The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-03-12

to have been at one time a severe lighter for the moral Improvement ot municipal affairs in Mobile He fought vigorously in the public prints and oth- erwise for the reformation of govern ment here.
 Fearless h Ills stand.
 Ills friends maintain that he Is Year less as a foe of evil wherever iouna os suspected. But he stands apart from the other clergy in his present opin- ions of what Is 1t and effective to stop liouor selling. He was honored once by the ministers union as commit-
 tee of one to treat with the saloon men
 for obtaining . cleaner status of the
 whiskey trade. He wanted. 1T prom.
 bition could not be obtained to get the blinds from the saloon fronts, to
 9et the trafIic more in the light of the
 world and to further regulate the nus-
 mess. He was prominent in the hght
 tor this tmpr ovement of things. Ana
 with all his experience and practical
 observation of conditions. he Is strong dissenter on this prohibition remedy. With the innumerable violations oi
 the prohibition law that are admitted
 daily, not a single indictment has been
 returned by the grand jury of Mobile County. Not an arrest has been made
 by the police or sheriff's force. Wise ones say there will be no interference
 with the questionable business or the
 so-called soft drink stands. The de- fendant. should he ever he hauled be- fore a jury for trial. would, In the
 opinion of most people here, be acquit-
 ted.
 seem a bit discouraged when called on for his opinion of the matter. He says that the issue has not been squareiy | drawn. He declared the only grand fury that has sat since prohibition did not have time to consider the prohibi- ton violations. He reserves criticism
 of the conditions because he says the fury was busy with matters more im- portant than prohibition; there were
 many felonies to be probed. there was the exhaustive investigation Of SheriH Frank Cazalas, preparatory to the im- peachment proceedings brought by or der of the Governor on account or the lynching of a few weeks ago.
 It Is set forth by Solicitor Stallworth that the grand jury's time was taken up with this unusual rush or duties and that the real test will come at the next session. He makes no promise or securing convictions but will. of course, do his best to make 1t hot for the vio- | lators of prohibition.
 "Blind Tigers" Not Heard. By the way, Ouc ID oei bSh hSA WI l the absence of the name, blind tiger as applied to those secret fountains or | thirst parlors. Not once in the hve days investigation of Mobile was the
 appellation heard. Blind tiger as the soubriauet of concealed saloons. loses it's significance in Mobile. It implies stealth, gum-shoe. hists barricaded doors, and such, but the term died natural death in the Gulf City. All this evidence by no means indi- | cates that the town is wide open. The l hooze Is not sold openly and fagrantly | in violation of the law. It Is fact | that the drunkard who was a common | sight in the saloon era cannot now | purchase all he wants. If he does ne | cannot buy 1t from the proprietor of l the soft drink stand because he deals | with caution. He will not sell to the man who has accumulated a load. It l would be too much of an advertise
 ment.
 Yet an enormous am ount of whiskey l and beer is being consumed in Mobile. | Did one not have the testimony of &C., 1 tual sales. there Is convincing evidence | In the express company's business at | this point. The agent said yesterday | that his inbound business on liquors amounted only to $100. S5 in the month l of February. This Is far less business
 than Is received at the smaller interior | points. The liquor that Is being con aurned for. the most part comes by freight from another State and is re-