.ilo of
wine and beer , as well as strong liquors ; this
wns submitted to n vote of the prontonnu car-
rledby n handsome majority. Tliatwas tbo
llrst vote by the people of our state on the
question of prohibition. It was thochnr.ii-
tor of the men fiat settled Iowa that located
then at nn early day.
This continued until 1S35 or 1SSS. You re
member the Kansas-Nebraska bill ; that great
question which agitated the people of this
country , and you remember the great
slavery question ; it rather. over
shadowed the temperance question
for a while. I am sorry to say that the polit
ical party which 1 was a member of ut the
time , and which I have been a member of
ever since , voted to permit the snlo ofalo ,
wino and beer In that state. The saloons
opened ntonco and continued to grow rapidly
all over the state until I suppose there wcro
fi.OtiO saloons in the stato.
The war came on nnd the temperance ques
tion was lost sight of for years. Soon after
the war thn temperance question was agi-
tntcd again ; tie friends of temperance saw the
evils ot tlieso saloons spreading over Iowa
and the temperance pcoplo petitioned tlio
legislature session after session for the abolishment
ishment ot the saloon. I know thousands nnd
thousands of petitions were presented in
ISSl ) , nnd the question of an amendment to
our state constitution wns voted upon by our
legislature and passed. It wns voted on again
in 1SS : ) and submitted to the people during
the year ISS'J and adopted by our people by n
majority of aOUOO. , It was to take effect July
4 following.
Now my friends that spoke hero last even-
ingconcernlngtheeosinor ! saloons in Penn
sylvania nnd elsewhere where high license
has been adopted , they spoke ota great num
ber of saloons closed at once , That was tbo
case in Iowa.Vbca , our amendment was
adopted tbo saloons all over the state closed
at once , nnd many of us supposed the great
portion of them would remain closed , but it
was not ninety days before they began to
open again , and if you knew the truth of tbo
case , I venture to say you could go to these
states where they liuvo high license and lind
"holes in the walls" Just as they did at that
time.
time.Wo had total prohibition on our stat
utes against the sale ot strong liquors
from ISSIi to the present tlmo ; tbero
has not been a day since l5 that it was
legal to sell strong dnnkc in the state of
Iowa only for legitimate purposes , which wo
permit tnero toany.
Hut these fi.OOU saloons scattered all over
our state violated the law every day in the
year , and I venture to say there was hardly a
saloon in our state for years but what sold
strong liquors , notwithstanding it was nvio-
latlon of the lay. It is so everywhere.
This business seems to demoralize these en
gaged In it ; the temptation U too great for
tin ) class of men engaged in the business.
There is from 100 per cent to 500 per cent
profit and the temptation is great for men
who are unscrupulous and they cannot resist
the temptation.
Our amendment was decided unconstitu
tional by our supreme court and set aside
nnd the saloons wcro running again as usual
Juno ; M the assembly adopted a statutory
provision , nnd it took effect on the Fourth of
July , ItSI. Again a largo portion of tno su-
loons closed , satisfied that the law would bo
enforced. Our legislature failed to adopt the
necessary measures to secure perfect enforce
ment , and It Is not strange that they
did. In any new legislation ot that kind
wo never can expect to have the legislation
just right the llrst time ; wo can not expect
to get everything Just ns it should bo ; that
was the cose with our legislation. We passed
a good law and made the snlo of nil kinds of
liquor Illegal , but It was not until the 23d of
Juno that the assembly met and additional
measures were passed until we succeeded
tolerably well in enfo'rclng it.
I was sworn into ofilco in January , 1SS15.
and at that time I think thcro were about
seventy saloons in the city of DCS Mollies ,
paying a license fee of $1,000 a year ; between
sixty nnd seventy were running when I
went to Dos Molncs. The saloons in
in the lar o cities throughout tlio state were
nearly all running ns usual ; tbo law had been
enforced in some of the rural districts.
Thoiirth of May , ISSli , I issued a proclamn'
tion calling on the pcoplo of the state , calling
on the Judges , sheriffs , county attorneys and
all interested in law and good order , to en
force the law which was upon our statute
books.
Whllo I was In oMcc , or until Inst January ,
Ithlnktticrohnd been about 3,000 saloons
closed in Uio stato. It was not an easy
task. Now I don't undertake to say the law
was easily enforced throughout the state ,
When I llrst went into ofilco people said tc
moYou have got tlio prohibition law anil
why don't you enforce it ! " They laughed
at mo.
The leading members of the republican
party bad a meeting , because it was consid
ered a republican measure. I nin sorry to sny
that our democratic friends , or the leaders of
the doinocratlo party , misled , and have over
since , the rank and lllo of that party in that
stato.
The rank and fllo of any party In any state
are honest in their instincts aud honest
In their motives nnd Ocsiro to promote the
welfare. It Is Just so with the democratic
party in Iowa , but tbo leaders misled them ,
nnd they taunted us , the leaders of the i-c-
" don't enforce the
publican party. "Why you
law I"
Two years rolle-d around and you never
heard that question asked.Vo \ did enforce
It. In over IK ) counties In 09 of Iho state of
Iowa the law was reasonably enforce ! ) , Just
about as well as the ordinary law. In the
counties of Dnbuquo , Scott , Museatino , Leo
and Pottawntnmlo tlio law was not well
enforced. Whllo it might bo that in the
city of Dubuque the saloons wcw running
and have been ever since and In Daven
port It is tlio samo-ovcry saloon In DCS
Moines , the largest city in the state , was
closed. 1 used to offer $10 to any ono who
would point out a saloon and I never had to
pay the $10 yet. When Mr. Uosewatcr sent
his reporter to Ues Molncs I think I gave him
the saino proposition.
By the way , I wan t to call his attention to
the fact that when ho sonda another reporter
there to have him tell the truth. When that
reporter came to mo bo told mo ho wns n re
porter for the New York Tribune and I gnvo
him the same information I would if ho had
told mo ho was from Omaha. I would never
have withheld anything from anv reporter
on tills question , I bellovo in politics as I do
In business wo cauuot afford to bo anything
but honest.
A man that will pervert statistics , that will
maku n fuUo statement to the people , de
serves their scorn ; ho deserves their con
tempt.
Now I wish to say that the prohibitory law
was eu forced in Iowa during my lost three
years or two years of administration reason
ably well , with the exception of the few coun
ties I have named.
In tlio city ot Des Molncs I Know it is
claimed it has ruined business , It is the
same argument I board made hero by Mr.
Webster , and 1 am ashamed to hear men of
the strong qualities and ability that these
men have doubt in their minds or fear it will
hurt business to uloso the saloons of the state.
