The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-08
PROHIBITION VERSUS .
 EFFICIENCY OF LABOR

of the Pratt Division of mines of the T. c. l. He is himself high saiaried mainstay. of the corporation He nan ipiates the thousands of coal miAers of the Pratt region. He was anti prohibitionist during the election Of the county. While he declines to say on which side he now would cast his iotss his testimony on the labor ques- tion is significant He said;
 "So far as I can see. labor conds- tions have Improved under prohibition-l I would not say the difference Is big but | have noticed that the men on being paid of are in the following. days less dissipated than they used to be, report more promptly and Ia bet ter physical condition, and their pro- auction per capita seems to have been increased. Of course, I know they can get their drink if they want It badly but it is not so easy now as It once was"
 A long-sought interview with c. J. Barr, general superintendent or the Pratt Division of the IT. c. l.. gave a boost to prohibition stock Mr. Barr is said to be the busiest induetrial expert in the district. He certainly seems so as 1t requised . half dozen calls. of an hours wait each to get In conversation with him. Although he iAs not dlTeCIly III tOlt0Ct ntth to10A as a nulnber Of his subordinates, he is constantly on the faok-out for the efficiency. and morals of his large force of employees. which In round numbers amount to 5000 men daily. For this ability to manage the enor- nous steel plant and its scores of ap- purtenances. for his skill and knowl- edge of the steel manufacture busi-i ness, Mir. Barr Is said to pull down salary of S20,e0o.
 fts from the working of prohibition" :" said the general superintendent
 don't know how much whfskey the men drink at home. They certainly can get 1t after they quit work and before the return here. but I have ob- served less drunk enness during 1908 than at any time previous. In Tact
 I see practically no drunkenness on the premises. Before I occasionally
 ran across men who were drunk and
 trying to attend to their work. Of course, we dismissed them at once Many times the bottles were to. be found in their pockets. Before pros
 hibition 1t was no uncommon thing to detect agents of the saloons in
 Ensley slipping up to the fence around
 the plant and selling 1t from their bfouses to the flaborers while on duty. InHI SecIIlB 10 HdVGe OCCn CAAtAAA~tCse now. All in all, there is less evidence of intoxicatlon on duty and apparently an increased eficiency Of the work ing man."
 But while this Is the situation right in the corporate limits of Ensley.
 where the drink, if man wants tt, can be procured in the city. differ ent state of affairs is said to obtain ! in the mining towns lying without the
 espionage of the. police and sherifr 6 1 forces. It Is said that blind tigers l haul their goods--and wicked brand at that--rigit up. to the entries of fthe mines. straight to the doors of | the miners homes. and dispense 1t. Reports come to Birmingham that l.whera only q few blind ti6ers h atle I outlying mining camps could find bus | inees enough to thrive, now the nle- gal sale of iiuuors has multiplied l greatly. These men. It Is said. stay
 at home and consume the whiskey tn large qliantities instead of coming to
 the city as previously for their dissi- pa tion
 whether this is represented in the | true light cannot be told. It would I require a visit to the damps. It is
 certain, however, that visits of min CTS to Birmingham in 1908 were less l freauent than in 1907 and heretofore, | This could. however. be attributed to the stress of the strike and the inc | activty of the mines themselves dur ! ing last year.