The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-02-25
Saloons Have Not Even Moved
 Up Stairs
TALK OF EXTRA SESSION
Visitors to Mardl Gras Would Never Have Known There Is Such Thing as Statutory Prohibition
 In Alabama.
,............................
By HUGH w. ROBERTS.

By HUGH w. ROBERTS.
 Mobile, February -(Special.) )-If prohibition really decreases the death and increases the birth rate, Us the will not share in these benefits, for in Mobile prohibition Is as dead as 1t Is in Maine.
 While as everyone knows anyone in Birmin gham who desires can obtain drink, whether his thirst demands draught of beer or the pure and un- adulterated article considered In some quarters more harmful, and in others more effcacious, it Is true nevertheless that in the Magic City one is compelled to walk up a flight of stairs or pat ronize a hidden and unkempt hostelry
 But a resident of Birmingham con fronted with conditions in Mobile Is astounded, and as stated the resident of Birmingham has seen a few things himself
 It Is fact that in this city no visible attempt is made to enforce the prohi- bition laws, and there is no apparent
 
 effort to keep hidden the fact that the law Is every hour and everywhere vio- lated.
 The dealers in booze, as a matter of fact, have not shown, as have the Bir- mingham dealers, enough respect for the laws of Alabama to move their joints up flight of steps. Strangers meet no obstacles in procuring what they desire. At all hours of the night at least this was true during the Mardi Gras season-the barkeeps are busy, and Sunday sees no cessation of the illicit traffic.
 Not Result of Prohibition.
 When your correspondent arrived in Mobile with the assignment of investi- gating the prohibition laws as to how well they were enforced and what their effect had been, 1t was his intention to interview Mayor Lyons, the chief of police, the judge of the police court, others in authority, as well as repre- sentative citizens who do not hold of flee It was also his intention to pub fish statistics Illustrating conditions as they are today, and as they were last year. But when an hours stay in Mo bile had convinced that there was no prohibition, practically speaking, the thought dawned that the laws could not have had the beneficial effects which in some places and to certain extents they are thought to have had. If whisky Is sold in Mobile as freely as it was sold last year, any decrease in the matter of crime cannot be at tributed to prohibition; the fact that the death rate has decreased, cannot be attributed to prohibition; the fact that no disastrous fire has swept the city since January 1 cannot be at tributed to prohibition; the fact that building operations are increasing can not be attributed to prohibition,
 Therefore, any effect which the en- actment of the legislature has had in Mobile. granted of course that the sale of whisky and other beverages Is the same as last year, must be the effect which Is the basis of the argument of the anti-prohibitionst. The city 1t was learned has lost in revenue about $S0.- 900 (these figures being the estimate of Senator Max Hamburger, which loss has injured the public schools, and levied a tuition on the people
 As stated in the outset prohibition does not prohibit in Mobile. This fact is so apaprent that no proof is nec- essary. Mobile citizens admit as much and to the visitors do not appear to deplore that fact.
 Operating In Some Places.
 Those places which were operated last year are still doing business. The handsome saloons in the heart of the city are crowded throughout the day. while the dives on the edges still serve their motley patronage. During the Mardi Gras festivities, when the city was crowded with visitors the saloons enjoyed a rich traffic, and often to ap proach the counter demanded an im- patient walt. In conspicuous places in the saloons are hung placards to the ef- feet that no intoxicating drinks are served, while in some are other cards announcing, "All kinds of soft drinks sold here" But when an order for Cold one" is given. "cold one" is served, and when a customer who knows demands a gingerale. or a white rock, he draws his whisky straight or his high ball, or his gin fizz
 Ask for ''Budweiser," however, and the affable barkeep shakes his head with the announcement. ''We sell no beer here. ," Then say, "Well. give me as near Bud weiser as you possibly can and the barkeep smilingly fills your order and your satisfaction is complete.
 Col Tom Sidney Fraser of Union Springs in discussing the violations of prohibition in Mobile, sized up the sit uation in these words: Why, if should order bottle of wine it would be served across the counter
 Police Department Wise.
 It stands to reason, although of course no proof could be obtained if 1t was desired, that the police department knows that the laws of the state are being violated day after day Monday night a peculiar incident occurred in the soft
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