The Washington herald., 1909-05-09

/ Ihc TINTED St6tess - McstcTu Hdn iate
graduate. who has not Jet celebrated his thirty
I sixth bi-thday
whisky. and he wanted il badly Not
/ being acquainted with saloon keepers. or.
/ to put IL as a policeman did when he
! heard this story. possessing a vast ignO-
! rance OF Georgia IN general and Atlanta
/ in particular. he sought a negro n the
street and telling him his wants. asked
I the man II be thought he could supply
! them. Now this negro was something Of
/ e 1nancier and he gave the stranger
/ long talk on how difficult it vas 10 get
whisky N Georgia. winding up by saying
! he reckoned as how he mOught get dc
! german a bottle. but it vas mighty
/ resky work"
Waits for Negro 20 Return.
Finally bargain was struck The negro
was 10 get $ and the drummer a quart
OF whisky The latter handed the darky
la 50 bill. telling him he could bring the
/ change with the whisky. The negro told
/ him 70 wait where he was and he would
return in few minutes with both. The
/ expected-though to the drummer Il was
the nexpected-happened The drummer
/ waited and waited and then waited some
more. but the negro didD't appear. II his
/ patience had lasted he would probably
/ have been sJil waiting.
/ Finally he went 10 a police court and
/ told his story there To think that this
I happened IN Atlanta vas the disguised
I comment OF a policeman who heard Il
/ II one IS a Georgian, however, ore viii
I find llttie difficulty in getting as much
or as little 20 drink as one wants and
I L.
/ Is due 10 the club locker system. which
IS Tow in vogue throughout the State.
F! This system il worked thus
I The members Of a club each subscribe
I so much with which 10 lay n a stock Of
4 liQuoT-sOmetimes "A regular stock COM
I psny is formed. Suppose the amount
/ subscribed Is IS each. This sum buys so
many bottles OF Scotch and rye whisky,
/ Of gin. Of beer. OF absilthe, and 50 on.
/ the selection OF liquors being decided By
/ a vote Of the club. When the liquors
| arrive they are slowed away in the lock
1 ers Of the different members. or at least
they are supposed 70 be.
/ Then the club has a wine list printed.
| on which are enumerated the different
mixed drinks that can be made from il.
and all that remains for member 70
/ DO when he wants a drink Is % walk into
his club. order the drink he wants. and
| sign check for il.
The theory Of the system Is that In
/ signing the checks the club member IS
simply charging himself for his own
liquor. for at the end OF a specified period
the money he has paid IN for drinks IS
supposedly used for the replenishment
/ OF his locker supply. The object OF hav-
/ ing any list az all. theoretically. IS merely
! 70 refresh the mans memory on what
/ liquors he keeps IN his lockers and into
] what cOncoctions they may be mixed
Law Really Made for Negroes.
No prohibition law. Georgians say.
would ever have been passed n the state
If it had net been for the negro. Il was
/ TO decrease crime IN this race that the
/ law was passed. Since the negro has no
4 clubs and consequently 10 club locker
systems. t has proved effective. It has
made il difficult for the negro 70 get in
toxicating liquors, except beer. even m
the larger cities, and vastly more difficult
I in country communities. where the prohi-
bitiOn law is said TO be strictly enforced.
both as to the white man and the negro.
and especially 50 regarding the latter
A prominent official. IN discussing the
/ prohibition question, said:
The prohibition law was passed for the
| benefit OF the negro because o. him and
for the protection Of the whites, par
I ticularly those IN the sparsely settled
country neighbOrhOOds- The leSislaturs N
passing the Law recognized this. and the
/ people OF that State know that they rec
/ ognized il. Knowing this. they co not
look for any stringent enforcement Of
the statute. especially as regards white
men. in the cities where there is ade-
quate police protection. Not unreason-
ably, think, they expect the authorities
to overlook infractions unless they be-
come too fragrant and too open The
authorities themselves naturally are IN
! clined 10 be lenient and not to see certain
things unless they have 10 Il IS not
improbable that IL the prohibition law re-
mains on the statute books Il may become
more or less a dead letter IN cities and
/ large towns. but it VIII. IN my opinion
always be well enforced IN country COM
munities
Theoretically, this may not be right
but as I look ar II I fail 70 see much
harm IN Il. as the law VIII stin be doing
what it really was put on the statute
books for-to help keep the negro out Of
( trouble, and II will also do good in re-
! ducing the amount OF drunkenness among
a certain class OF white people"
These views seemed 20 be held by
number of other prominent Georgia men,
Under the constitution" said the presi-
dent Of one of the leading women's clubs
in Georgia. st was impossible to pass d
law prohibiting the sale OF intoxicating
liquors TO the negro without prohibiting
their sale to the white people. II such a
law could have been passed. it would
have been long ago. for whisky, believe
was the cause OF much. IL not most. Of
the negro crime in this State As It
could not be passed, and as il appeared
to Us imperative that the sale OF intoxi-
cants 70 negroes should be restricted as
much as possible. the only thing that we
could do was 10 pass the present prohibl-
ton Law. OF course. It ought TO be strict
y enforced, but I must say DO not care
whether or not II does beconse a little lax.
SO long as it fglhlls its real purpose
The prison authorities Of the State say
they have noticed already the effect OF
the new law IN the diminUtion Of negro
crime.