Wo hare a living Illustration at Sioux City , 1
know it was stated thcro that it would not
only kill the republican party , but would kill
Sioux City to enforce prohibition in Sioux
City. Kvery saloon In Sioux City was closed
for moro thnn two years nnd thcro is not a
more prosperous city in tbo state than Sioux
city.
1 have perfect contempt for nn eastern man
that is not willing to loan his money in n pro
hibition city and will loan it In n saloon town (
or oven In u high license town. Sioux City
men can go tall the money they want to bor
row from eastern capitalists ; they pet all
that is pootl for them , nnd they get all they
desire , I think.
The same Is true of Des Motncs. After 'the '
nmctulmcnt was first adopted hi the stnto of
Iowa Dos Molnes was n small city : it has
doubled In the last ten years and almost
doubled in tlio hits llvo years since the
adoption of prohibition. 1 know wo didn't
have two blocks of pavement In Sioux City
when wo adopted prohibition , nnd now I
think there Is forty or fifty miles. Wo had n
little IIOMO railway with llvo or six caw nnd
twenty borses , nnd now \vo have ono of the
flne&t electric railways In the whole country.
A Mr. Doom who has taken hold of the
street railway is a rank prohibitionist ; ho
said ho would rather have the gr.iss grow In
the t-ity than to have prohibition repealed ,
and thcro is no man moro Interested In real
cstato In Sioux City than Mr. Doom.
Nnmo mo the most prominent cities nnd I
will nametho prohibition cities : Des Molncs ,
Sioux City , Cedar llnpld * , Ottumwa , nnd the
smaller cities , Kearney and Creston nnd oth
ers. Is'amo mo the dull towns and I will nnmo
. . . . . . , . .
.nt * f I.Aiitt I/\a tl.nf l.nt.rt < 1 | tlin Irkiat tif.n.
JUU UUtlllU3 LLJUbUU > U IllilUU bllu luaab I * L V
gro-is In the state In the last ten years. These
are the facts ,
I tun restricted I believe here to about forty-
five minutes , I um n slow talker anyway ,
and I cannot glvo you the information that I
wlsn I could , nor glvo you the in
formation that I wish you to know ,
If yon . know tlio working of
prohibition In Iowa ns I know it , I believe
thcro Is not u man among you but what would
vote for it ,
Hero is my friend Mr. Hoscwater. I nd-
mire Mr. lioscwatcr In miny respects nnd
have agreed with him chiefly u pan questions
of public policy , nnd I am always glad to read
bis paper. lie Is what wo will in tlio west a
"rustler" and I only regret that lie Is not
right on this question. I have a toleration
for him niida spirit ot sympathy with him
because I used to bcllevo Just as he believes
now when I knew leas than I do uow.
[ Laughter. ]
When the amendment was first voted on
In Iowa 1 voted ngatnst It. I didn't believe
It could bo enforced. I hnvo changed my
mind from what knowledge I have learned
sinco. I know a wise man changes bis mind
as ho increases in knowledge nnd I beg my
friend Mr. Kosewatcr and his friends , strong
men as they nrc , I beg the Almighty to teach
them to see the right in this matter.
I couldn't help thinking ns Mr. Hosewatcr
was speaking of Lincoln last evening I wish
ho would use the same efforts to learn the
right nnd bo governed by It ns Lincoln. If
Mr. Hosewater and his friends will help tbo
pcoplo of this state to wnlit In the paths of
virtue his name will bo honored in the future
and the children for generations to como will
hnvo reason to rise up and call him blessed.
N o , I know hoiv strenuously people adhere
to their own beliefs , and nftcr once having
made n decision they often adhere to it after
their conscience has been convinced it Is
wrong. There is where this question of pride
comes in and I say I wish my friends would
lay aside that pride and go over in Iowa mid
talk with the best men wo have got. I don't '
ask him to take my testimony. Ho can take
the testimony ot our state otllecrs.
"Wohaven't but one state officer today but
what favor * prohibition. Ho was formerly a
good reptiDlicnn , but ho left the republicans
bccauso he was not satisfied with prohibi
tion and has been "off" ever sinco. Ho is a
mini who 1ms attended during his lifetimn to
n strictly private business ; ho is over sixty-
years of age nnd too old to change his mind ,
although I mistrust Hint two years in tlio
governor's chnlr will weaken bis position on
tbo subject. You may take tlio testimony of
every other state officer ; wo have five supreme
premo judges , and yon can take their testi
mony ; \vo hnvo forty-four district judges ,
anil you may take tlio testimony of nil of
these ; wo have four superior Judges , and you
may take the testimony ot two of these men ,
and the county attorneys In about the same
proportion nil over the stato. You will get
the same .statements from them.
I nm surprised to lind that I have only
twelve minutes left. It Is the first time , I
believe , that I ever talked on time , nnd I
don't know how much lima I am using.
I never took a public document on the
stand to assist me in what Httto talk I had to
make , but I iind it necessary for mo to do it
nt the present tlmo. Of course , I am not
familiar with the situation in Nebraska. I
simply know the working of prohibition in
Iowa , and that is what I desire to testify to
today , nnd as I understand that I am not to
speak this evening , that the other gentlemen
are to speak. I ilnd it is necessary for me to
ask a llttlo indulgence of the committee in
order to permit mo to say that whether I
speak or don't speak , I nm under orders from
your chairman , and inako it a rule to always
obey orders.
I notice in the Bentrlco discussion that
my friend Hosownter made some state
ments that it is necessary for mo to reply
to , not only for my honor , but for that of the
state o Iowa. I have no copy of it at homo
and only heard of It since I arrived in Ne
braska nnd have never seen It before. He
says that Governor Lurrabce , like IJen But
ler , sees both ways at the snmo time and he
says it seems very remarkable when ho looks
at the figures 1 have hero " respecting the
criminal statistics of the "state and the ex
pense incurred in prosecuting criminals in
the county for the last-four years , showing
that the expense of prosecuting nas Increased ,
Now , this Is in reply to the statement I hni
made that crime had decreased in lowu , ]
repeat it. Crime has decreased in Iowa , anO
I called upon the Judges of our state in n re
cent communication to give mo their opln
ions of the workings of prohibition , am
out of 44 judges , 41 responded ; HO were ii
fuvor ot the law ; they said it had reducec
the criminal expenses and reduced crime ; t
wcro non-committal , and 5 wcro opposed t <
the law , I have their letters printed hero
and if anyone desires to see' them he may d <
so ; I only wish I had tlmo to quota fron
them ,
Now , then , Mr. Uosowater is impcnchlnf
my testimony in this case and ho says , ' .
sny that It Is testimony that ought t obo con
sidcrod. " IIo says , "when I prove Larrabc <
to have falsified Ibc records in regard ti
criminal courts , nil his statements fall to tin
ground. " I will admit that. If ho prove
tnat i lai.sincu i am wining mat overytinng a.
said should fall to the ground. Hero I have
the record , nnd if Hosowator doubts my state
ment ho can see the statistics that I havo.
