The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1902-10-24

0 ness was very distasteful, an inquiry
, lover the head of the District Agent in
!, Balt1more), from headquarters ofAdams
3 Express Company. He prompt and
c honest answer. Immediately came an
e order, stop that" and the sending of
f nail kegs to ticticious addresses ceased,
while those that still come to bona-fidc
addresses, were only Il drop i'll the bucket
! to the former flood. This is positively
all that in seven years that has been done
to stop the violation of the law. Mean
. while the viOlators of the law grew daily
more bold.
Every accused person when arrested.
and brought into Court. prayed ofcourse
jury trial. 1t was a foregone conclu-
SION that on every jury would be one or
more drinking men. Evidence from men
whose word could be relied on, it seemed
impossible to secure. Young men of stand
ing and seeming character, who | was
satisfied from confidential and not I'M
sympathetic sources of information, were
Ill the habit OF getting their not infrc-
| quent drains, summoned before the
grand jury. KNEW of no violations
OF the law; knew nothing about the
matter. After several strong efforts
from able and honest Foremen of Grand
Jurics and frequent Court trials of cases,
Ill which the invariable verdict was mot
| guilty. all real effort to convict was ap-
parcntly abandoned. Men would get
drunk and drive furiously through the
streets, especially in the evening, or be-
came otherwise obnoxious and danger
GUS But no arrests for such disorder
were made, even while the Prohibitionists
were III charge of town affairs On one
occasion, at one o'clock, in the morning,
had to leave my bed, go across the
street, and (happily by my simple re-
quest dlsperse acrowd of drunken Young
men who for an hour had kept nv
family ava Ike withquarreling, profanity
and even pistol shots.
The Town Sergeant, | afterwards
learned, was all the time sitting on the
steps OF a church just opposite; but no
arrest was made.
About the same time, under the Pro-
hibition regime, one dark night, two
gangs OF negroes, in liquor, had a free
night, with pistols and stones, around
my own church, next door to my resi-
dence. No arrests were made. One of
the few arrests | ever heard of, that of
drunken, cursing, fighting negro, who
was behaving so outrageously at one of
the prominent street corners in the very
>NASSA vi liz lS"iJ kWllHlll 1UU yarQS OF
the Court House and jail, at seven o clock
in the evening, that ladies were lodging
IN terror into stores, was made bv a
prominent attorney and myself, while
Others were looking for the Sheriff and
Town Sergeant. We appeared against
him before the Magistrate the next dav,
and he was heavily fined. He has been
orderly ever since.
Once when was new to The community,
l was invited to make an address at a
public law-entOrcement meeting in the
Court House. Imadc Vi gorous speech,
meaning business Others spoke in SINH.
lar vein. But a day or so sufficed to show
that no action was to follow. On another
occasion l was invited to a committee of
conference on this subject. Ten minutes
sutilced to show that the Object was not
enforcement of the law, but merely to pre-
vent Legislative permission to submit the
question to the vote ofthe people. Mean
while the hotels and restaurants were
selling stuff called "Ambrosia," which
evidence in Court cases uniformly de-
clared was not Intoxicating, but the effect
OF winch was to make all men who par
took walk the same gait, if no worse.
Two years ago, detective from the
united States Internal Revenue Depart
He left, some say Is or 20, (the Prohibit
tionists admit at present or 10Y United
States Internal Revenue Licenses, hang
ing on the walls in this town, wherein by
State law no liquor can be sold
If my child is i'll, cannot, even on pre-
scriptlon OF a doctor, get gill of medicinal
whiskey; but any man can by handing
20 ar 90 cents to almost any negro man
he meets, have pint offire-water
l would say in explanation of a good
deal OF the Indifference about, and oppo.
sition to, the law in Bel Air, that it was
put upon the town, by vote OF the county
and not in true local option method by
or precinct vote.
Under such conditions, last winter a
law to the following effect, as well as my
memory serves, was drawn up for sub
mission to the vote of the people, by pre-
cinct, each precinct to determine the
questiC n for itself. Not more than three
places for sale of liquor in each district.
These places to be hotels, maintaining
a certain number of beds, and subject to
official inspection at any time.
Each holder of license under bond, l
think of So 900, said bond given by II
freeholders with affidavit that they were
possessed of a certain considerable
held for ali fines. Any violation of the
law to void the license, and render the
holder thereof incapable of its renewal.
No assignment of license to any save
on conditions above enumerated. No
sale, soliciting of orders. or delivery of
liquor, by woman or minor.
Every place of sale to be immediately
on street and public highway No screens,
but heplace fully open to public view.
All night light so placed and burning
that the whole interior of the place be
plainly visible from street or highway.
Closed at midnight.
l sought, and signed Il petition for such
submission of question to vote of people.
The ProhibitioniSts bestirrcd them
selves, as also did all the liquor sellers,
save the two or three who expected to
secure the license. An attorney was sent
to Annapolis. The bill passed the Sell
ate. The delegates in the House divided
two and two. The proposed measure
sleeps the long sleep.
Then a movement began to arouse
public sentiment by public meetings.
The men who l knew privately, had
criticized me for signing said petition, .
either with views modified, or else feeling
the need of my influence, invoked my
aid.
As they seemed to be proceeding in line
of action, by quietly securing evidence
that would convict, unable to be pres
ent in person, sent the letter which you
have seen in the local papers.
hope have been fair in my state
ments, as we'll as explicit and frank.
Very truly yours,
R. A. CASTLEMAN,
Rector Emmanuel p. E. Church,
Oct. list, 1902. Bel Air, Md.