The Mena weekly star., 1909-04-01
Prohibition a Success in Shreveport

AU liiC 1LlttOA N'A
 Dear Sir:-In your issue of March IT see that Dr. R c. Campbell is reported as saying, that while Shreveport is under prohibition law, he firmly believes that there is more drinking than formerly, " condition which he bitterly denounces. He says there are scores of blind tigers in full operation, and that much liquor is being shipped in"
 Seeing this notice coming from Dr. Campbell, on March 3 I wrote pr. H. A. Sumrell, pastor of the First Baptist church, Shreveport, to know if there was more drinking and whether or not prohibition was success in Shreveport. Under date of March Is Dr. Sumrell, an- swering my letter says: We do not in the least regret having voted out the saloon. After nearly three months trial I believe more people in Shreveport would vote for prohi- bition today than at the time of the election. Times here have been hard. but not as much so as in many neighboring saloon-infested cities. And these hard times are not in the least due to prohibition; they began fifteen months ago and are not as stringent now as they were months back during the reign of the saloon The panic, two failures in the cotton crop and most disastrous flood in Red river accounts for all the hard times we have, and not the absence of the saloon. There are few if any vac mt houses that are modern or of very much worth. There are a few vacant saloon stores, but nst many even of them. There are some blind tigers where, under diff culties, liquors are procured. We expected that, but that is very different from. the open saloon Haunt ing it's temptation in the face of men, and the good results are per ceptible. As a matter of fact, after the gambling privilege was taken away from the saloons more than half of them were about ready to close anyway, not being able with out the privilege to pay the license and make expenses. 1 send you a clipping from Shreveport Journal of March 4, which speaks for itself. "
 This follows:
 Number of arrests during Feb
 ruary this year ......... 86 Number of arrests during Feb ruary last year ......... .238 Number of arrests during Jan
 uary this year ....... .... 90 Number of arrests during Jan uary last year ...., ..3l5 Number of arrests during first
 two months this year. .. TIC Number of arrests during first two months last year ~ 55S Increase in number of arrests in first two months in 1908
 over number during first
 two months of this year BIT
 "The above figures, taken from the police docket, furnish compari- son of the police business in Shreve- port for two months when saloons were licensed with the first two months that the city has been under prohibition law, and the falling off in the number of arrests made, as the totals evidence, is something remarkable, and stands as substan- tial proof that there has been a big reduction in crime and misconduct here since the city has been "dry. The figures speak for themselves. Bunco steerers and suspects totaled fcur this February, compared to a total of thirty-fye last February. On a charge of vagrancy there were only five arrests this February, but for the corresponding month of 1908 there were sixty arrests on this complaint"
 The above statements made by ths Shreveport Journal, and the figures tabulated by the same paper from the police records ought to convince any fair-minded person that prohi. bition is by far better for the public at large than liquor rule. The fall. ing off in crime for the first twc months, as stated by the Journal is truly remarkable. :" These figures as to the falling off in crime are substantially the same in all prohi- bition cities.
 No wonder the people of Shreve port, as stated by Dr. Sumrell, dc not regret having voted out the sa looms. In the face of these figure: and approximately the same from all other prohibition cities and dis tricts, the most remarkable" thing at all IS that every saloon-infestec city or state does not speedily vote : saloons out of their bounds. Crime