Liquor Traffic’s Political Influence
The power of the liquor traffic in politics, and therefore the growing corruption in public affairs, is accounted for in such items as the following from the Union Signal:— Nearly one-third of the more than $11,000,000 of Chicago’s yearly revenue is derived from saloon licenses. Other facts and figures presented by the Chicago Tribune show the size, and consequently the political influence, of the rum business. There are 6,371 saloons in the city, and it is estimated that they sell 1,700,000 barrels of beer in a year, and, of course, large quantities of liquors. It is assumed that the saloons, big and little, take in an average of $25 a day. Virtually all of them keep open on Sunday, and for a year of 365 days, this means $58,135,375 a year as the bar bill of Chicago.