Before the advent of prohibition, saloons proliferated in the United States to the extent where it was difficult to earn a profit in the retail business. The situation was a product of the competition among breweries, who stood to gain market penetration the more retail outlets they established and controlled.

George Kibbe Turner, a well-known "muckraking" journalist, was one writer to explained this situation. His "The City of Chicago, A Study of the Great Immoralities" appeared in McClure's Magazine in April 1907 (vol. 28, pp. 575-92 explained the situation and included a few images of saloons, and of the men in public life connected to the trade. This is but one example of the many treasures students and faculty may find in the Ohio State University library.

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48 Saloons near the stockyards on Ashland Avenue (p. 576)

Alderman "Hinky-Dink's" Great Tramps Saloon (p. 577)

"Hinky-Dink" Kenna

"A cheap lodging house office" (p. 580)

'"Bath-House John' Coughlin", "former Turkish-bath rubber; now alderman, poet, financier, and active manager of Ward One" (p. 579)

Andy Craig "Ex-convict and now precinct captain of Ward One." (p. 580)