The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1903-02-21
SAM JONES TALKS
ON MANY TOPICS
Observations on the Birming-
ham Saloons
POOL SELLING MEASURE
Mr.. Jones a Strong Advocate of State
Uniformity Text Book Bill-Pays
His Respects to President
Roosevelt.

Sam P. Jones of Georgia. the noted
evangelist ard platform lecturer, is in
Birmingham. and to friends talks in his
characteristics manner of current events
and situations. He delivered a lecture
the Methodist church there and will leave
today for Hartman. Tenn. where he has
an engagement tonight. From Tennes-
see he will go to points in South Carolina,
and then north. He will lecture in Boston
within the next few weeks Mr.. Jones
said last night that when he 81 ofe in
Boston lie would no DOUBT take occasion
to say something about the negro ques-
ton.
Mr.. Jones has been in poor health for
the past two years and his thin appear
ance is indicative of the hard work he
has been doing. OF late he has been de-
voting himself largely to leetuimg.
In the course of a conversation yes
terday afternoon Mr. Jones paid his re-
spects to the Birmingham saloons. He
said:
Birmingham Saloons.
Birmingham saloons seem to flourish
as of yore. 1t seems that tho majority
of the people in Birmingham are trying
to live without water, Sc when they go
to their eternal home he scarcity Of
water there won't interfere with their
comfort and happiness.
1.-THE saloon is as natural an | hcme-like
in Birmingham as oranges are in Florida.
or seals in Alaska. They are indigenous
here
"A great many people feel about whs-
ky like Pat, when he said: Gentlemen,
you can abuse whisky and talk against
whisky, but it's the best eye-sght medi-
cine l ever seen, for l have seen /: tried.
My poor brother Mike was born blind;
he never seed a wink. He just drunk
whisky for four weeks, and the devil
may kill me If he didn't see snakes all
ever the house; and that's tie only thing
that ever helped his eye-sight.' l suppose
more people here have defective eye
sight than in almost any town in Ala
bama, and they are taking the stuff con-
stantly for their eye-sigilt.-
Pool Selling Bill.
The question of the pending pool-selling
bill in Montgomery came up. Speaking of
the bill Mr. Jones said: ANY man who
votes for or champions that bill sounds
lis death knell. In the first place. it is
undemocratic In the second place. 1t is
against good morals. Either reason will
aono,tnf for lie pop-noSeape In Alnha,pa
"A bill that proposes some special bene-
fits to the big cities and denies tnem to
the smaller towns is undemocratic, AMI
anything not democratic in Alabama
Iced not apply at the pie counter or at
either the front or back door, for it win
find no admittance and the legislature of
Alabama has TOO much moral character
to indorse this bill by a majority vote"
M. Jones is a strong advocate Of a uni
form textbook law for the state. He
thinks the children in the country dis
tricts are as bright and smart, If not
more so, than those in the cities, and he
gays that 1t would be better to have all
the children in Alabama TO study the
same books. In reference to the pending
uniform textbook measure:
There can be but one thing in the way
formity of text books and that would be
some book trust, In my judgment If I
was a member of the legislature l would
be afraid to vote against the bill, for
fear some fellow would ask me such
questions as Who bought YOU? or How
much did you get? or something like
that.
Brains in the Court.
This argument some people put for
ward about Birmingham and the large
cities being ahead of the smaller towns
in children knowing more and being
further advanced doesn't amount to any
thing. I go to the country when I want
to find brains, for what little brains there
is in the cities came from the country"
Mr.. Jones sometimes talks about poll
tics.
In regard to Roosevelt he said: "Roose-
welt made a tremendous mistake on the
trust question when he declared against
1t, and got off the track and Henderson
declared his position on the tariff ques-
ton. Roosevelt started out on a speaking
tour through the west and all at once
dropped the tour and started for home.
He said 1T was his leg that made him quit
but a good many who knew the situation
in Iowa found out 1t was not his leg, but
his mouth and he shut 1t and went back
to- Washington. The reason was his
speeches were dividing his party instead
of whooping up the g. o. P. The division
was on the trust and tariff questions.
and these questions are twin brothers,
simese twins, If you kill one the other
will die.
Roosevelt Is constantly losing in pop
ularity In the south, but he knows that
the south is not essential to his success in
the coming national campaign. He knows
that the negro vote in Indiana, Illinois
and Ohio has the balance of power, and
he is not doing all his negro devilment in
the south for fun or for nothing He is
a politician as well as-some other things.
But he will go in again all the same"
HILLMAN HOSPITAL FUND.