The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-03-02

whak ever hit dis country. Takiu' all de money out uv town.
 This specimen's testimony was too voluntary. too full of cant and sounded lflke the echo of some svscious white man whom he had heard speak on pfo- hibition or rather. against h He was impcached by his manner.
 The five others said they had sur rendered to the circumstances They liked their '.swig." thought once they could not do without it, but now they can only cogitate. They don't know 1t by that name. But shsy dream of the time when once thsy nocked to the ''heaven" of the back streets on Satur- days to chuck their stomachs with the Ire water.
 "rse nebber did railly keer for whis- Key" remarked one of the farm type "AIlus used 1t fer medicine. l did. It sho looks like . shame now to take 1t away whar ye can't git airy drop for medicine. Yassir, Pse had one jug since pro'bishun. Ordered 1t by ex- press for medicine, but 1t haint las no time Got 1t one Saturday and on a Tuesday 1t wuz all gone. Muh wife and do children, dey de ones what drinks it."
 Another had one experience of or dering booze jointly with his fellow plowman. It was enough for him, he said, because 1t took too long to arrive and 1t cost too much "all one time" He warranted that he had better do without now that he could not buy 1t In town.
 whats the matter with you ne- groes not coming to town like you used to?" was asked of one.
 Faint no use now. boss. Hess you
 wants some bread or meat" was the reply. Course CT few uv us come here and stan round whar we used to stan but we don't git nuthin'. I'm goin do like dem other niggers on Saturdays, jes. sit down wid me head 'twixt me knees and dream uv it. Might as we'll" >- . Planters Are SatisAed.
 This awkward evidence was corro- borated by the word of leading plant CT in this county who work no less | than 315 negroes season in and season l out Like the farmer of Talladega | County, he sees less lawlessness among | the negro farm hands. Like the citi- zens generally of that County, too, he Is happy to feel sense of security for himself and family on the highways after dark and towards dusk. Here. af l there. the hazard of reckless driving promiscuous shooting. profane Ian | guage. has been materially reduced. This wealthy planters. farm begins about a mile from the city limits. The employment of negroes on his place was very important to him and their | conduct was more important. So close did the tenants and hands live tha, they could steal into town and load ur | on booze on very short notice. They | did not wait until Saturday. They dc not come in to idle away their time as | once they did in saloon times. They I seem to realize they cannot get 1t and l do not apparently try to get 1t. This | large planter has seen but one drunken l negro on his place since prohibition | Such sights were numerous before. | The smaller farmer who lives ten l miles from Selma but trades here, as | do the negro laborers, testifies that his | negro labor has not improved percep- | tibly, nor did he expect 1t to improve in Aficiency by prohibition. He said that his negroes came to town only or l Saturdays and whatever the dissipation | when they visited the city the effect:
 had about disappeared on Monday wher | they resumed their work. However
 even this landlord and employer ad
 mitted that the negro was saving more
 money, was buying more substantial l things in the city and was in some in
 stances forgetting that he ever knev l drink" Lots of them still cry pitt
 fully for the liquid smack"
 More White Farmers.
 One theorist draws this conclusiof
 from, the situation. provided the pres ent effort to enforce the law is a sus tained effort: White families who nov | ed from the country for fear alon, ofNthe negro crazed by drink. will bt disposed to people the rural district. again. Prohibition, to this mans think ing. will induce hegira from tn, city, will develop the farm more pro l ductively. No movement of this sor
 has so far been detected. yet the law | is young.
 Sentiment here Is wholesome at pres
 ent for enforcing the prohibition law
 but by no means Is 1t unanimous
 Prominent business men decry 1t. Som.
 believe that Montgomery Is getting 2 good bunch of wagon trade that for
 merly came here. because now Mont | gomery Is reputed to abound witf
 blind tigers. Where one town Is saic
 to be dry and another wet. all other
 things being equal. or nearly so, the
 fellow who likes his toddy will hike
 to the latter for his week end trade. l But the complaint on this score Is
 but little and cannot be verified as to l tta merit because of the short time the law has been in operation.
 Drunkenness on the streets has been cut down by something like 75 per cent. The Recorders docket shows
 this ratio for the first two dry
 months. "
 Law Oaicers Active.
 \ There were but four drunks hauled into court last month. The Mayor says he usually fines an every day jag s25 and costs. Sunday jags. like Sunday