The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-14
Anti-Prohibition Mass Meeting At Bljou Attended By /
 Fully 200O Men
SHORT TALKS BRING our s
 TRUTHS ON THE SUBJECT
Wilson Brown Opens Meeting with Stirring ResoIutions--W. p. Pinck, ard Presides-Prominent Men
 Take Part in Meeting.

by fully 2O0O men. The parquette was
 packed and about 300 men occupied seats
 in the balcony. On the stage sat 50 or
 60 prominent citizens, representing large | business interests. The crowd was att
 tentve throughout the meeting and judg- l ing from the spontaneous applause that greeted the speakers those present were practically one way of thinking.
 ". P. Pinckard, the well known coal ! operator, presided. He called upon Will
 son Brown to open the meeting by read | ing the resolutions adopted by the anti
 prohibition committee as the platform of
 the pending contest These resolutions
 follow:
 1 The Resolutions. Whereas, The pending campaign in the
 matter of the sale of liquors in Jefferson | county relates to business and moral I proposition, involving momentous eco-
 homie and social questions, and | Whereas, From a moral viewpoint we
 regard the open saloon properly regu-
 lated far preferable to blind tigers" Because The open saloon stands as a guard against and hindrance to illicit re- | tailing.
 l Because: The blind tiger has proven a
 great curse to every community in which
 the door of the saloon has been closed.
 Because The blind tigers invite the | commission of crime against the law by | the great profit it yields to those who ] conduct them.
 Because: The blind tiger, like the mid | nil oh mi itc
 cover of darkness, entioing the young and
 the weak.
 Because: The blind tiger recognizes
 no law of God nor of man. | Because: This great county of ours.
 composed as it is, of a cosmopolitan pop
 ulation, would prove an enormous field
 for the establishment of these vile in
 stitutions, for their hiding places would
 be many, and
 Whereas, At the present time we have
 in the county many communities and 1 towns where the sale of liquor is, by
 choice of those communities, forbidden,
 and they are safeguarded against the
 encroachment of the blind tiger because
 those people living therein who do desire | liquors may have free access to the open
 saloaps of the larger cities of this county. | Whereas, We would view with alarm the ! establishment of blind tigers in such com | munities as East Lake, Woodlawn, Avon
 dale, East Birmingham, Owenton and the
 many other highly moral communities of | this county.
 Whereas, The whole proposition relates
 materially to the progress, both of bus mess and labor in this, the only great industrial district of the south, which has shown not only the resources, but the enterprise and sagacity to draw labor
 and capital from other sections and their countries to develop the same. Whereas, A purely business. economic ! and social question has been thrust into a political issue at the ballot box against ! the best interests and judgment of those who represent largely the financial and
 labor interests of this district: therefore, be it
 Resolved, That the representatives of the commercial and industrial, labor and l social interests of Jefferson, county will exert every influence at our command to | combat and defeat the propaganda of those who seek to disturb the great in- terests of this great county. Resolved, That this question. being one l under the exercise of the police power of | the state, county and city, it is our judg- l ment that any evils now existing can be
 regulated, and that in such regulation the county, the cities and towns of this coun- | ty need not be deprived of the source of
 large revenues ever needful for the main- | tenance of schools and other necessary | departments of local government. This | as against the loss of large revenue now | obtained, If the prohibition propaganda shall prevail at the approaching election, which said propaganda simply makes | clear the way for the establishment of blind tigers, which would mean moro crime.
 Resolved That we pledge ourselves, our
 best efforts and every resource at our command to see that the police power in
 the regulation of saloons is properly ex- ercised in the maintaining of the high
 license and the further governing of places where liquors are sold, to the end that good order may be maintained. Resolved. That we, qualified voters of this county. pledge ourselves that we will
 not now nor in the future cast our ballot
 for any candidate for state. county or city office who does not agree to enforce laws for the perfect regulation of the liquor traffic, and who will not pledge himself to do so- Plnckard Speaks. MT. Pinckard in explaining the object of the meeting made a vigorous speech
 in which he discussed property rights and
 individual liberty. "The man Is treading on sacred ground when he tells you what you shall eat and what you shall drink.
 All in this great audience. take It, are
 in favoA of temperance; but statutory prohibition never prohibits men from do- ing what they are inclined to do When
 one feels that his natural rights are be-
 ing suppressed he is apt to defy, the law. Lincoln said That making that a crime which is in itself not crime causes the
 individual to fight against it. The Rev Lyman Abbott said if by legislation we
 could compel every man to be religious we would rave no need of churches and no need of preachers"
 Now localizing the subject of statutory
 morals During fhe aG ivears I have heen