The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-08-27

ATTENTION, ST. CLAIR COUNTY
What Mondays Primary Means On the Courthouse Question
Reasons Why Pel City And Coosa Valley Are
Supporting MIR Hammer.

! ing in our support of Mr.. Hammer Of
Etowah.
Signed.
Mr.. Brown is hung on one horn or the
other of very unhappy dilemma. if he
put this money up simply as an option
that he will either vote for Mr.. Moore's
bill or forfeit his money we say that he
could we'll afford five times that amount
to kill the bill and that he will very
eheerfully say goodbye to his cash and
regard the beats cheap at the price. On
the other hand, If Mr. Browns promise
to Easonvlle and Cropwell was not re-
garded as sincere by those people and
they were suspicious of his promise, his
posting money with them would certainly
add very little to the legal tender value
of his word, and If 1t did the transaction
comes close to violating the laws of the
state. The problem expressed mathe-
matically, may be stated as follows:
Browns promise minIs money equals
no support; Browns promise plus one
thousand dollars equals one hundred
votes; query, find the cost of each vote?
On the liquor question we feel that Mr..
| Brown does not occupy the enviable posi-
ton of his opponents, Mr.. Hammer OF Mr..
Moore. Mr.. Browns platform consists
simply of a promise to pass bill put
ting an end to the dispensaries Of Rag
land and Pell City, without any state
Hammer and Moore state squarely that
they are opposed to liquor in any shape
or form. Mr. Brown has been accused OF
being interested In liquor business in
Gadsden, he does not deny it, but offers
$500 dollars to the man who can prove
1t, something no one could hope to do We
i do know, however, that ne is supported
| by the liquor interests in Gadsden and
, that Mr.. Hammer is opposed by them; We
| do know further that the law and the SUI
preme court gives Mr.. Brown the right
10 close his Ragland dispensary tomor-
| row, without any legislation, If he was
/ sincere In his position and that he refuses
+, to do so.
Is it TO be wondered then that we are
no less suspicious of his dispensary prom
Uses than we are of his court house POSI-
| ton, positions that he has a perfect right
| to abandon, by the forfeiture of an in
! significant sum compared with what he
will gain by exercising his option?
! On the Pell City dispensary topic Mr..
Brown has hauled in the wel-known an
/ tagonism of a few people In the county,
| based purely on business motives, against
| the dispensary here, in the hope of get
| ting enough votes to kill the court house.
| We people of Pell City believe we can de-
/ fend the existence of the dspensary
whether the basis of argument is moral,
business or selfish grounds. We have had
/ vastly less drunkenness and disorder here
i In three years under the dispensary than
| In six months without 1t. Two of the sign
| ers of this communication had their prop
erty. If not their lives. threatened by
| Illicit whisky sellers when they started
| to put them out OF business and into jail,
| both of which jobs were successfully ac-
eomplished without the moral or financial
or physical aid of our friends at Crop
well or Easonvile. We honestly believe
| the dispensary is the solution Of the liquor
| question In the small town, from the
moral standpoint, and that many Of the
| objections against liquor generally are
more than offset by the revenue enjoyed
| that supports good schools and roads.
| Furthermore, Mr. Brown In our judg-
ment cannot pass a local dlspensary bill
In the next house, because we believe the
, only dispensary legislation that is to be
enacted will cover the whole state, and
will be fought to the bitter death by the
| whisky interest. On that issue Mr.. Brown
will vote with his Gadsden supporters,
the whisky people, and Mr.. Moore and Mr.
Hammer will cast their votes with the
temperance parties who are In favor OF
general dispensary legislation.
These are our reasons for voting against
Mr.. Brown, and we ask all those who
propose to stand by the two court houses
not to be lead away by the efforts made
| to blind and deceive them, but will follow
our lead and vote for Mr. Ed Hammer.
SUMTER COGSWELL,
President Pell City Realty Co..
CLAUDE b. ALVERSON,
Manager Pell City Hardware Co,
MLANE TILTON, JR.,
Cashier Bank of st. Clair County,
GEORGE w. PRATT,
l President PelI City Manufacturing Co.