The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1884-09-18

corespopdepse Liberty Herald. !

Correspondence Liberty HeraldJ
Being impressed With the i'm
portance OF placing before our peo
pie some tangible evidences Of th,
value Of . prohibitory Law, I recent
ly addressed q communication to 9
gentleman prominent in Shubuta
Miss., (where such a law is now ir
force) asking what he sees as the
results Of ofprohibition, and this is his
reply:
SHuBUrA, MISS, July IA, 1884.
Dear Sir-In reply to your postal
card, would say that one year and q
half ago we had three bar rooms,
one dry goods store that had retail
license, but kept no one behind the
county to dish it out by the glass
drug store on the same basis; one
beer shop with gambling den at
tached. Their receipts averaged
twenty five to thirty thousand an
nually. They gave the State 5000
each for the privilege of making
drunkards for US to support. Our
city government cost us about what
they gave the State to educate our
children with, but we did not get
anything directly from them except
the perquisites arising from fights
or being drunk and down. Our town
was thronged on Saturdays with
loafers-you would have to work
your way through the crowds in
front of the saloons, your ears graf
ing with oaths, and your nostrils
filed with an odor like sour sugar
cane. In the evening when they
got outside o: the city limits they
would raise their yell and run their
horses and shoot pistols. Comanche
Indians would not act worse. Brick
masons, carpenters, painters, ply
sicians, &C., were incapacitated for
business. We lost what they would
have made. Now we have no use
for marshal; a drunken man would
be a show; have not heard an oath
since we have had prohibition, labor
working better, attendance at Sab.
bath-school is better, congregations
at church better. Old topers that
have never been known to leave
town sober come to town transact
their business and return to their
homes not to abuse their families.
Yours, &c.
w. H. PATTON.
Other testimony Of the same ma.
ture comes to us from Vineland. New
Jersey, and from Greeley, Colorado
as follows:
In 1861 the Legislature of New
Jersey granted Vineland local
option law. Under this law in 1874
1853 votes we're cast; of these 742
were No License, and IL for License.
The township is 10 miles long and s
miles wide. and the population in
1874 was IL, 900. At the start the
valuation of the town was $l28,500.
In 1874 it was S., 100000, with taxes
SO so on the $1,000. There was no
lookup, Jail, house of correction,
court, police, or fire department in
town. Having no grogshops, none
of these agencies were needed. In
1873, an agent of the Massachusetts,
Alliance visited Vineland and also
New Britain, Conn. and collected
statistics, the population of the
places being about the same.
vlNELAND.
Grogshops, 90; cost of paupers,
1924; cost of police, $75; liquor sold,
90; habitual drunkards, 27.
NEW BRITAIN.
Grogshops, 80; cost of paupers
$500; cost of police, 81, 500; liquor
sold. $4,000; habitual drunkards,
497.
Greeley, Colorado, named for
Horace Greeley. was established as
a temperance town. A grogshop
has not been known. The town has
no paupers and no criminals among
1000 inhabitants (1S74). There
has never been a criminal case, and
a 'fast" young man is not known in
the place.
May you live to see these rich
blessings the heritage of our own
people, is the earnest wish Of one
who appreciates all the efforts you
make in this direction.