IIo says the expenses increased SJ09.000 In n
single year , nnd ho quotes the criminal sta
tistics of that state , nnd the expenses
incurred in prosecuting criminals in the
last four years , and Iwill show
you that the expense [ of prosecut
ing criminals In Iowa incrcast'd moro than
SSOO.OOO In the last two years.
In the last two years of statistics that wo
have in Iowa , for 133'J , the criminal expenses
were $ 'I99,4 0 , and the amount paid prosecut
ing attorneys was ? I ! , S'J7 ; in the year previ
ous the criminal expenses were &WO-l'.M , and
the amount paid prosecuting attorneys 53 , .
r 18. I will say that the statistics of 18S3 are
for only ten months in the year , BO it shows
ho was either ignorant of that fact or else
misrepresented it. I don't believe ho mis
represented It ; I would sooner bellovo that
sonio ono else looked up the statistics and
that ho used them Improperly. I sny that
the expenses decreased , and I will follow
back for ten years and see whether my
statement isn't correct : When I wont into
ofllco in ISStl , the llrst year the expenses were
. ' 1WI ; the year prior , SU3.84U ; the year
prior , siro.nso.
IIo makes the same statement in regard to
the number of convictions in the state and I
will give yon the number of convictions in
the state for each year , commencing with
18M :
In 1SS2.1,470 ; in 188.1,1,377 ; in 1881. 1,503 ;
in 1SSS , ] . ! 19 ; in ISStl , 1.IH5 ; hi .1837 , 1,5'iO : in
ten months of 1S8S , 6U'J ; twelve months of
16SI ) , 1.10S.
I regret I hnvo not tlmo to go over these
statistics and suow you the facts. As to the
crippling of the city of Cedar Kaplds , which
ha stated had decreased In population from
a,000 ! to less than 1S.OOJ , I will say tuo pop-
illation of Cedar Kaplds in 1885 was 15-liJO ,
and according to the lost census
the population was 17,097 : in ISiO
it was only 10,104 , which shows
that ho Is entirely mistaken as to that. 1
could point out u hundred mistakes , I think ,
that this man has made.
Ho quotes Governor Boles as sustaining
him. So far as Governor Kotos is concerned ,
I want to say this ! Hois a pleasant gentle
man , Indeed , and upon questions of general
or public policy wo generally agree , but upon
this oucstion of prohibition wo do not , and as
I said of Mr , Kosowatcr , I used to agree with
him on that question when I knew less than I
know at the present tlrao. So , don't blatno
Governor Boles. I have had better oppor
tunities of knowing xVHi ( < Is going on in the
state of Iowa than ( Swtotnor Holes has
whether I do or not I leave it for othen to
Judge. ,
I Imx-fl not llmo to reply to this question ,
but I saw my friends ht ro lost evening use
tlio same argument th\t \ they used nt
Beatrice , that because the number
of government permits In Iowa had held
its own or Increased , It proved that
prohibition did not prohibit In Iowa , nnd I
want to say this , that that Is no argument
ment whatever , is no evidence whatever Uiat
prohibition does not prohibit in Iowa , be
cause I bellcvo there li not i.'O per cent of
the liquor consumed in Iowa that there was
even eight years ago. I know a railroad man
Informs mo that they flonot haul a car loait
of beer whew they did liaul a train load , and
that they do not bniila barrel of whisky
where they formerly hauled a car load.
I notlco Mr. Webster nndo n statement in
his Beatrice speech ! "Let mo toll you what
the results are , the papers show that In 1SSO
wcro consumed in Iowa malt liquors , 197.000
barrels. " Mind you , that was In ISStl. It ho
will consult the Brewers' Ilnnd-Boo'.c of this
year , and I presume the Brewers' Hand
book will bo good authority with him
and Mr. Hosewater [ laughter-for ] the
year beginning last April , ho will Ilnd
that the amount of beer consumed in Iowa
was only S'J.OOJ barrels. In Nebraska this
hand-book says that the people of Nebraska
consumed I'J'J/JltS ' barrel' . If you llguro that
up Intognllons , as \\Vbstcrdld atBoatrlce ,
or if you a llttlo further ntiu figure it up
t..frk il.il.ilr. go . T 111.1 If. Dlinil.d III < 1.a . 'PI , m.l
JIUU ilium : * , llliiu * u rtiiu > : > imu LUIT . IIIULU
is a barrel of beer divided among S3 persons
in Iowa during the year ; that would glvo
every person In the stale -J-i drinks of n half-
pint each for the year , or. in other words , it
would glvo him II pints during the year , or it
would give him for SS days a glass of beer
each d.iy , nnd tlio remainder of the year ho
would have to go thirsty.
In Nebraska it Is7 pints for the year. In
stead of having his drink only S3 days
in the year I have made this computa
tion for every fourth person , taking ; it for
granted that the women and children do not
take their drink every fourth person would
have his drink UOOdnysIn the year. So you
see they are a little better off in Nebraska
than in Iowa.
I Rive you these figures to show you that
the consumption ot liquor has decreased , and
thcro is no man of ordinary ability who can
visit the stale of Iowa and know what is
going on , but what will agree with mo.
I regret that this thing ever got Into poli
tics , but I say I believe tlr.it prohibition will
never bo repealed In Iowa. I can give you
the names of hundreds of farmers , business
men and merchants who voted against prohi
bition , just ni I did , because they
didn't believe It could bo enforced ,
nnd they nro now in favor of it , and I believe
if it was voted on today it would have n ma
jority of 70,000 , , and t know the people of that
state about as well ns anybody in it ; I meet
an acquaintance at every cross road.
I thank yon , ladies and gentlemen , and
have to apologize to you because I am not a
professional gentleman , and I want you. to
understand that I have boon busy at work on
my farm and my attention has been with
drawn from this question , and n year ago I
could have made better use of my tlmo than
I have.
.int. ie < isEi\iTtit'ti \ : .IMHIVJIKXT.
He K.vposcH the Failure oT I'rolilbltion
In Iowa nnil KiuiH.iH.
Mr. Kosewatcr spoke as follows !
