1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



703 



ers still think he had it just about right. 

 Now, a man who attends to his work prompt- 

 ly may do what he pleases — that is, within 

 the bounds of reason — out of working hours; 

 but, other things being equal, we shall give 

 the preference to the man who does not fre- 

 quent saloons. This is only business common 

 sense. Another thing: In discussing what 

 hands we shall keep and which ones we shall 

 let go, we often give the preference to the 

 boys who are having hard work to get 

 mone}- to gain an education; and such a boy 

 never frequents saloons; and I do not think 

 he ever votes for open saloons. I tell you, 

 friends, there is a vast difference between the 

 boy who is working hard to get through col- 

 lege, and the one who proposes to use his 

 earnings for beer and tobacco. 



THE MEN IN THE ANTI-SALOON LEAGUE. 



Perhaps not all of you are aware that I am 

 one of the directors of the Ohio Anti-saloon 

 League. The motto of this League is, "The 

 Saloon Must Go." I have spent not only a 

 considerable amount of time but comparative- 

 ly large sums of money in supporting the 

 Ohio Anti-saloon League, and I have rejoiced 

 in the opportunity it gave me of meeting with 

 the very best and most intelligent educated 

 men and women in Ohio. By the way, boys, 

 what kind of people do you suppose I meet in 

 the Anti-saloon League ? Well, we have our 

 foremost and best ministers of the gospel, from 

 all denominations. Then we have our college 

 professors, the best and brightest in the State. 

 We have among our number, in fact, the men 

 who compile the school text-books that the 

 children of the United States are now study- 

 ing. We have men who are giving their lives 

 that our Ohio boys may grow up pure and 

 good, and honest and true. 



Now, there is another league in Ohio. This 

 league has more men and more money than 

 we have.* It is the Ohio Liquor League. 

 The purpose of its members is to build up the 

 trade in intoxicating liquors ; to get open sa- 

 loons into every city, village, town, and four 

 corners, if they can, in our State. What sort 

 of men do you suppose meet together in this 

 league? Any college professors? any minis- 

 ters of the gospel ? any who love righteous- 

 ness and hate iniquity ? Not one, I fear. 



IS IT TRUE THAT MORE LIQUOR IS NOW SOLD 

 IN THE TOWN OF MEDINA THAN WHEN 

 WE HAD OPEN SALOONS? 

 Some say there has been more liquor sold in 

 Medina during the past twelve years than in 

 the same period when we had open saloons. I 

 have wondered sometimes whether an^'body 

 believed this, even when he said it. I am not 

 around town very much, but I have frequent- 

 ly heard strangers complain bitterly because 

 they could not get a drink anywhere here for 

 either love or money. The man who was sent 

 here to put up our big press declared he had 

 gone all over town, tried his best to get inside 

 of " the ring," but could not get a drop. He 

 finally sent out into the country and got a jug 



* But God and right are on our side, and so we do not 

 fear. 



of home-made wine ; and before I knew it he 

 was passing it around among our boys until 

 I stopped it. Perhaps I had better tell you a 

 little more. 



Our Anti-saloon League sent a detective to 

 Medina, and he spent two or three days trying 

 in vain to get a drink. I heard him say he 

 thought Medina people ought to be pretty well 

 satisfied with the pressure they had brought 

 to bear on the liquor-trade. He mentioned 

 other towns all around us, some of them dry, 

 where he got as many drinks as he could pay 

 for, without any trouble whatever. Now, does 

 any one believe it is true that no good what- 

 ever has been done in our town by not only 

 keeping down all signs, but making liquor- 

 venders work with such extreme caution ? 



WHY THIS CL-AMOR FOR OPEN SALOONS? 



Right here comes in another point, and 

 please do not try to dodge it, dear friends : 

 Not a word (at least to my knowledge) was 

 said about an open saloon until our Ohio 

 League, with the hearty co-operation of the 

 town officials, had got two of our liquor-men 

 into a corner. Now, wh}^ should all of this 

 sudden clamor for an open saloon start up at 

 just the very time we had succeeded, after 

 months of hard work and lots of expense, in 

 getting these fellows into this fix ? The prin- 

 cipal excuse I have heard offered, by those 

 who vote for an open saloon, is that it would 

 be better, "in the present state of affairs." 

 Why, what do you mean, friends? The pres- 

 ent state of affairs is tiptop. Any one who is 

 really "temperance" at heart should swing 

 his hat, for it looks as though we were going 

 to have the banner town of the State, so far as 

 suppressing intemperance is concerned. 



SALOON-TAX MONEY AND PAVED STREETS. 



Another argument (and a good many con- 

 sider it the strongest one) is that a saloon 

 would pay quite a little money to the town, 

 that we could have for improvements. Some- 

 body said in my hearing, the liquor business 

 of Medina would give the town $1000 every 

 year, for paving streets, electric lights, etc. 

 If we had enough saloons here, and they all 

 paid the tax, perhaps it would. Here are the 

 actual facts : An open saloon would be com- 

 pelled to pay every year $,'>50 Dow tax, and 

 not one cent more. One-half of this amount 

 would go to the municipalit}', and the bal- 

 ance to the State and county. I doubt very 

 much whether more than one saloon could 

 pay this tax. We should, therefore, as a vil- 

 lage, get as the price for an open saloon not 

 more than §17.5* a year. This would be more 

 than offset by added crime, poverty, and bad 

 debts to the business man, because the money 

 has been paid to the saloon. At Bellefontaine, 

 Ohio, crime increased 60 per cent within six 

 months after the saloons returned, according 

 to the mayor's statement, and that is about 

 the way it runs in other towns. 



" SPEAK-EASIES " IN MEDINA, AND THE SA- 

 LOONS IN WADSWORTH. 



Here is another thing- to consider: If Medi- 



* I would rather pay this amount myself than to 

 have an open saloon. 



