The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-07-02
"DOn't Show Your Hand'' is WatchWOrd for the Coming
 Prohibition Fight
ID USE CITY FUNDS FOR
 CITY CHARITY HOSPITAL
LoveIady Asks Endorsement of His Anti-Liquor Regulation Bllls-A Lively Session Held Yes
 terday Morning.

A rousing and radical meeting of the pastors union yesterday morning made it evident that the secret card which the
 ministers are hiding up their sleeves is
 no less than a prohibition fight this fall. The session was full of interesting ac- ton, in which the members placed them selves on record in favor of the estab- lishment of a city hospital, of the with
 drawal by county and city of all contribu- tions sectarian institutions, of shorter hours for the retail clerks, of the free public library, of the anti-liquor shipping bill and of Lovelady's bills against hop jack and the prescription of liquor on
 Sunday. Representatives Jere c. King
 and Lovelady were present and made in teresting talks.
 When the Rev. J. w. c. Johnston called
 the meeting to order the basement of the First Methodist Episcopal church was
 crowded with ministers, and the long de-
 layed discussion of Saloons or Dispen-
 saries" was taken up again. The history
 of this discussion is that three months
 ago two ministers were on the programme with that assignment, but both thought it unadvisable to take up such a live issue at that time. A committee was appointed,
 with Brooks Lawrence at the head, to consider and report on all matters relative to the liquor question. Last month they asked for further time and yesterday set
 the date for final decision as August 5. Don't Show Your Hand" Don't show your hand" was the
 maxim of yesterdays meeting, as ex-
 pressed by the Rev. A. J. Dickinson. He
 said that the saloon men were itching to find out the pastors plans and the best
 thing for them to do is to keep quiet un- til the proper time. He assured them that the fight would be on, and it would | appear that August is the date set for | its opening.
 | While the immediate subject before the | union at that time will be Saloons or | Dispensaries" this will be immediately
 sidetracked for Prohibition and Dispen- saries," as every minister thinks the dis | Is the report:
 Text of Committee Report. | To the Pastors Union:
 Your committee on the question of sa-
 looms or dispensaries wish to submit the following preliminary report: l. We wish to recommend that Monday, August B. be set apart as the time for the hearing and discussion of your com mittees complete and final report, which l will be ready for submission at that time. | 2. For prudential reasons We wish to recommend that this meeting of the | union be an executive session. 1 8. We recommend further that the sec
 retary of the union be instructed to write every pastor of Jefferson county, advising | them of the character of the meeting and invite them to be present. 1. We further recommend that the invi- tation contain request to every pastor to invite for all congregations of less than five hundred members, one of the infiu-
 ential laymen of his congregation, and
 in congregations of five hundreds or more members that two such laymen be re-
 quested to attend this meeting with their pastor.
 D. We further recommend that the union to participate In the discussion and vote
 on all the questions pertaining to the dis
 cussion of the theme Saloons or Dispen-
 sarles'' Respectfully submitted, BROOKS LAWRENCE, Chairman. s. l.. DOBBS.
 s. J. FOSTER.
 J. J. D. HALL.
 A I DICKINSON