Mr. Chairman , Ludlw and Gentlemen : I
desire to return my itliiccro thanks to Gov
ernor Lurnbco for tljo courteous and gentle
manly manner in which hohas presented his
side ot this ca < c. lie , Is the first prohibition
orator that I hnvo ever heard yet who has
not used vitrupution and abuse as the chief
staple or argument and 'certainly ho Is to bo
commended for that , for ! this Is an issue that
Is too grave and too Important to bo disposed
of like an ordinary campaign contest by per
sonal abuse , slander and misrepresentation ,
I will direct myself (6 ( teomo points the gov >
ernorhas made here , iniU the llrst ono 1 want
to call your attention to Is this : Governor
Larrabco says that in. ninety counties out of
the ninety-nine In tht ! state of Iowa the prohibition
'
hibition laws ) jiv6 , been just ns
well or. about. , as well enforced
any other laws 011 .tho criminal code of the
stnto of Iowa. I challenge his attention to
the great mistake that ho has made , and I
want you to carefully pay attention to what I
say. Thcro arc ) In the state of Iowa over
4,000 places or roorts authorized to sell
Intoxicating liquors under Uio laws of the
United States. Four thousand or moro of
these people have taken out permits , and I
take it that they are not paying a govern
ment tax for their own health. I assume
however , that 1,000 of these may bo charged
up to the original pnckajoor ; may bo charged
up to druggists who do a very small retail
liquor business , and there still remains 3,000
people wlw sell liquor in defiance- the stat
utes In tho03 counties of Iowa. Now , I do
not know much about the saloon business ,
but I assutno that it n saloon man
cannot make more than ten sales in any ouo
day of the year as tno year runs , no would
consider his business very poor. In other
words , the 3,000 liquor dealers ot the state of
Iowa are selling iiO.OJt ) drinks n day on tlio
average , or :5t,0K : ( ) bottles and drinks. Kow ,
then , I challenge the attention of Governor
Lnrrabco and of every prohibitionist within
my hearing , bccauso this assertion has been
made upon the rostrum and everywhere In
this state , that the prohibition laws are as
well enforced In prohibition states as ether
criminal laws , and \vant \ to know whether
if nny criminal law was violated
1(0,000 ( times each in the ! ) days
of tlio year whether there would
not bo a revolution in the state of Iowa , or in
nny other state in which crime should run
riot at such an unheard of rate. Just think
of 111 Suppose that ! ! 0,000 thefts were
committed in Iowa every day , suppose 30.0JO
forgeries should bo committed , 30,000
houses were dally set on lire , 80,000 persons
wcro murdered daily. Coula you conceive
nny such terrible lawlessness without abso
lute anarchy 1
If such a itato ot affairs should prevail
pcoplo would all bo up In arms. It is an
insult to common intelligence for anybody to
assert that the law prohibiting the sale of
* _ .
liquor is cniorccu JUSL uio samu asuia law
against theft , against perjury , against mur
der or against any other crime. In the city
of DosMoincs alone tbcro arc something like
seventy permits issued for the sale of liquor ,
nnd that means at least 700 violations every
twenty-four hours or 21.000 per week. I
hnvo hero the report of the city marshal of
UesMolnes , and while livery fully confirms
all the statements I have made that prohibi
tion docs not prohibit it does not show In any
sense of the word that the law is enforced or
oven sought to bo enforced. I intend to review
view this record ai we proceed but I will
omit it for the prwqnt because I want to
muko the question \yb.ether prohibition does
prohibit a specialty tdnlght.
I want to call ybur'attention , however ,
to another branch , Jntid that Is to the court
records , . i
It has been statcdhcro by Governor Larra
bco that I hnvo made , n .mlsstatcmcnt nt the
Beatrice debate concerning the aggregate ex
penses of the courU'of , the state of Iowa dur
ing the past two ye.trM The statomen 1.3 that
I made were copies froih the report of the
secretary of state , nnd'lf ' they are not correct
I am certainly not tA US'charged with misrep
resentation. I Imvo'tncm ' both bore , I aup-
pose the governor , as ; I understand it , does
not dispute what T 'Vjuoted ' for ISS'J , and
what I quoted for 1SSS is hero In this book ,
that It was only f or tteiu months.
Governor Larrnbcej- was for ten months
instead of twelve. , , „
Mr. Itosowator That Is , tint tlio footings
for 18S3 represented but ten monthsl
Governor Larr.ibco Yes , sir.
Mr. Ilosowater I quottd the figures
Just as they nro given hero , and
the report says for the years 18S11-7
on the outside of the cover , and I take It for
granted that the rejiorts nro correct.
Wo will take , for Instance , the finances of
Polk county alone. I was in the city of Des
rsiolnes a week ago today , and I have hero a
letter written by Mr. Loomls , the sheriff of
Tolk county , concerning tlio expenses of run
ning tlio courts intbnt county.
"Dis MOIXES , la. , Sept , 12,1S90. In answer
to your Inquiry , I have to say that the cost ot
criminal prosecutions in this county of Polk
aggregated In ISS'J ' about Stf.OOO. . The total
court costs of Folk county , us per auditor's
report , ( nnd which I have right horn with
mo ) , was f'Jiftl(1.02 ( , exclusive ol the
salaries of thrco Judges , $7.500. Of
the above amount cvcrvtlilng is
clmrgeablo to criminal preceduro except
part of the Jurors' ' pay and part of Judges' sal
aries. Inasmuch as the time of ono court
during each lerm Is occupied by criminal
business , It would bo fair to sny that one-
third of the cost of lurors and one-third of the
costof the salary of Judges Is properly charge
able to the sum of criminal costs. The cost
of Jurors for 1SSO Is , by the auditor's report ,
$ Mlr7.SO , , nnd ono-thlnl of this , fl.TDO in
round numbers , and$3 , " > OJ , the salary of ono
Jadgo , tnus making tfi'JOO , mny be. added to
the rcmiilndorof the court costs after deduct
ing the total cost of the jurors for the district
court , which le.ivcsas a total cost of criminal
procedure about S-sJ.COO. . Of this sum ) * , -
7 . .C9 is the cost of Justice nnd police courts
which , largo as it Is , is small as compared
with the llko expense for the current year.
