The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-09-09

honestly believe that high license should be put on. They say prohibition does not prohibit. Listen to this from the Mayor s message: Efforts do not prohibit The chief of police in his annual report said There has been an increase of crime which l think comes as a result of the opening of twenty additional saloons in the city of Birmingham this year
 Do you know how many murders were committed in Birmingham last year2 There were twenty-nine. Twenty-nine men were put to death and in almost every instance 1t was directly traceab.e to the saloon. Suppose for the sake of positive certainty we say only two-thirds of this number could be traced to the sa : loon that twenty out of the twenty nine were put to death on account of drinkir.g z liquor.
 Suppose each of these men earned s6Go per year. That would make each one of them worth $10,00o, that Is allowing a man valuation of per cent on him self. You have destroyed s200.000 worth of men. Now place that against your S1so GOO saloon license. Add to this the twen- ty murderers and their cost to the gov ernmcnt. Then take the families of both murdered and murderer.
 "One of these men suggests that we have a higher license and get more police men to control them. We will license them and employ more men to protect them because prohibition will not pro hibit.
 Use Them As Example.
 There have been in this city during the last eight months 2040 people arrested for being drunk. In addition to tbis there have been 1036 disorderly cases. There are over 5000 cases directly traceable to the saloon. I would like to take these 9nn ul+ ok, aIA. here and have the people pass by and say, This is the proof
 'The saloon Is the only institution which does not patronize it's best customers. It Is the only business in the world which Is not reciprocal. There Is not a saloon man in the city who would employ his best customer to walt on hls family. There is not a lawyer who is a habitue of the saloon whom the saloon-keeper will em- world which destroys the souls of men and then gives nothing except to those who have not patronized 1t.
 There were men who stood in the pulpit and defended slavery as an insti- tuition, and then went into the field to fight for it. No one believes in slavery now and I want to say to you that the time is coming when men will look back and wonder why we allowed the open saloon as we now look back and wonder why we had slavery.
 Tn Judge Feagins annual report he says there were over 5000 cases tried by him, and of these there were ninety-two cases of assault with intent to murder that are directly traceable to liquor What are our lives worth when men come out of saloon drunk and fire pistols in our faces.
 Say They Love the City.
 
 bition for the city Is. They say they love it. I love 1t and I wish I could see & banner raised here with letters on 1t that could be read all over the world say ing, Birmingham is freer of crime and de- bauchery of every sort than any city in the south I would rather see this than a clearing sheet showing an increase of ten twenty or one hundred million dollars for this year over last year. It will show that we are men. It will mean that our pure women can walk the streets without the fear of coming in contact with any of the saloon life.
 "The liquor traffiv robbed the city of s200,000 last year. I had man to tell me last week that he would vote against prohibition for what he had seen fin his own home He said, father is very fond of companionship, and while he has not touched a drop in a year, still I do not know at what time he will meet up with some of his old friends who will make him take a drink. and cause him to get into that awful condition in which I have seen him so many times. I know that if you have prohibition here that he is not going into a blind tiger, nor is he going to send off for whisky
 You say, give us high license I say it is like licensing murders. l ask you. would you sleep in the room with a man who had committed murder and who bore the brand upon his forehead"