The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-05-14
MARDI GRAS TALK
COUNCILMAN FAITH OF MOBILE RE-
 GENES LETTERS,
Varied Expressions Of Opinion As To "A Wide Open Towns-Ordinance Comes Up Wednesday
 Night.

Mobile, May 13.-(SpeciaI )-Accord- ing to replies received by Councilman A w. Faith to his circular letter re- ouesting an expression from the busi- ness men of Mobile on his ordinance to regulate Mardi Gras festivities by pro- nibiting women from masking and en- tering barrooms, sixty-five out of every Ioo citizens are In favor of the passage of the ordinance.
 of the 700 letters sent out by MT. Faith, 36s replies were received or 62,5 per cent Of the replies received Ca per cent were in favor of regulation by city council Cor in other words. the passage of MT. Faiths ordinance): 2A per cent were in favor of total abol- lshment of the celebration of shrove tuesday; 10 per cent were in favor ot women masking; S.75, per cent in favor Of women entering bar rooms: 6.5 per cent in favor of "wide open" Mardi Gras; two per cent in favor regulation by police only, which is the rule under which the holiday was celebrated last February; and 1.60 per cent were in iayor or women masking but not enter ing par rooms. In other words six re- plies were received drawing a distinc- tion between the two Npoints.
 T am well pleased with the experj- ment'' said MT. Faith today. And I am confident that the expressions re- ceived may be taken as a criterion of the entire city of Mobile Many wrote long letters in preference to merely nlIlng out the blanks which I enclosed Tn my letters and made timely sugges- lions that I shall use in summing mn my experiment before the council on Wednesday evening2"
 what was your method of sendin q out these letters?" MT. Faith was asked. Did you :ake the names at random?"
 T used the telephone book at first ~eieetihs names of business men. who contribute largely to the Mardi Gras -1nu ana Who are earnest workers in all civic propositions that effect conai- tions of Mobile. I then supnlemented this list with the names of mep wno while not members of the Mardi Gras committee are subscribers, or members or societies that subscribe to the fund ,,
 were there any retail liquor dealers m the list of names to whom vo,, ad dressed the ietters?"
 Many of them" replied MT. Faith emphatically. @'ti' Are you at liberty to give a list of their replies to you?"
 could not. However will sav that there were f1fty-two letters re- eelved e to which there were no sigma. tures' of those who approved the pas sage of the ordinance all dld not rtrr the replies. Twelve answered that thr passage of the ordinance would iniure tnelr business. of which humber five did not sign their letters"
 In sending out the circuIar- Jattors MT, Smith stated that he would annre, ciate the permission of those who an. swered to publish their replies. He stated today that many of the renlIee indicated this permission, but that he had not yet decided upon giving these lepiies to the press saying that he would use them before inc counot, ns M Wednesday on behalf of the passage of his ordinance. ee oi
 In one mail there were ninety-scven letters and one of his circulars foI- lowed a gentleman to Boston and he city. III tha'