For the llrst sk months , as shown by the
transcripts Hied in the auditor's ofllco and al
lowed , exceeded $30,003 , for the first half ot
the year. "
How , then , I want to call your attention to
tills fact that In the county of Polk , In the
stnto of lown , tbo court expenses for the year
ISSOwewfW.OJO , nnd the greater mrt of that
enormous sum was for the farcical attempt of
trying to enforce prohibition that will not
prohibit. Thirty thousand dollars have been
saddled upon the taxpayers of that county
already lor the lirst six months of this year
by the justices courts and audited mid cred
ited to the Justices who nuke a special busi
ness of arresting : a bottle of beer for $ .1 and
charging$10 or $ lfi for convicting n bottle of
beer. ( Applause. ]
Xow , then , In the county ot Douglas , n
county that has n population of ono hundred
anil fifty odd thousand ortwicothopopulatlon
of Polk county , Iowa , and In wlilch Is
li.i it i l flin ( i li-l fi1ttt * i1 l\tr t\i * < t1i \ hlMnti ni * 1 _
jkttLV VL wiinnjiij IMUIIIVTII "J j'luii IUIMVSII uvfc-
DM as the wickedest city on e.irtli , the last
ear court axpenscs wcro less than S'AOOJ
nd the police court and Justice court ex-
Censes In our city nro less than $5,9JJ n your ,
gainst fW,00. ) for half of the ye.nin the
Ity of Des Molncs [ applause ! nnd in the
ounty of Lancaster ntul city of Lincoln ,
vhlc'h hns ubout the same population as Uej
lolncs , their court expenses have been
: n,000 as compared to S'.U'.OOO for the county
f 1'olk.
Lot ino call vouv attention to the fact that
lotwlthstandfng Governor Larr.ibeo's own
icr.soii.il belief nnd I credit him with great
.incerity . I believe ho 1110.1114 well 1 be-
levo ho tried his level best to otiforce prohl-
> ltlon in Iowa , nnd I bcllevo really and sin-
! crely considers Ha fact that prohibition has
Increased crime in lown. and that It has do-
rc.ised Insanity , that it lias done away with
, ho drink tr.ifllc. IIo believes that , butUov-
srnor Larrabce , llko a great many of tlio poo-
ilo who arc Infatuated with this ono idea , islet
lot in the habit of InvoUlg.Umg and llndlnq
> ut for Miiisclf whit the o facts aro. It is
cry much llko tbo "Volco" whun I sent
.hose reporters to the state of Iowaand ; I
.0 sny right here , ono of them was
: ho city editor of Tin ; Hic and the
jther was the sporting editor of Tin :
Dni : , nnd not two tramps , as they llr.it
charged , 1 did not Justify either of them , if
.hey represented themselves as reporters for
Dthcr papers. But in any event they were
simply thcro to Ilnd out tbo truth
and the whole truth ; but the Voice
wanted to know why I had sent out
thosportlngcdltorof Tin : Bci ; nnd not tlio
wliglous editor. Well , would anybody ex
pect mo to send to the bishop of the Metho
dist church over In Iowa to find out how many
saloons nro doing Illegal business and how
many Joints nnd "spsik casys" there are !
[ Applause. J I supposed I would have to send
homebody that knows how to find tbesn
places and knows how to investigate their
operations. And their reports were true in
all cjseiitiiil particular ! . It Is also trno that
in the state of Iowa tod.iy there are fewer
Jails empty and a great ininy moro prison
ers in tlio county Jails and in the penitentiary
pro rata than thcro aw in the state of Ne
braska. I have the icports hero of 97 of the
90 sheriffs of Iowa and in these counties
tbero are 3'J7 prisoners in jail nnd TUS per
sons are now In the two penitentiaries of
Iowa , against iJSS wowons In the penitentiary
in Nebraska , and 137 In the J.ills of Nebraska
In the state of Kansas , wlicro tboy boast so
much about the enforcement of prohibitory
legislation having reduced crime , they have
got 005 persons in the penitentiary and fiVi
In the county Jails , with 11 counties not re
ported , which swell their prison population to
over 1,450 , against 525 for Nebraska. And ot
the empty Jails that we aavo heard so much
abou ttlie state of Iowa hnvo thirty-six , the
state of Nebraska forty-six mid the state of
Kansas only about seventeen. The number
of criminal convictions in the stnto of Iowa In
1883 was 13.
Governor Larrabco la ten months.
Well , the number in 1SSO was 1,105 ; the
number sentenced to county Jails was 127 in
18S3 nnil 1 i in ISS'J. It may have been ten
months , but that would be so many more If it
was twelve months. [ Applause. ] There
wcro sent to tlio penitentiary of Iowa in ten
months nnd wo will take the governor at
his word in ten months in 1SS8 , 11K5 ; in
t\i \ elvo months in 1SSO , 313. That does not
show that crime is on the decrease very
much.
Now , hero I have n llttlo article that ap
peared in the Lincoln Call , which has been
recently conducted by a gentleman who is
not u gen tlcman. [ .Laughter. ] And ho calls
my personal attention to the fact that ho lias
opened a ledger account with high license
versus whisky. Now , wo will see how high
license nnd regulated whisky stands against
prohibition nnd frco whisky. Ho says that
the whisky ledger has opened an account for
1SOD for Lancaster county and on the
debit side are the following accounts : Court
paid attorneys
Jail expenses ,
'oputy.S 5,103 ;
. . . . . . . . . . .to maintain
city police , $18,000 ; lines and costs of court
( ho has added that , which has no place In
there ) , S7,017.SO : total , sTI)73.yO. )
Now , ho says from Elder Howe ( It takes nn
elder to know more about these mat tors ) , and
from others ho learns that from 70 to SO per
cent of all the crime , pauperism , etc. , is the
direct product of the saloon. IIo says , then ,
therefore , 73 per cent of this amount of the
court costs was $40,433.77. Then ho says :
"In bearing her proportion of expenses of
state institutions in ratio to population to
that of tbo state a debit will bo taxed up to
Lancaster county as follows : Reclaiming
fugitives , $750 ; maintaining the puniton-
tiary , $3,5259 : homo for tbo friendless , SIM ;
industrial homo , $1,107 ; reform school ,
$ JyOyr , ( > ; totalflO.UIO.GS. Seventy-livelier
cent of this added to the other makes
$10,433.77 , which makes a total of $13-liS ! on
tlio debit side of the ledger. Lincoln gets
{ ysj.OOO from her liquor dealers' license. Take
tlio credit from the debit and the balance is
$10,4GS against high license. Now , let us see
how the prohibition and free whisky runs
versus high license nnd regulation. In I'olli
county , ao\vn \ , wiucii uas not , quite as largo n
population , by the way , as Lancaster , wo
liavc ! Court expenses , $50,577.83 ; grand
jury , ) , ! ) )9.70 ; Justices and police courts ,
$ : J7,755. < > ' .1 ; the poor and poor farm ,
WS.'OO.TO ; the city police , $31,500 , , a total of
jl49.M53.or > on tbo debt side and not a Qollar
on the credit side [ applause ! . Not a single
penny received from licences nud four times
as much tax for criminal prosecution , Police
expenses of Dos .Molncs , $ : M,500 , ; Lincoln ,
Stb.OOO. The county of Polk In the state of
Iowa Is saddled with * U9,5(13 ( , and not a dollar
lar revenue. 1 wouhllike | to see whether frco
whisky h better than regulated whlskv and
mark you , I have not added nny costs for the
state of Iowa for their maintenance for the
homo for the friendless , for their reform
school or any other Institution , I have simply
taken the record of the sheriff of that county
and the record of that poliea court , and If I
have not demonstrated pretty effectively that
prohibition is a very expensive luxury I want
to leave the field and let the governor have
his own way. The governor says this is not
a question of material welfare , it is a ques
tion of inorais , and I say so too , and If 1 can
not demonstrate nnd will not demonstrate to
night when I get to this question that prohi
bition does not prohibit , that there Is greater
immorality bred , and moro immorality caused
by the prohibition cities In the states'of Iowa
and Kansas than thcro is by the high license
system in the state of Nebraska , then I will
yield up the Held.
