The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-12
No Prohibition In
 Cullman County

by drink innocuiate the country with venom and scatter drunkenness over the streets. He was q peaceful and law-ebiding citizen. Much of the cheer of life, much of the joy. the charm of society. sprang from sitting about the table with ebsakers full of the warm South !"
 TO take this manner of freedom from the German farmer. Invited to the State In good faith, is the tragedy of these parts But it is alone deprfving them of the freedom of drink. the fran<ness of the beer hall, the congeniaiity of the intercourse. for at home and in the tight walls of their clubs these Ger mans are still drinking their beer. They have not let the flow cease with the coming of prohibition. In huge quan- titles the casks and kegs of beer crowd the incoming express and freight. Jugs and quarts congest the limited floors of the Express Company. They are paying more for the conversation lu- bricRnt. But getting 1t all the same.
 The postofiice rsceipss have shown large gains with the coming of prohi- bition. The express receipts have multiplied many times on account of the stsndy haul of booze. Freight Agent Stfnson of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. estimates. the re- ceipts in Cullman by freight at 120 casks monthly. This Is believed fo be conservative, and he admits. that the express route Is the heaviest receiver. It Is no uncommon thing to see wag- ons back up against the station plat form and load up with kegs. barrels and boxes of beer and whiskey headed for the country homes and the club roomse Prohibition is prohibiting the town. consumption to some extent. 1t Is believed. but more booze is drunk in the rural precincts than ever.
 "As for getting the drinks. we have never been stopped from that, said John F. Beyer, leading German mer- chant and vice-President of the Ger man bank. The thing about it don't like, and none of us likes. is the idea of having to go about it in a sneaking. skuiking way. We have enjoyed the liberty of coming together In social intercourse. The State that invited us here declares that we shall not assem- ble over the harmless glass of beer : We are deprived of that liberty, and on that account my trade has been hurt. The town has been killed"
 That is typical of the resentment among the Germans of this county, of whom there are about 800 registered votere And MT. Beyer added to his statement what others confirmed af- terwaras, that in his belief prohibition 4 their midst, had, actually caused tn- creased consumption of whiskey. Beer was the main item before prohibition. but now the ease of procuring whtskey has made 1t popular. The German who thought only of beer which seemed to do him no harm, but refreshed him at the end of his days labor. now finds himself contracting the habit of drink ing whiskey. Thus. 1t Is said, Is he on his way to less thrift, weaker con stitution and may be changed from a good citizens to a bad one. Through the express and from the 'bootleggers'' that thrive here, the farmer is able to get the pint bottle easier than the case of beer. And # ia said that he is cultivating the habit.
 As if to corrobrata the increased consumption of beer and whiskey in the rural sections of the county with the decrease in the city. the criminal records of the county show an alarm ing growth of crime in the outlying precinct That is the statement of Sheriff A. J. Casey and Probate Judge ReI. Burke.
 '.So far as have been able to see,s said Judge Burke. "the nnisdemeanors