The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1909-07-02

NASH ' LILLE Tenn, July IA
midnight last night the last legalize,
saloon in Tennessee closed its door
and the state fell into the dry column
Nine hundred saloons ceased doini
business and today the map Of Ten
nessee is a stainless one. The COINS
out Of the saloons in Nashville wa.
marked by no special demonstration
Except what might have been expect
ed. The saloons opened their doors
wide and extended a broad invitation
to the men and boys Of Tennessee fol
the last time, and OF course the usual
drunkenness and lawlessness that il
consistent with the spirit of the bus.
mess was evident.
Even as they rioted and drank over
the bars for the last time the law.
abiding and law-enforcing citizens of
Nashville, together with the good
women who have fought so valiantly
| for the abolition of the saloon, were
quietly offering thanks to the Creator
for His goodness in Kidding the state
of the curse of the liquor trafic.
Under the sound of the songs Of
praise that went up from historic Nc
Kendree church, the drunkards and
advocates of the traffic in liquor and
souls had little heart to make merry,
and aside from an increase in the
drinking and drunkenness for the day,
there was little to show that the le-
galized liquor traffic was in the throes
of death.
The saloons that closed Wednesday
number about 600 in Memphis, 100 in
Nashville, sixty-seven in Chattanooga
and seven in LaFollete, but there are
a large number of wholesale houses
in the first three mentioned cities
which also closed Wednesday, so far
as the Tennessee trade is concerned,
although a number of them will re-
main in Tennessee to ship out OF the
state.
In all Of the cities where the last
saloons went out last night there was
a carousal and final farewell celebra- |
ton among the bibulous, which sur
passed all previous drinking records |
for any of the cities in which they |
were held. 1t seemed that every old |
topper and every other drinker in the
cities and many from the country who
had come in for the occasion wanted to
get a drink between II o'clock and
and while the bar keeps
were rushed to the limit all day, the
-ush at the last hour was like STAN
1ede of a caravan on the Sahara to
rink at a fast-falling and insufficient
water hole.
Many saloons, which had main
aimed the regular scale Of prices
throughout the day, began the free
distribution of beer and other liquors I
hortly after II O'Clock, and closed {
heir careers with a general set-up all
round. When that time came the I
ars were lined two deep, with strag- {
lers on the outside pushing their E
Humorous way closer to the benefi' +
ent distributor of booze, and the q
uuid was made to disappear down {
1irsty threats like water pouring into G
bottomless pit. g
In Chattanooga closing time came d
arlier in the night for in that city Il
le saloons must close at 10 o'clock q
nder the excise law. although the
olladay law did not go into effect
ntil two hours later. The scenes
,at marked the eleven-twelve hour in W
ashville and Memphis were seen in
chattanooga between 9 and 10 o'clock, D
I'd Chattanooga thirsty souls drank g
cir fill.
Al LaFollette. the little mining and
q trade town in the Cumberlands,
ere was a rush for good cheer last
ght. and the little place was crowd
with the mountaineers from Camp
II and adjoining counties, who came
to participate in the proceedings
tendant upon the last night. o.
In Nashville yesterday there were
anv houses that cut prices early in
g day and their sales were enor'
,us. Hundreds OF people from the
arby towns of the state came TO gr
Ishville Wednesday and nearly all ar
them secured their jugs for future in
me consumption, while many OF are
en- secured jags for present con are
nption beyond carrying capacity. arr
At one large place on the Public for
mare there was a sign at the front, Law
'bisky and Wines at Your Own ke'
ice" and the lobby of the saloon sta