.Now , wo huvo been told that insanity and
pauperism nro materially decreased in pro
hibitory states. The statistics of the asylums
of the country uo not support that view. I
have reports from every Insane asylum super
intendent in America but two , and 1 have ex
amined them carefully. They have all been
gotten out within the last sixty days , nnd I
lind that out of every thousand people In tlio
United States about ono person Is Insane.
That Is the ratio. Now , In the
stnto of Iowa the reports show a fraction over
l.TOO persons In her Insane asylums , while In
tlio state of Nebraska there nro something
llkoOSO , and I was disposed to bcllevo that
statement until I went over to DCS Mollies
last week ; but after I had Interviewed the
sheriff and interviewed Governor Doles nnd
other state officc-ra I came to the conclusion
that wo have not credited up insanity suf-
llclcutly In the Htnto of Iowa. I found that
4-1 Insane persons were kept upon the I'olk
county pool-farm , and Governor Bolos tells mo
that thosnpcrintcndcntsof tno various insane
osyluma , after making pro ) > cr Inquiries at to
the number of insane , jlud that tuero arc
from 1,000 to 1,100 , Insane persons kept by
the Different counties nt homo nnd not pro
vided for In the asylums of Iowa , so Unit In
tlio sin to of Iowa there nMovcrH.ODJInsnno
people and supposing that town hud double
the population of Nebraska , which she lias
not. sha would have onlv 1W.J , ! Insane Instead
of aWO nttho ratio ot Nebraska , so tint they
have mow thnn two insane persons In Iowi\
to our ono In this state in r.itlo to population ,
and I say this with full knowledge tint the
different counties incur state have scarcely
any Insane persons to take c.iro ot. 'J'ho
stnto of Nebraska has nil lusuuo Institution
for Ineimblo insane nt Hiutlngsnndhas two
hospitals tor insane , one nt Norfolk nnd ouo
at Lincoln , and thojo Institutions nro nmpto
for all the insane that make application ,
whllo the Institutions of towa are full nnd
overflowing and the different counties nit )
compelled to take c.iro of them , And what
Is true of Iowa Is equally true of Kansas.
1 was In Iicavonwortii only last Mon
day , and 1 found that they have
two pnvnto asylums in the city ot
IjO.ivonworth , nnd that they nro tailing c.uo
of something llko aMnsntio pcwons In thee
asylums Imlenmdontentirely ot state insti
tution * , nul : there nro fully two Ins.ino per
sons pro r\tn : In the state ot ICnnsivt to whore
thcro Is onu In the state ot NobraslM. Ida
not know why It Is , but from my examination
of the records 1 am hitprossoct with Um fact
that in these states that have adopted pro
hibition and sought to niiintaln It tnero Is n
higher per cent of Insiiultv than It the stntc.s
that tire running under nigh license. [ Ap
plause. ] I do not know what Uio reason is ,
xv-hi'MiiM' l.lioriN m-ti mnr.l iMMnli ilinvii thnn
there aw here or whether iT.inUisin , which U
on the border land of Insanity , ilinilly geU
them over tbo line. [ Applause. ] The fuels
1110 there , and that is siiillelcMit for us. Wo
are simply trying to ilnd out whether pro
hibition has bettered the I'OtUltion of the
people , whether It has dowased crime ,
whether It lias decreased Insanity , whether it
has dui're.ised pauperism , and I litu-c not yet
found many of the states of the weal or in
any of the prohibition states ot tlio east , for
they are not numerous , any Instance that
would convince nny r.itloird person willing to
glvo it a careful and candid comldi-ratlou
that they hnvo ulTMod the ivfomis tlr.it tlioy
claim to have mado. Anil so long as they
cannot effect them , why do they w.wt us to
change wlion wo nro doini ? well enough as wo
are now ! Thay talk of empty Jails. Wo
have got , moro empty Jails than they have.
They talk of the prosperous people.Vo are
certainly moro paosperous than they nro.
Now , wo have been told by ( Sovernor
Lirr.ibo3 : that Des Moincs for one city Is
very prosperous ; and the other dny I
noticed in the New York VoicM a let
ter from the mayor of Oes Molncs
IMayorCampbell who tcok It upon himiolf
to contrail lot a statement that was made at
the Beatrice debate that tbo I'ltle.i of loivn ,
with ono exception , and that h Sioux City ,
were running down and tuul gone down , ana
ho made his statement over his own name
that bo did not know of a single store-room In
the business portion of tbo city ol DCS Mollies
that was now for rent. U'oll , I went over to
Ics Molnoa and it wns raining , last I'Milny.
Iliad toKQ around with nn umbrella , and I
went only on the main streets , within a few
blocks of the poslofhYe , and within reach of
the opera house , mid 1 tooit down tlio num
bers of the different stores for rent and I
found twenty-three brick stores for rent ,
'
some of them' very Inriro storea , and iitnonir
them whole blocks. I went Inio one of them ,
and the owner appeared very anxious indeed
to get somubo.ly to rout his building , and of
fered mo his three-story an I u b.iscment
building 120x111) ) feet , 1 lullisvf , or in : , for
$2,10Jnycur. So , then , 1 think 1 have been
nblo to pretty thoroughly contradict the
honorable mayor of IDcs Molnus , nnd l wont
over there to bis olllea to tell him th.it . ho was
a prevaricator , but 1 did not find him. [ Ap
plause , ] I can give you the numbers of those
houses If you wish , governor.
