The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-01

were concealed at first from the view of the consumer or buyer. This made 1t dinicult for the officers Co act. and enforced more caution. The result has been that the xseRgue is very. disap- pointed and the vigilance of officers has necessarily relaxed. It has given rise to rumors that if c special session nor Conner, the call win include the fegalizing of ratders' warrants.
 Several of the most prominent club~ men of Birmingham, arrested in raids whcrns m have sued Sheriff Higdon for false arrest.
 These experiences and the general influence of Q political nature. wtelded by men "high up'' in business and so- ctAl life herah have combined to 70. duce raids on blind tigers of the mors polite type. The attention of officers seems to have turned on the less infu- entiaI clubs. And herein lies one of the serious consequences Of prohibition as it Is enforced in all larger communi- ties. It gives rise, so it Is claimed, to a sociRlistic resentment among the poor classes. Why should they be sub- 3ected to the frequent interruptions of the police and deputies to the neglect of the benton clubs where sales run riot and retail trade thrives7 The question is asked by tho patrons and members of the influential blind tigers and the idea of J discrimination tB spreading rapidly. The man of means may get his souze without molestatton but the fellow of wages. the carpenter and the peddler, the miner and the teamster.s he must sit always In fear of a raid. 5I
 The prohibitionistss answer this by pointing to the fact that in enforcing any law in any State, the rich man gets the faYors. Moreover, in this inc stance. 1t is best fer the poor man that he comes under the special care of the oficers because itewas for him and his benefiass were siRtended. d.-a.s1t was to build tim more homes to increase his bank accounts, to give more comfort to his wife and children and to gener- ally better the poor man, AS for the rich man he can afford to indulge his appetite. for he=has the means. No suffering babes at home, no wives cry- ing for bread increase the pauper liSte among the wealthy.
 DOetEiMes of Socialism.
 Bx some the argument carries e., good deal Of weight, by some it is con- sidered spacious but much can be said on both sides. Certainly the discrim. inatior is gelt by the lower and medium classes and tt nourishes the doctrines of socialism.
 when these forms of the tiger are taken into consideration. when they ara coupled with the "bootleggers," the avaricious negroes of the alleys. the sellers Of booze that would make a kitten spit in a bull dogs face. coupled with the large loads of whiS- key and other intoxicents shipped here from other states, a frightfui quantity of the stun is consumed in this city and county. Still 1t Is be- Heved to be less than during the re- ign of wet. In fact, tt seems evident from the internal revenue records. Just how much less is being consum- ed at present cannot be told. There arc too many sources Of@Bupply.
 Nevertheless 1t is certain that pro- htbition at this stage has wiped away the worst of the evils of drtnk--the treating habit. Or at least. it has been reduced. The treating sun ex- ists in tho clubs and in the ofIces and in the homes, but there arc fewer 'drunks on the streets than were to bo seen during the high license era. The streets ae night fare more free from the dangerous characters.f Also there is no temptation yet to step from the sidewalk into the presence of the demon. The indifferent drinker the young man who felt unsociable if he did not walk Into the saloon at the becton of his companion. this type of consumer feels free now to declne the invitation to go upstairs. to step around to the club for Q drink; he can plausibfy say that he not time; he is in a hurry. Thus sure- ly has the Treating habit been miti- gated and 1t is one of tho most power fui arguments of the Prohibitionists Well may the advocates of dry" point to this as the crowning virtue of their remedy.
 |. About half of the more than $50 aaloons whose inquestB were held January l, 1908 have been succeeded hy soft drink establishments. To the dangers-on, the worthless characters and the familiar faces, these are as good places of resort as the open sa- loon. Rather they were once, but now the operations of tbis form of blind- 1 tiEeT, the most reckless tn the list, l gnavo been cut down by a city. ordln- | ance which the police have enforced ! and are enforeslng with some diii- l geuee. This decree maats it a heavy ! nna ana imprieonznent for the stOraRa