The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1897-05-05
STOUT LIQUOR LAWS.
THEY ARE MAKING TROUBLE FOR
ToPERs IN THE SOUTH.

taAl-In the Carolinas PROFITS ON the Sale
ef Whisky Go TO tho ststs-Hardly ss-
loon Left In Mississippi.
Since Sam Jones has been fighting
sin and whisky at Atlanta new law
has gone into effect there, and more
drastic and disagreeable one could not
have been conceived than tho one which
now prohibits the Georgian from buy
ing cocktails in quantity as great as is
contained in pint measure. By court
decision saloonkeepers are inhibited
from selling mixed drinks in bottles
nnless special license, which amounts
TO $500, is first obtained. A violation
OF this act subjects the offender to
heavy penalty The case decided upon
referred to cocktails only, but very
wise lawyer has advised the saloon men
to refuse all offers of purchases of mixed
drinks of any character in TASKS holding
more than eight ounces.
Th'-k of "a Georgian being denied
the privilege of "toting" bottle in his
pistol pocket containing "a few dashes
Of Angostura, drop Of absinthe, lit
tie sirup, pinch of lemon peel and the
balance in Bourbon. The courts have
said that away from barrooms straight
whisky ought to be good enough.
Straight whisky for the Brunswick,
Americas, Macon and Atlanta gentle
men? Bahl That is a relic of barbar-
ism. No gentleman takes his'n that
way these days. Even the mountaineer,
who gathers the juice fresh from the
unlicensed stills, mixes his'n with wa
ter and little sweetnin these days. If
sugar is wanting, molasses will do, but
to drink it straight-why, man alive,
there are no negroes who will do that
Georgians were raised ON "toddies.
A "toddy' means big glass with a
lump of sugar and then mixture of
water and sugar to suit. Then there's
the "dram." Both are distinctly Geor-
gian drinks, although the Virginian
will tell you that the dram belongs to
the valleys of the Potomac and the Rap
pahannock The dram is made of
sugar, some water, sprig of mint if
desired, jigger of whisky, cracked ice,
a spoon which is used to stir with and
sprinkling of nutmeg. Then you lift
the glass to your burning lips, tilt your
head backward somewhat, shut your
eyes, and your soul is suffused with Joy.
This mixture is also bottled and finds a
ready sale among all Georgians who
start out on railroad trips, fishing ex-
cursions and the like.
But. speaking seriously, the average
I.,& ~f L.
of the prohibition laws in most of the
southern states. Georgia and Mississip-
pi have adopted extremely stringent
measures against the sale. Tennessee's
system in dealing with saloon men is
far from being pleasant to the dispen-
sers. of cocktails, gin fizzes, punches,
etc.
Alabama imposes q heavy tax, as
does also North Carolina. South Caro-
lima. as is we'll known, has dispensary
law. In other words, the profits derived
from the sale of whisky go into the
state treasury. Louisiana and Texas
have not caught the prohibition fever.
Licenses are easily obtained, and for a
small sum at that. There are in these
two states more open saloons than exist
in the balance of the 13 seeding states
put together In the cities one may OBJ
tain a license by simply paying the Ii
cense fee. There is no petition, no
board, no agreement between govern
ment and dealer. Texas has local op-
tion law by counties. That is, one third
of the citizens of ii county may petition
for an election to decide as to whether
saloons may be licensed or not, but in
no county yet have the antisaloon peo-
pie won. A similar law prevails in
Louisiana, and some of the parishes in
the northern part of the state have gone
for prohibition. In Alabama the legis-
lature alone may prohibit saloons in
any one county, or in all of them for
that matter.
But it is in Mississippi where the an
tisaloon law works with strange and
vigorous effect. Each county can de-
mand on election every two years. If
the previous election declared for prohi-
bition, then it requires petition of
three.fourths of the property holders be-
fore another election can be called.
Should the saloon men win it again be-
comes necessary for one to open bar to
get the signatures of three -fourths of
the property holders residing in his
ward or precinct on his petition. Should
the prohibitionists secure the objection
of even one-third of the property hold
ers the candidates application is de-
feated, and even should the board pass
favorably upon the application the sa-
loon, man must give bond in the sum of
$4,000 that he will keep an orderly
place; that he will not sell to minors,
Indians or men Of Known incorporate
habits He is not permitted to keep open
after midnight, and there are no screens
allowed IN his shop. Any one finding q
violation of this law and reporting it
10 the authorities is rewarded with half
lhe fine imposed. Three offenses make
il necessary for the police judge to re-
woke the license. Then, again, each city
has the right to impose as heavy tax
as desired. In most places this sum
reaches the ppOrmous fioure IF x9 600