I hnvo not jjivcn these counties , perhaps ,
exactly , and 1 will repo.it that so as to nnko
sura I make no mistake , that in Knnsus out
of 109 countioj all but cloven have reported ,
nnd six of these h.ivo no jails and sixteen
have no prisoners. In the 7t ) coutitie > that
have prisoners In Jail thcro nro fWii prisoners
now conllne.l. In Nebraska , In S3 counties
fiare without Jails , 415 have nobody In Jail , and
the 37 counties that have prisoners in jail re
ported 137 inmates in Jail , or about thero.
These are official and can bo rolled upon ,
Now , it lias boon said that in Das Moincs
property has not depreciated , nnd everything
Is in a very prosperous condition. Mr. Frank
Uoislcy , tho'lmUdcr of the Savory house , and
ono of the leading citizens of Des iMolnes , told
mo that in 1SS5 the ground where the Sivcry
house stands now was offered to a syndicate ,
of which J. S. Clarkson was a member , on n
basis of $ JTOUO for 13'2 sqnnro feet , one block
from the editor of the city. Tod.iy tlio prop
erty located on any two corners oppotitu tlio
new Savory house , which is us llaoa hotel as
there Is in Nebraska , If not better , which
should have doubled in value under ordinary
circumstances , cannot get a purchaser. Mr.
Hel-sleysaid be had an option for one-half that
sl/.od ground hist year ut § 10,000 , conditioned
on the repeal of the law , andnowvou cannot
soil at any price. Kents have depreciated
since 1SS5 ntloustiVi per cent. "
i Conrad Youngermaii , iv citizen ot Dos
Moincs , says that ho owned lot 8 , block ll ! ,
original plat , on Fifth and Locust street ,
southwest corner , since 1SS3 , six stores
and ofilcos above , for which in
18S3 ho was offered $55,0)0 ) , nnd it then
rented for 8V-JOJ a year : but now ho
rents that property forSJ.SOJn year , and all
his property , ho says , in DO.I .Molne.s , bus
gone down in the same proportion. And hero
this morning I have been handed a piece of
Information th-it I will read i "Tho Ifentze-
Ilintz piano company at Des Molnci , employ
ing 100 skilled workmen , has publish * ! its
intention to remove to Chicago 0:1 : January 1.
Ono ot thn principal reasons assigns. ! \ > 'l the
proprietors for the change is that tiny nro
unable to injure high-skilled German piano-
makcr.s ta live in Doa Moines on account of
prohibition ,
"Tho CJiluort starch company , the largest
In the state , was burned in Dos Moinoi in
April , Buforo the llro the owners
had decided to move from Iowa ,
as tboy found it difficult 1o
sell their goods to dealers in other states who
had declared n boycotngainst tho.n ,
"Congressman John II. Gear of Uurllngton ,
an ex-governor of Iowa , has removed his Iron
rolling mills fgom Burlington , la. , to Youngstown -
town , O. Lack of patronage on ncoount'of
prohibition and trouble In getting skilled men
to invest In homes in Burlington Is assigned
as the cause.
"I think I have demonstrated it and it Is
not necessary to demonstrate further that in
the best city of low.i property valuo.s have
uecrcaseu aim rents nave decreased , r arm
values have also decreased in inaav sections
of Iowa.
' 'How is the state of Kansas ! In every
city of Kansas without exception , nil along
the line , there has been a terriolo deprecia
tion of property values. In all the smaller
towns , us well as in the larger ones , brick
blocks and stores stand vacant nnd property
can bo rented nta very greatly reduced price.
I was in Topeka last Monday nnd Tuesday
and 1 mndo special inquiry. It has been said
hero that the state of Kansas is prosperous
and Mr. Dradford lias said to you last night
that Topckn is one of tno most prosperous ot
cities. I walked up nnd down the principal
thoroughfare of that city and I have In my
pocket the numbers of twenty-two store
rooms for rent on Kansas nvonuo aud thcro
were a number of store rooiis occupied that I
huvo not counted , bccauso they were tempo
rarily taken by parties during the state fair.
"Kansas Is tlio
uvenuo princi
pal business street la Topeka nnd
I innulrod "f a druggist who-o Htoro wns
located opposite the postofllco , which Is ic-
gnrdcd the best corner in town , and i found
that the highest rental there was $1,500 a
year. In the block adjoining , next ton largo
banking house , a store 1& ) foot deep ami 'JO
feet front , was rented for $100 amontli and is
now offered for $ .10. Further uown on Kan
sas nvcuuo tbero Is a two-story brick build
ing and both thostoTOuml the upper stories
are renting for$15 a mouth. Now , I want to
know whether a great and prosperous city ,
tlio capital of the state , that can inako no
better exhibit Is really as prosperous as tlio
cities of Nebraska I I asked a man hero today
In Grand Island nnu was told that ono of
your unimproved corner lots , 41 feet front ,
had sold for J,000. I venture to say that Is
moro than thrco times us much as any 44 fret
will sell for in Toneka or Des Moines. Not ti
foot In DCS Molnos sells for $100 , uiul In
Topeka for a great deal less. I was told In
Topeka you could not sell nny property fct
this tlmoVo hnvo demonstrated then "that
so far ns material welfare is concerned , and
material prosperity , the western atntis
that have adopted prohibition cannot
stand a comparison with Nebraska.
Now why should wo change i iby shou Id wo
incorporate into our constitution n provision
that the people of Iowa will repeal undoubt
edly , in my opinion , If they only get a fair
chance.
Why did notthey submit It in Iowa if they
were not afraid ! Why didn't they attempt
it If they expected to got 75,000 majority for
keeping up rrohlbltloul Why haven't they
rosubmlttod It in ltnnsa < l Simply bccausi
they dare not Rtibmlc it , The fact Is It has
becoinon political Issno , ns Governor I nrnu
bee sny * , and It is uiifortuhnto that it hn.i ,
The truth ot the matter Is that In Kninas
anil Iowa the repiibHc.ius have commitoil
the party to prohibition aud ttioy nro llko
the man who tukos hold of the okvtrlenl
shocking machlno-ho c.iu neither let go nor
hold on , They would like to lot It go very
much , but they fear It would bo detrimental
to party sucwss. The republicans of Ne
braska have wisely fought shy of It and lefft
this matter to the decision of the people o"-
the state. They h.ivo not mide It a cardinal
principle of the p.irty , ns It never lint bjou
and never ought to bo. It is no doctrine of
the republican p.irty nnd In Kansas they
will discover this your hoforu the fourth
of November Is over that they have made n
great blunder. Wo have to meet tUU Issue
on the 4th of November , and 1 fcol very
conlUlent that the people of ihl * stito will not
load themselves down with n policy which
bM failed to benefit the. p-soplo of other
states , which has been tried , and thoroughly
tried , In the New Knglatul state * , whew cer
tainly It had n fair und Itnpirtinl trial , and
which has had no success there , has been re
pealed In Ithodo Island , repealed Inlassn \ <
clmsGtK nnd will be vciwUe.1 In Vermont if
they get a chance , for Vermont , for tlio llrst
time In nor history , elected sixty odd demo
cratic member * to the legislature this year ,
for Uio reason that they are tired of tlio pro
hibition fareo. Now t will glvo way to
othi'r gentlemen nnd let thoin go on with tlii
discussion. [ Greatapplause. ]
Omaha Manufacturers ,
HootM and KhocM.
