The age-herald., 1902-01-19

TUSCALOOSA.
 Tuscaloosa, Ala, January 1s.-(Special) It Is an interesting sight to stand just inside the dispensary and watch carefully its operations. It opens at a. m. and closes promptly at 6 D. m. 1t IS arrang- ed very much in the order of a drug store, on either side the shelving is fill- ed with various kinds Of whisky. put up in sealed packages. from one-half pint up.
 When a customer enters the dispensary he first goes to the cashier and tells him what he desires. The cashier makes out ticket. This ticket registers the number of sale the date. the number of salesman to whom 1t is to be presented, and the amount for which 1t Is good. On each card Is printed: Tuscaloosa Dis pensary. Please let he bearer have goods to the amount printed below"
 Purchasers are not allowed to open their bottles inside the dispensary. These tickets are accepted as cash by the sales men, and are checked off after the days sales. Every night the detail strip show ing total amount of business during the day is turned over to the dispensary com mittee of the board of mayor and alder men. Nothing can be paid out by the dispenser unless 1t be attached to the voucher which is attached to the vouch- CT for the monthly report It Is run strictly on a cash basis, for every ar ticle that is sold a ticKet which has heen paid for must be given In return. Every article that the dispensary buys is paid for as soon as it is delivered. All orders are issued In duplicates, the dis penser keeps one and one to the shipper. All orders must be approved by the chair man of the committee before it can be mailed. No bookkeeping is necessary, only cash books are kept.
 Six men are kept busy all through the day, three of whom are in the sales room and three in the bottling depart ment. The business Is so large that 1t is necessary for the employees to work late in the night arranging for the next days business. If the business contin- ues to grow. more help and another reg isser will be necessary to handle the business.
 Last Saturday afternoon at 1 minute to 6 the dispensary sales registered 1896. When 1t closed promptly at 6 o'clock the sales registered 1410. Large numbers were turned away and on the outside was a m ass of people, a moment too late, but moment Is as much as an hour, at the dispensary.
 At first some feav was expressed on the part of the citizens They thought opposition might be organized that would interfere with the dispensary but noth- ing of this kind has yet developed. and if there should, the city council may at any time fortify a weak point in the law. Since the dispensary opened the gang of negro buns and loafers that frequented the alleys and certain corn CTS have disappeared. An officer of the police force says there has never been a time when business was so quiet in police circles. One of the police force was seen near the Alabama Great Southern rail- road the other day and when asked what he was doing so far out from the business portion of the city, he said: That dis pensary is just about to break up our business There is no one to arrest in the city, so I thought I would come out here and see if I couldn't find law-beaker." !"
 The average number of sales of the dis pensary can be estimated at 750 per day, while the checks average 40 cents each. At this rate the daily sales will amount to $500, or 5000 per month, and $108,000 per annum. The gross profits of the dispen- sary are 40 pef cent. This from the years s business, in round numbers, would amount to about S440-J, out of which $3000 Is taken for the annual expenses. Forty per cent goes to the country, the remaining 60 per cent to the city. This is a very conservative estimate, how ever, and Is passed upon the volume of business the dispensary is now doing. The sales are increasing daily, and it can be safely estimated that the dispen- sary will do over $125,0oO worth of busi- ness during the year 1902. As a whole the citizens are very much pleased with the dispensary and the manner in which 1t is operated.