LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: PROVE P.T. BARNUM WRONG

To the Editor:

I received a postcard in the mail with an ad that says "Going Out of Business Sale, too many, too often." Another ad gave Central Hardware and Exchange Bank as examples of closed doors. This is happening all over the United States folks, not just in Cape Girardeau. There are bankruptcies, cutbacks, bank mismanagements and embezzlements going on all over the country. Is gambling the answer for all these economic woes?

Our city manager stated that sales tax revenues are up. Doesn't sound like Cape is hurting much. The Newcomers Guide, published in this newspaper some weeks ago, stated under employment, "the unemployment rate typically remains between 3-5 percent, well below the state and national average." In August 1993 the unemployment rate in Cape Girardeau County is 4.1 percent. The civilian labor force, or the pool of workers who are either employed or looking for work in Cape Girardeau numbered 37,124. Of that number 35,586 individuals were listed as employed. It is amazing to me that this city has been here for 200 years, and we can supply 35,586 jobs right at this moment without riverboat gambling. Extrapolate that over the 200 years, that's probably closer to a million or more jobs which did not require us to sell out the city to provide places of employment.

Let's talk about adjusted gross receipts from these boats as reported in the Illinois monthly gaming report of 45 million. Folks, in all honesty, that's gross lost money to the people in Illinois. It may look like money gained to those who win, but it is lost money, not gained money for the losers. The winners may or may not spend their winnings in town, but definitely the losers won't be spending any money in town. It will be the same thing in Cape Girardeau. The gaming people will throw the city a few kernels and the rest of the money will head to Las Vegas.

Ask yourselves, who are the real winners in Cape Girardeau? If your honest with yourself, the only winners are those that own property downtown, those that will sell out to the highest bidder one by one, until there are land based casinos downtown. Then you can't stop it, because once it's voted in, it's here until they decide to leave.

Word has it that the Yes Group is running low on funds, not as much local monetary support as they hoped. So now Boyd is back (or did they ever really leave), touting good will and good cheer for the good folks of Cape Girardeau. They are back to help the Yes Group buy your votes. If you buy into their chicanery and vote in favor of riverboat gaming, then P.T. Barnum was right when he said, "There's a sucker born every minute." Do yourself and Cape Girardeau a favor, vote "no" and prove P.T. Barnum wrong for a change!

Charles A. Gudermuth

Cape Girardeau