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Show H A Communication, H Lhl, Dee. 19, 1898. H Kdltor IUnnku; Dear Bin I see In H your Issue ot tlio 17th, that there will H bo about 1600 In tlio city treasury on H January 1, 1809. This Is n vory sront H eurprlse to mo an I certainly expected H from what my friends have been telling H mo tlie past year tliat wo were running H in debt and It would ho impossible to H keop going without the revunuo Hint we H had been receiving (rum tlio liquor H tellers, but It really levniN it is possible H to run the city und not only not go in H debt but pay otrdebts contracted in the B tlnjo of whisky selling and save n little H (or u rainy day or to light those who will H persist in breaking thu city's good laws H und corrupting, the morals o our boys. H What excuse lllv now oiler for non- H prohibition? Thanking you buforo hand H (or your kindles, in publishing this I H remain, yours truly, H An Aiistai.nkk. M In regard to the item referred m to in the above communication, H we would like to say that the mM statement concerning the city's M finance was based on figures from H the monthly repot t fur November 8 aid statements made by some, of H the city officials. Subsequent H development show that a number H of bills to be paid the current H irionth materially reduces this. H However this maybe, 'the point H we wish to make is this : that the H item vw published simply as a H matter of news, and with no idea of H stirring up the people on a que;. H tion which was foreign to our H thoughts nt the time. Since the H appearance q( the item we have H been offered a large number ot H communications, most of them H very radically pro or anti-pro- H hibltian. From the number we H produce the above us voicing the H sentiment of one side in a less H emphatic nnd more readable man- H ner simply as an introduction to H what we wish to say in regard to H this discussion of prohibition, pro H and con, We cannot devote our H space to a long series of articles K on this subject. Those who Hr wished prohibition have it and, if H they are satisfied, the anti-prohi- H bitionists must bide their time un- V til time and opportunity may happen to place the power in their hands. Ve cannot take up this fight for cither side, and wish to keep our columns free from dis. etission of it. This does not apply ap-ply particularly to the writer ol the above but is a general answer to n number of our subscriber who have been trying to force w into this fight. When the question of prohibition comes up us a moral question an independent paper can afford to take a position in discussing dis-cussing the question but when, as in this case, it is made a political issue we cannot consistently take sides as wc do not wish to be-cpme be-cpme identified in a newspaper capacity with either party. In regard to the city finances we can only say that their true status can be determined only at the end of the year when the Treasurer report is filed and published, as it undoubtedly will be, us the people seem to uuanitnously wih it r.nd tbe city officers should 'have it done for their own benefit. |