The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-12-23


for the morning inter.
About eighteen months ago MIR. Belts
circulated n petition for an election.
There was serious opposition to It from
tile Anti-Saloon League, the reason
being that 1t was not the proper time
TO vote. The matter went to tile SUI
preme Court and Mr.. Belts lost. Since
then. however, the prohibition faction
has taken hold with vim. and is rest
Ing easy. awaiting the result. The
charge was made In the first Belts
campaign that the former saloon deal
crs were behind him, their object be.
ing to accept one OF three things
prohibition, dlspensary or saloons. In.
daE the battle is squarely between
prohibition and dispensary.
Most OF the state In Dry.
In some quarters Governor Glenn has
been severely criticized for his nc-
ttvity in the pulpit But even those
who hate him are forced to admit that
In lighting liquor he is sincere.
year ago 1T was believed that lie would
urge the Legislature to enact a pro-
hibition law, or else give the people
of the entire state an opportunity to
decide the question. He did not In
corporate that suggestion In his mes
sage, though he afterward declared
that In his failure to do so he had
made grievous blunder.
Some OF the leaders OF the Anti-Sa-
loon League took the ground that as
So per cent. of the counties were dry, It
would be unwisc to run the risk Of
losing the 95 that the 5 might be
brought In out OF the wet. There
seemed to be good deal Of common
sense and logic In this. and within the
past, year the prohibition percentage
has been growing.
May Go After Salisbury Next.
A big victory was won recently in
Ashevillc. when the saloons were voted
out. Two years ago Asheville had an
election, and the bars won. Asheville
is strictly a resort town. The argu-
nient was rampant that IL the hotels
lost the bar privilege 1t would keep
thousands of visitors away-visitors
who spent thousands and thousands OF
dollars. But somehow sentiment
changed and the saloons were driven
out. The next attack may be made in
Wilmington and Salisbury. In the
latter town they make liquor by the
wholesale. 1t Is the oasis In this dry
Tarhcel desert. Millions of gallons
have been shipped from Salisbury
within the past few years to South
Carolina. 1t cannot be shipped to other
North Carolina towns. so Salisbury sup
piled South Carolina, while Richmond
and Norfolk filled the jugs and de-
canters in nearly 100 counties OF this
State.
The president of big cotton mill
In small South Carolina town told
the writer a few days ago thar con.
ditions in his town and State would
be vastly improved II Salisbury rum
could be kept In Salisbury for home
consumption. Just now tho express cars
arc piled to the roof with boxes and
jugs. This IN; trade at Christmas is
something enormous.
Dispcnsnry's Big Profit.
Eut word about the Raleigh dis
rensary, Having a monopoly, the man
agement does not bother about cour-
tesy toward those who buy The
stock Is on a par with that sold by
second-rate Richmond dealers in
Seventeenth Street None of the stand
ard brands is on the shelves Tho
meanest, poorest, cheapest liquor Is
sold at top prices. The profit runs
anywhere from % to 1UU per cent. The
representative of a New York house
said here recently that he could not
sell to the dispensary. as 1t was not
satisfied with narrow margin of
PloAit. LoONAu5 ONSi VIC pIlCeshSts
found that so per cent. was a fair
average of profit.
The fact that bad liquor was dis
pensed at high prices long since made
the establishment unpopulnr; the ordi.
nary clement bought 1t, but the citizens
generally. who kept 1t In stock, or
dered 1t by the case from Virginia and
Baltimore.
Service shops on Side.
Under the law the dispensary closes
at sunset. It Is flanked, however. by
two service shops A man, for instance.
can buy quart before sunset and
place 1t in a service shop locker, these
places remaining open until long after
midnight. When he goes In to drink
he can have highbail or cocktail.
for which he pays two and one-half
cents per dI&7k. for the privilege of
resting his weary feet on the rail.
These shops make more than the dis
pensary itself. The rate of service is
the same for beer. and the proprietor
keeps the bottles. In the end he makes
money by selling them In bulk. In
the summer the mint flourisles: u
iulep is popular then. and to-day Il
fourth-rate eggnog can be dashed up
in few minutes FOR those VINO can
afford to walt.
Raleigh has experimental with the
dispensary and found it a mockery and
a sell. Therefore. It is prepared to kill
it. regardless of its tax-lowerns TEA
lures. The money 1t earns is the drug
that dulls the public conscience. 1t
has been more degrading than the
licensed saloon.
How man, who is opposed to the
open bar, can accept the dispensary as
a moral substitute is something that
puzzles the human mind. and yet there
are hundreds of that class to be found
Many Violations in Durham.
In tile town of Durham. thirty miles
from here. so.called prohibition has en-
listed for several years. The statement
was printed in certain newspapers the
other day that several hundreds OF
cases were on tho criminal docket
against persons charged with selling
liquor. According to this infornla-
ton, the law has been failure In the
tobacco town, and the record Is being
paraded in Raleigh to help save an