The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-04-12
BLACKLIsrINo DRUNKARDs.
Persia Deals With Her Topers ai
 Moral Lepers-Social Boycott.

Drunkards have been regularly black
 lisscd in Persia for at least twelve hum
 dred years past. It Is no joke. either. for the individual thus held up to opprobiura, He Is not permitted to enter any place of public amusement. When at prayers he
 must hold himself aloof from the ofher members of the congregation.
 Nor may he even frequent the bazaar in necessaries except at certain stated
 hours and under police surveillance. Moreover. if after having been listed he again offends, he Is punished with eighty lashee. There ts no escape, no
 laws delay" Provided only that the of fender Is seized while in state of intoxi- cation. or while his breath smells of drink. the punishment is inflicted forthwith Even more harsh is the system in vogue | among the wild clansmen of Albania and Montenegro.
 Drunkenness Is here regarded as poiit- ical rather than as a moral offense. It un- | fits man for fighting. And this, in re- | zion where fighting, or at all events the | cultivation of the ability to light If re- | auired. is the prime duty of all good citi- zens. is unpardonable.
 Consequently the habitual toper Is look ed upon with bathing and contempt. It is recognized that ne is alike dan ger and a disgrace to his country and his | clan. And to the end. If all attempts at reclamation are found to be vain. he is quietly assassinated by order of his chief. In South Carolina the State does not take the trouble to blacklist its topers. Instead it black-1ists all It's citizens i'm partially, irrespective of age, sex or social standing. Or. at all events. that is what the dis pensary law" as it is called, amounts to
 in practice.
 deemed to be the property of the State. , It Is "dispensed' (not sold) by State ofif- l cials. And the profits go to swell the State treasury
 glass of beer or dram of spirits, must | first fill up and sign an elaborate certifi- cate stating his place of residence, age and occupation. together with the quality or liquor required.
 And, having done this, he must. If per sonally unknown to the dispenser" pro duce some citizen of standing and repute | to certify that he is neither a drunkard
 Then. after complying with all these | formalities, he may drink his dram. But
 not in the, ''dispensary." No liauor is sold | for consumption Ion the premises" So | he must carry it home in its sealed bottle. and consume 1t in silence and alone, No wonder that, under this regime the mum
 "dispensaries''-has been reduced by more than 75 per cent in a few years. The State of Georgia gets over the dim culty by asking 2000 pounds per annum | for a license. There are. as consequence. ! very lcW uCoADc6s 1AAN AAOS tAheAhS sNe-@N
 The town of Shiloh asks 1000 pounds a year for a similar privilege. It has no 1 drinking bars and no drunkards. | register is. however. kept of those Of
 it's citizens who. in their 1ourneyings abroad, are known to have imbibed not wisely but too we'll. and these are de- barred for twelve months thereafter from filling any public ofihice.
 | Several States. including Maine. Yer | Kapaae and New Hampshire. are
 nominally run on prohibition lines. That | Is to say, no liquor whatever Is supposed l to be allowed to be sold.
 | In practice. however. the enforcement | of the strict letter of the law is found to | be impossible, and when it is persisted in bloodshed is the almost inevitable result. | In Kansas, for instance, where public | feeling in the matter is exceedingly bitter
 something very like civil war existed ioa more recently, Mrs. Carrne Nations sa- | loon smashing crusade" provoked in
 many districts more or less serious riot ! ing. .
 the most stringent liquor laws ever placed | on any statute book. Not only was all | traffic in alcoholic drink absolutely forbid | den. but even to consume 1t privately was
 adjudged an offense. Moreover; ha6itusl | drunkards were to he black-listed on hand and subjected to double and treble | penalties. = .,
 But the law was disregarded from the
 very beginning. and prominent temper. | ance leader who attempted to enforce it l was shot dead in the public street.
 Eventually a sort of Gilbert and Sulli- | van compromise was arrived at by which
 under the provisions of what is known as the mulct tax act. persons wishing to | break inc Ia W are permitted to,do 90 with | impunity on payment into the State cot- | fers of sum equivalent to about 12C pounds a year.