The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1908-07-18
SMlLE.PROVOKING.

i
for twenty odd years, and is an
occasional visitor to BrookhaVen,
where be has friends and rela-
tiVes. Mr.. Penn was iu the sa-
loon business at Rogue Chitto
when the people voted saloons out
of Lincoln county in 1886, and he
is one of the two saloon men of
Lincoln county who were so we'd
ded to the saloon business that
when the saloon was outlawed in
this county, he moved away to
continue the business in a IL
cense community.
What Mr.. Penn says in his let !.
ter to the unlnformed of st.
Tammany, La, will only provoke
Tsmiles and amusement to those
who are acquainted with the real
conditions in the prohibition coun-
ties of Mississippi. Especially
will it provoke anu sement to
those who know what the condi-
tions in Lincoln county were un-
der the saloon regime as oompar-
ed with conditions since, and re-
member how Mr.. Penn wrote and
talked and used these same old
chestnutty saloon arguments (O
to prevent the dramshops from
being voted out of Lincoln county
in 1886, while he was running his
Bogue Chitto saloon. In addition
to the facts stated by Circuit
Clerk Oliver, one notable fact
stands out as a complete answer
to all that Mr.. Penn says: The
people of Lincoln county. after
Earying both high license and pro-
hibition, we're SO we'll pleased
with the latter that there has
never been saloon sentiment
enough in the county to call an
other local option election since
fthe saloons we're voted out %
years ago. And in Lawrence,
the first prohibition county in
Mississippi, the people have not
asked to have a chance to vote
for a.return of the saloon after
trying prohibition 26 years.
h One of Mr.. Penn's statements,
/ 'isf If taken az IT'S face value, is a
serious impeachment of local Off
cials. past and present. He says:
Some of these blind tiger men
take out a United States license
they seem to fear Uncle Sam, but
they DON'T care a snap for the
parish or town courts; they seem
to stand in with the officers.
Once in a great while these Off
GERS will pull negro blind tiger
and let the white man who is run
ming a gigantic blind tiger con-
tinue. The supposition is, these
officers get rake off from the
business. !"
Mr.. Penn may speak by the
caro- as to some other places, but
in Brookhaven, both the so-caIled
Gigantic blind tigers and Off
GERS who stand in with them soon
realize there is a day of reckon
ing, not to speak of candidates on
that ticket also.
Mr.. PENIS use of the word
district" In his postscript is de-
cidedly ambiguous, and one is un-
certain whether he meant congress
sionaI district, circuit court dis
trict, supervisors district, or
some other district. The Leader
has the best of authority, how
ever, for saying that the books
of the q. S. Internal Revenue
Collector for this district do not
show single liquor license issued
to resident of Lincoln county
during this year. We challenge
Mr.. Penn to disproVe this and
give names. The books are open
to inspection. We also challenge
him to give the number of q. 5.
revenue licenses issued to liquor
dealers in the saloon counties of
Harrison, Adams, Warren and
Washington, as compared with
the number issued In these same
saloon counties under the State
law; for these figures will show,
according TO his own argument,
that there are more blind tigers
| in the saloon counties than in the
prohibition counties.
IF be will do this, we can show
to an unpreiudiced public and to
his discontinue, why the blind
tigers carrying revenue licenses
flourish to a greater extent in
saloon counties than in dry ones.
One of the preliminary features
of the National Prohibition Con-
vention at Columbus, Ohio, used
in escorting the delegations from