"iCloud Download" column in iTunes keeps reappearing
I found an answer that doesn't require you stay logged out of the iTunes store (found here, whose poster found it here). 


In iTunes, press command1 or click Menubar/View/Music. 
Click the Playlist button from the center-top row of the the iTunes window, below the large Apple logo. 
Click Menubar/View/Only Music Available Offline. 
Repeat for all other media types: command2 or Menubar/View/Movies, command3 or Menubar/View/TV Shows, etc.
Return to Music Playlists, and the iCloud Download column is gone, no matter whether you're signed into the Store, no matter whether you've enabled/disabled Apple brand subscription-based streaming, and even after quit/relaunch of iTunes.