OCR Text |
Show WHERE THE MONEY ' GOES WHERE IT SHOULDuGO. We are at a loss to understand how any person engaged In any business except the liquor business or In the keeping of a gambling house or a brothel, can reach tho conclusion that his or her business Is benefited by having fifty or more saloons In thB city where at least three thousand five hundred dollars are spent every day in the week, except Sunday, for liquors. li-quors. We hear merchants say that this or that saloonkeeper is one of their best customers But why Is he a good customer? Because he is daily receiving over the bar largo sums of money that should go directly to the grocer, the butcher, the clothier, or the dry goods merchant, instead of passing through his hands. Perhaps fifty men are spending ten dollars per month of their earnings In a saloon, which would aggregate five hundred dollars. The saloonkeeper may spend ten per cent, of this with tho grocer, but If the sums spent by these fifty men In the saloon wore not 'so spent, half or all of this five hundred dollars would doubtless be spent with tho grocer or other merchants mer-chants In other words, while tho sa- 'loonkoeper may- spnd fifty dollars of ' tho flvo hundied dollars received from 1 fifty men If this money were not B spent In tho-iIoou two hundrod fifty B dollars, if not tall orMt, would noloubt I be spent for grocorles or other nee- essaries for their families. Tho mer- H chant might not have any ono custo- I mer from whom he would receive so I large a sum; but lie w'onld have fifty I customers 'Trom wnlch ho would tp jj ceivo much moro in the aggregate ;D than hnr flails from the saloonkeeper -J A merchant in this city a few days ago cited two instances which had I iccently occurred, Illustrating that sa j Icons aro a detriment to othor busl jj noss houses in one Instance a man camo to the ,stp'ro and In courso of J conversation with tho merchant stnt- J ed that there were a good many things ho would like to-buy, but that ho had met with too many friends In a saloon sa-loon tho ovenlng before and had spont about all of his money. Ho bought only seventy-five cents worth of goods from this merchant. Another man and his wife camo Into the storo to get, among othor things, a suit of clothes for ono of their little boys. The man thought he could not afford, to pay twp fifty for the suit, but he went across tho street to a saloon sa-loon and remained thero nearly all the afternoon while his wife waited for him In tho 'store Needless to say, the boy did not get. the suit, but the saloonkeeper got tho father's money for whisky Instead of tho merchant mer-chant getting it for clothing for tho family. ' No doubt scores of such Instances occur dally In this city. How, then can sensible business mon oto in favor fa-vor of saloons. |