The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1907-03-12
GEOGRAPHICAL NOVELTIES.
W "re Imaginary Lines Make Differ.
ences In the Laws.

| " ''e 1md&lHdTy AlueS mako OlA4oI-
ences In the Laws.
There are a number of cases where
unique situations have developed in
cities that happened to be divided by
state lines. These oddities are the re-
suit of differences in law. The boun-
dairy between Texas and Arkansas
runs along the main street ON Texar-
kama, and formerly, if fight occur
red on one side of the street, the COM
batants merely had to cross over to
the other sidewalk to be out Of the
jurisdiction Of the authorities govern
ing the territory where the distur-
bance had taken place. The two sides
of Texarkana did not develop equal
ly, because the administration of one
state was more entcrprising than the
other.
Bristol is located on the state line
between Tennessee and Virginia. One
iof the states has Il regulation pre-
venting colorcd people from occupy
ing the same street car seats with
whites and the other has not; conse-
quontly the colored people have mere
ly to stay on one side of the car on
the boundary street, to sit where they
please. The dividing line between Mis-
souri, and Kansas is State street in
Kansas City Missouri is wet and
Kansas is dry, so one side Of that par
ticular avenue is literally lined with
"First' and "Last Chance" saloons.
This locality is supposed to have been
the birthplace of this original form
Of saloon advertisement.
North Dakota has prohibition
law, and Minnesota has not. The
Red river of the north is the boun-
Diary, and it separates the two towns
Of Fargo and Morchcad. Each sa-
loon keeper in Morchcad has a little
blackboard, and these vehicles are
sent for anyone on the other side of
the river who wants drink. When a
citizen Of Fargo begins to have dry
feeling in his throat he merely tele-
phones the bartender who keeps his
favorte brand Of liquor, and 10, and
behold, he is given free ride both
ways for the price of his drink. Such
enterprise is certainly novel, if moth
ing else.
Undoubtedly the most extraordi-
nary boundary complications are
those resulting from what arc known
as the international stores. These
places arc scattered all along the line
between the United States and Cana
da from Vancouver to New Bruns-
wick. Most of them are maintained
with the intention Of evading the laws
Of both countries, especially in the
sale of spirituous liquors. One Of the
most noted Of these is located near
Fort Covington. The boundary line
runs diagonally through the store and
splits the bar right half in two.
When a customer appears the bar
tender srts the bottle on his side of
the boundary line and The patron
draws il across the counter. thereby
taking il out Of the country, which re-
licves the batcndcr of any fault. The
proprietor Of this place is genial
fellow. who has been conducting his
business for twenty years without
interruption. In order to secure a
conviction the government making
The prosecution must have an accurate Q
survey made and prove beyond doubt
just the exact spot where each man
stood and where each bottle was
placed. That this is almost an i'm
possibility the governments Of both
countries hsvc found to their sorrow
on several occasions.
The goods on the shelves of the
store are kept on the side belonging
to the country where they are bought.
In the course of Il day hundreds Of
dollars worth of merchandise is dis
posed of, part from Canada and part
from America. The proprietor COM
mands large trade and secures q
greater profit than ordinary mer-
chants doing business on either side
of the line. He does not insist upon
his customers telling him where they
are from, merely requiring that they
pay cash and take their purchases
away with them.
Little attempt is made by the off,
cials to stop the traffic, for the reason
that it is almost impossible to prove
just where the goods were bought. A