The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-09-13

In 1886 and 1887. Atlanta, Ga, tried the experiment of prohibiting tho sale or liquors. During the period of this expert ment 1t sapped the life of the city. While her sister towns of Augusta, Macon, Sa- vannah, Chattanooga and Birmingham, and the whole Piedmont region enjoyed d rapid and substantial growth, she, with superb resources, made little or no pro gress. Many of her storehouses and res idences stood empty. Her wealth of per sonal property diminished. Her rents went down, her commerce Jagged and the burden of her taxes increased. Dis cord and bitterness divided her citizens and paralyzed their public spirit Crime and social disorder increased and necessi- tated additional police protection. These sacrifices bore no good fruit. The cause of temperance and morality was in no degree advanced. Drunkenness only changed it's form and no honest man could say the change was not for the worse The facts depended on no man s word. They were bitter realities to the property owners of Atlanta and the proof of their existence is not wanting.
 On the 26th and 27th of August, 1887, POI business houses and 912 dwellings, vacated by the operation of the prohlol- tory law, were unoecupied In the city Some of these were small, others large and desirably located. They averaged we.- with the average houses of the city. Seventy of the vacant houses fronted on Marietta and Decatur streets, or rather upon the single street, the two ends of which bear the names given. The vacant stores on this street were as follows:
 Decatur street. number 51. 57 O. 1OS 1f4 116, IF, 11S 120, 122, 134. 147 150 l52, 1s2, 172, 1sS 224, 229, 281 234, 254, 26S, 27O, 2sl' 294, 296 29S, 300, 3o2. 3o8, SIS, 3l9, 32O, S26 Marietta street, numbers 10. 26, 2S B. F. 59. 11S. --6 12S, 163. 167 176, I7S ITO, 1s4, ISL 199, 204 2O6, 23S, 250 252, 26O. 266, 2s9, 359 397, 401 428, 439, Al, 4i2 AL 450, 45i, 455, 456, 467. 496, 49S, 800. 502, coz and 522.
 These numbers do not include unoccu- pied basement stores The vacant houses on other streets stared the public in the face from every side. So many houses never remained empty before in the his tory of Atlanta. After the repudiation Of the law they were quickly filled again.
 A depreciation in rents was inevitable when the number of houses so largely ex- ceeded the demand. In every instance where a room or building became vacant under prohibition, 1t either stood unoccu- pied or was rented at a lower figure than before. The decline In rents throughout the city was from 15 to 50 per cent Store rooms in the Kimball house block, per haps the most desirable property m the city, upon which the leases ex- pired during prohibition, re-rented at B 1-3 and 50 per cent below the rental re- ceved for them before and since un der license The loss in rents on q prominent national bank building. on one of the best corners in the city a was 5000 per year. Offices in this build ing that formerly rented for S20 per month were rented at $l2.50. Even with such re- ducton, many of the rooms In the build ing remained vacant. Tenement houses on Chamberlain and other streets, which usually rented easily for S1O per month stood empty at S6. The large business house on Alabama street, occupied by Messrs. Tanner, Currier &s Heath whole sale groceries rented under prohibition for Sl700, as against S2000 under license. On the opposite side of the same street, and between Pryor and Whitehall streets, blocks of houses which ordinarily rented al s12OO and S15OO each, brought 5000 and $12o0 under prohibition.
 Mir T. $. Healey, one of the largest property owners in Atlanta made the fol- lowing statement in 1887:
 'tI have never yet found a man hunting for a building, who said he had been at tracted to Atlanta because it was a prohi- bition city. l have had many stores va cated by men, not engaged in the liquor traffic, who said they were compelled to close out their business because of the blight put upon the city by the prohib- itory law. Two-thiTds of my property is renting at lower rates than when the city was under license. Some of my stores are renting for p per cent and some for 50 per cent less than then Even at this reduction, I am unable to rent all of them for the reason that there is no demand for them because of the stagnatlon in busi- ness and the number of people driven from the city by the prohibitory law. My store room at No. 20 Peachtree street. has been vacant for four mon tns. My store at the corner of Broad and Water streets has been vacant a year. There buildings are in the heart of tho city. l have four stores on Marietta street for which I am unable to get tenants at two- thirds the former rental. One store, which l formerly rented for s15. I have offered