, JONES A CO , ,
Wholesale Manufacturers of Boots & Shoes
Ascntsfor HoMon liubber Stioo Co. , 1107,1101 ami 1104
llimu'y Street , Omnlui , Nvb.
Ill-otter * * .
STOUZ VILER ,
Lagtr Deer Urcwcrs ,
1531 Ncrlh Itth Street , Onitihn , Net ) .
Cornice ,
EAGLE COHNICK WOHICS ,
Manufacturers ol Galvanized Iron Cornice
Window mi" iiiul tnplnllruk ) tiuliK John ICprnctcr ,
proprietor. 103 nncl 110 South lUlh Mi rot.
Artists' Materials.
'
"A. irbsPE , Jr. ,
Artists' Materials , I'ianos ' and Organs
1M3 DOUB'.UI Street , Onmha , Nob.
Conl , Cok ; , Kto.
OMAHA COAL , COKE AND LIMK CO. ,
Jobbers of Hard and Soft Coal ,
fl. It. Cor. IClll nnil l.ucln : StrpoM nTn ' i Voh.
DEA-N , AUMal'KONQ & CO. ,
Wholesale Cigars ,
. ' ' . . .
JN. ICthSlri'Cl. llcllor'll..n.
Dry ( jdiiils niul Notions.
M. E. SMITH fc CO. ,
Dry Goods , Furnishing Goods and Notions
Corner llth nnil Howard Strccti.
KtLPATKICrc-KOCII DRY GOODS CO. ,
Importers and Jobbers in Dry ( ioods ,
QetitiTuinlililnsCiOotls. Corner lllii nnil llnrnor
mri'vts , Omiilin , Nob.
! 'urn It nro.
DEVVEY & STONE ,
Wholesale Dealers in Furniture ,
J'nrnnm Street , Omnhn , Nebraska.
CHAHLES SHIVEIUCK ,
Furniture.
Omnlia. Nubrnsha.
Groceries.
UoCORD , HUADY & CO- ,
Wholesale Grocers ,
oth and Loavcnvortli Streets , Omnlm , Ncbrnnks
Lumber , I0to.
O. "W. DOUGLAS fe CO. ,
Dealers in Hardwood Lumber ,
Yard 1.110 N. tflth St. . Omaha.
JOHN A. WA.KEFIEM ) ,
Wholesale Lumber , lite. , Etc.
Imported ind American Portland ( Joinout. Stale-
wont ( or illlivmikc'u Ilydrnnllu Commit , and
Qulncy WMtoUiiio.
CIIAS. R. LEE ,
Dealer in Hardwood Lumber ,
Wood carpets nnrt parquet Mooring. Dth andnouh4-
tjtroiHs , Onmlm ,
FRED Vf. GREY.
Lumber , Lime , Cement , Etc. , Etc.
Corner Oth nnd DoiiRlns Streets , Oniahn.
Millinery and Notions.
I. OBERFELDER & CO. ,
Importers and Jobbers in Millinery ,
203 , 210 and 212 South II tli street.
IS'otloim ;
.T. T. ROBINSON MOTION CO. ,
Wholesale Notions and Furnishing Goods ,
112J linrne ? street , Oimhiv.
Oils.
CONSOLIDATED TANK LINE CO. ,
Wholesale Mined and Lubricating Oii\
Asia sreane , etc. , Oraalm. A , II. Illshop , Malinger.
CARPENTER PAFKH CO. ,
Wholesale Paper Dealers.
Carry a nle stock of | > rlntliiit , irrni > i > lnx nnd wrltlnj
paper , Special ntlcutluii slven to card paper.
SnfcH , Rtc.
JL L. DEANE to. CO. ,
General ARCDU ror
Halls' Safes ,
toanil 323 Soiilli Hill St. , Omrth * .
ToyH , Ktc. ,
H. HARDY te CO. ,
Jobkoriof
Dolls Albums Fancy Goods
Toys , , , ,
Ilouou I'urnlsliliic Goods , Chlllrcn' Carriages. 1209
Knrimu itrcct. UoiitUa. Nob.
Water HuppUm.
U. 8. WIND ENGINE & PUMP CO. ,
Steam aud Water Supplies ,
HalUdajr wind nilllt. 018 and X 0 Jones it. , Oanlia.
U. ! ' . Hun , ActliiK Mnnaiiur.
Iron \YorkN ,
PAXTON 4 : VIEIILINQ IRON WORKS ,
Wrought and Cast Iron Building WorK ,
ss work , ucnnrnl foundry , maclilnoauijl
LlackspiHli work Ollltotind iviirk , U. I * . J
III. and IHIi uticut , Oumha.
OMAHA SAKE Ac IRON WORKS ,
Mant'rs ot Fire and Burglar Proof Safcsj
Vaulti. Jail work , Iron nhulten and tire enrnpo * .
U. Audrocn.ptup'r , Cur. Uth 'flilJnckion gti.
, UoorH , Kto.
M. A. DI811HOW It CO. ,
Wholesale niunufncturora ot
Sash , Doors , Blinds and Mouldings ,
Branch onk , Utli nd lurd eltofti , OmnlinNot
So t-ttti O in a.li au
UNION STOCK YARDS CO. ,
Of South Omaha. Limited ,
Dvi.r-nr. Ix-ilno'i rcrlwllrol | > | II *
tlui ITcncli rcmody , net on the inonitrnnl nyiitoin und
cure uppruulon Iruni w In to v or came , 1'romot *
BienMnmtlon. ' 1'liufu ulll * ilioiild not b taken dor
nn pri'gnarii'y. Am. I'lll CD. , Hornlty I'rni , * . , Hpea
err , Clnr Co. , la. ( ; cnulnu br Hliorinun 4 McCoiiuelL
t , aearl . O.Oiiiithu : U. A. .Melcliur , Houtjl
M. 1' . lillu , Couucll U uiti. ti , < u 4 lor i.