Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, November 3, 1916, Page 7

THE BEE: OMAHA, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1916 : POLITICAL _ADVERTISEMENT, If You Wish To See The Workings Of - Prohibition—Look Out Your Back | | Door—Council Bluffs yVhy Go To Denver, Portland, Seattle and Those Far-Away Cities When We Have a Good Example Just Across the River ‘ 0 YOU see the people of Omaha rushing to Council Bluffs to do their shopping because it has adopted prohibition? No; but you can come to the down-town streets of Omaha and you will notice that five out of every ten automobiles that are parked bear an Iowa license tag. On the other hand, do you see the Nebraska cars parked in Council Bluffs, like the Iowa cars are parked in Omaha? Think it over. ls " The owners of these machines come here to shop. You will not see their faces again if Omaha adopts prohibition. Think it over. If prohibition works such wonders that the prohibitionists claim for it, why is it that the merchants of Council Bluffs and the nearby cities in lowa are so anxious that Omaha and Nebraska adopt state-wide prohibition? Can it be that they see their trade slipping from them? The merchants of Omaha are now enjoying the trade that the Iowa merchants formerly had.bef ore adopting prohibition. Can this be the reason for the business men of Council Bluffs contributing to the dry campaign fund of Omaha? Think it over. ' What Council Bluffs is to Omaha today, Omaha will be to St. Joseph, Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, LaCrosse and other wet centers of the Middle, West, should we listen to the paid agitators of the Anti-Saloon League and adopt prohibition. Think it over. Has Prohibition Helped Council Bluffs? - Turn to the public records. Dry but indisputable facts show that conditions in Council Bluffs have not bettered since adopting prohibitipn. _Thg: pos lice reports of Council Bluffs show the following as-compared with Omaha in regard to plain drunks, taking as a basis Omaha with a population six times greater than Council Bluffs: d : : How the Arrests For Drunkenness Compare Council Bluffs Prohibition ’ Omaha License e im g Y e yprem enf Y rmm el e s e f Yo e o A Vo oS e fpeem en e o fl e el o cng oo & EEas N o e =6 3 St e 3 ........ One arrest for every 789 population January .......Cne arrest for every 701 population ....... One arrest for every 811 population February . .....One arrest for every 943 population ......... . One arrest for(every 588 population March ........Onearrest for every 668 population i \ .......... One arrest for every 484 population April .........One arrest for every 684 population MEY /oy One arrest for every 461 population May. .. i One arrest for every 613 population JANE R e One arrest for every 833 population * 450 o R One arrest for every 701 population Jlye e One arrest for every 732 population 90 VIR R A One arrest for every 711 population 7 AREISt O A One arrest for every 652 population August . .......One arrest for every 1,980 population You will readily note that Prohibition Council Bluffs has had more arrests for drunkenness than Licensed Omaha has had, according to popula- tion, si;me the first of the year 1916. We defy the prohibitionists to prove the contrary. Has the Anti-Saloon League made good its promise in Couneil Bluffs? | Concerning the Taxation Phase Under license and fegulation, Council Bluffs received $58,000.00 annually from the license-holders of the city. Under prohibition, this revenue has been wiped out and in consequence the taxes have been raised. The $58,000,00 deficit must be made up by the taxpayers of that city, just the same as the $353,000.00 would have to be made up in Omaha should we adopt prohibition. We submit to ydu the tax levy of Council Bluffs for 1915 and 1916: Tax Levy 1915. 1916. $47.25 PER $1,000.00 $53.25 PER $1,000.00 The above shows an increase of $6.00 per $1,000.00 on all taxable property in Council Bluffs. Did the tax rate decrease in Council Bluffs after they adopted prohibition? The prohibitionists claimed it would. ’ \ Property in Council Bluffs is supposed to be taxed on one-fourth its valuation, and when the writer of this article was in the city hall the other day a lady ecame into pay her taxes. She inquired as to the valuation placed upon her property, and when informed that the assessors had assessed the property at/4 $5,000.00 valuation, at once remarked that she had offered to sell this property at $2,500.00 on several different occasions and no buyer could be found. So you can readily see that they not only raise the tax rate, but also raise the valuation when prohibition goes into effect. This is what we may ex- pect should Omaha adopt prohibition. The above is the reason why we appeal to you on the taxation phase. Real Estate Values In the very heart of Council Bluffs’ business district, you will find a score of vacant store buildings which the prohibitionists have failed to fill with different lines of mercantile business. 5 'tI‘he dry speaker, in the debate the other evening, said that if we would vote Omaha dry we could fill the breweries with tanneries, harness factor- ies, ete. Before they talk of filling breweries and distilleries with tanneries and harness factories, the prohibitionists should fill the score of vacant store rooms in the business part of Council Bluffs. ‘ And what will they do with the 353 store rooms in Omaha? Will we have 353 tanneries? or 353 factories manufacturing leather belts for Henry Ford’s flivers? or will we have 353 harness factories? or will we have 353 store rooms filled with hot air? » ‘We ask the citizens, business men and taxpayers of Omaha to read and reflect, to look before they leap. Can any city in this land boast of a more prosperous cordition than Omaha? Can Prohibition Council Bluffs make the same boast? "If not, why adopt prohibition? - Douglas County Taxpayers’ League N % % Z 7 . - \\ A P o o s A Y G R e e S QA s b S K - - e fimee - SYrrmen Yol e oS s oS e e e —~ AN % O