The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-18
Dispensary Was Idol of
 People. IT POURED MUCH MONEY
 INTO CITY AND COUNTY Also Seemed to Have Served Pur- poses of Prohibition. The Tax Rate Has Now Reached Con- stttutionea Limit and the Coun- ty and City Admanistra-
 lions Are veriiy Up
 Against 1t.
CHAS. l.. HAROLD.


 cHAs. |. HAROLD.
 Huntsville, Feb. 17.--(Special )--CafT It un-American. call 1t new-fangled, call 1t undignified. or what not, the people of Huntsville had come to love the dispensary.
 It may be subversive of the consti- tution but prominent citizens of Madi- son County do not see it that way. The dispensary idea may have originated no reason for Madison County rejecting 1t. For all they cared, it may have originated in Sulu or the Fill islands.
 It Is probable thaA nowhere has the dispensary found so strong an argu- msnt as in Madison County. It seems to have served the purposes of prohi- bition and moreover poured generous thousands into the city and county } tTeasuries Some have decried the pro- ceeds of the dispensary as tainted, have derided the city. county or State gov- ernment for stooping to the liquor traffic. That is certainly the ,Puritanic view of the question but once 8 com munity fails to admit the practcability of absolute prohibition. the logic of the tdealist loses it's force. Statesmen then dy for solution to the practical field Of operation.
 So. if the voters Of Madison county had come to adore the working of the dispensary. 1t was because of it's undis- puted success with them. The Stats Legislature in 1899 may have done well to table State- wide dispensaries. There was time when such a measure was seriously considered by the hard think CTS of Alabama. It was not only dis cussed. advocated and abhorred in the council of the Soions but 1t thrust It. self upon the academic debates of our colleges and we find that in the inter- collegiate debate at Tailadsga in the summer of 1900 the question of statu- tory dispensary was decided with much eclat in favor of the measure.
 But prominent men of Huntsville de- clare that the very reason which de- feated the State dispensary system ar- sues well for the county dispensary such as was in operation at Huntsville.
 Charges OF Graft.
 If the charges of graft against dis pensaries under State control are we'll founded. and that is the strongest prac- Eical argument against this way Of regulating the liquor trafffc, people of Madison respectfully call youk attsn- ton to the difference with thes local establishment. No one could be found in this city who alleged corruption in the running of the dtspenRary. Many who fought the idea in the memorable campaign of 1906 when it was the is- sue and fought it on the ground of graft alone, now are loud in their ap. provai of the business. Indeed, not only the testimony, of citizens person. ally points to freedom from graft but the imposing figures representing prof. its have much significance on this point.
 The Madison County dispensary had a life of one year and ten and a half months. Without any strong solicita- tion on the part of the people here. the Legislature suddenly outlawed the dispensary with the general prohibit tion bill. During that short period the dispensary had brought net profits to city and county amounting to $89- 037.64. This fund was wisely appropri- ated. The first S5.000 each year was applied to the public schools of the county on the school census last taken, and the remainder net was divided equally between the county and city. The county's share. by the provisions of the special legislative act. was de. voted to the building and repairs of the dirt roads of the county while the city received its share into its general fund.
 The county's share during the less than two years of operation of the dispensary was sS9,Se1.S1. The amount drawn by Huntsville was the same, while the schools of the county re- eeived s9375.01. The county had be. gun large and important Improvements of the roads. Probate Judge ". T. Lawler estimates that 140 miles of pike that had become dilapidated were being rebuilt on expectation of contin- ued profits from the dispensary or course, this magnificent enterprise will not be stopped as much as the county commissioners resent the interference of the Legislature.
 Tax Rate Raised.
 The board has decided that the work shall proceed and to that end the coun- ty tax has been raised one and ono- half mills. The rate was increased from thirteen and a half mills to four teen and a half for county purposes. This raise is the direct result of pros hibition as is admitted by Probate Judge Lawler and the commissioners
 The president of a large cotton milling company here advances an In. terestIng argument in this connection. He is for the dispensary like big mas jority of the business men of the city and county Ho holds that the dis. pensary was a tax collector that never existed before. The system levied tax on a class of men who never be- fore contributed a cent to the county. who trod the roads as much or more than any tax payer, who packed the pavement as much as his thrifty fellow but who could not be reached through the ordinary tax channels
 Under the dispensary that we liked so we'll" said the mill company presi- dent. "we were enabled to reach this fellow who never contributed a cent before in taxes It is probable that two-thirds of the patronage of the dis pensary came from the negro or the shfftless whites They are bent on their booze and seem compelled to have it. They are getting it now through the express company where before they bought 1t from the dispensary