The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-18
From The Pell City Progress.

From The Pell City Progress.
 % PROHIBITION in Birmingham is D now harvesting its first crop.
 It was inevitable that this crop should be of twofold charac- ter, large assortment of sneaks and hypocrites on the one side and more or less justifiable liars and law-breakers on the other. From recent development it would appear that there is no shortage in either yield. This was to have been expected as night follows the day. as two and two make four, yet some persons are expressing surprise at the result.
 Prohibition has been in force in Bir- mingham for nearly a year. At sporad- ic intervals the strength of the entire police force of the city and state have been concentrated in the effort to elim- mate the blind tiger. popularly so- called, with quite line of extra police and deputies especially employed for this work only, yet the fact remains that whisky Is being sold at more places in Birmingham today than in the days of the open saloon. Why this should be so is easy to see. Formerly 1t required a considerable investment for fixtures, lease, licenses and stock to engage in the business while nowadays small stock only need be carried to conduct the trade.
 The question as to whether prohibi- tion has benefited Birmingham, or whether there is less money being spent for whiskey and consequently less drunk enness, are quite immaterial as com pared with another factor which has of necessity entered the equation, l. e.. the manner in which the law is being enforced. On this point an extraordi- nary situation presents itself, so extra ordinary that we wonder a free people tolerates such outrages as have been committed by the civil authorities.
 The Good Book tells us that 1t Is bet ter for 99 guilty persons to escape pun ishment than that one innocent person should suffer unjustly. The code of ethics laid down in the Bible is quite generally regarded as the best one for Christian civilization by~ all save those so-called Christians whose work on behalf of hu- manity is confined to activities in sup port of the prohibition law. With the enforcement of other laws they seem un- concerned. That a segregated district ex- ists in their city, in which 50 varieties of law-breaking may be discovered, Is matter of no consequence to these self styled law and order folks That poverty and disease are seen on all sides with their attendant misery and suffering bring no pang to their hearts, no desire to
 nf xt<>y, yoftty and disease are merely symptoms. Oh no! Their exclusive way of serving God and man Is in the prosecution of the penalties of the prohibition law. The way they are doing it makes it easy to appreciate how not so many years ago the forbears of these fanatics burned witches at the Salem stake, drew the life blood of Bruno in Switzerland and cruci- fled Jesus on the cross all in the name of religion and humanity.
 Possibly the law recognizes and al- lows the methods now prevailing but we are inclined to doubt it. We do not believe that blanket warrant may be sworn out against every person who may be found in a particular locality, licensed by law, at the particular time a raid occurs, whether or not their pres ence in that place is for a lawful pur- poee We do not believe that the law allows the room of decent working woman to be broken open in the dead of night, and the woman. terrified beyond description, to be forced from her bed and made to face the sheriff and his deputies. We do not believe that in- >nocent men can be arrested on these blanket warrants, refused bail and put behind the bars' in order that the sherif may collect couple more dollars for turning the prison keys. Yet these things have happened and will continue to happen as long ss American man hood slumbers on It's rights.
 Since the above lines were written, the crowning horror has occurred. father has been murdered in the de- fense of his home unlawfully invaded, one policeman perished by the holy