Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-08-03
A Few Plain Words

Editor Atlanta Journal: 1t Is useless for men
to call for a cessation Of efforts on the part
Of many Of us TO suppress the saloons. We are
not willing to do anything that lie illegal or
indefensihle. The court or appeals has ny
its course rendered useless all our efforts 70
suppress what we honestly believed TO be the
greatest curse in the land. law which some
of us thought even too rigid has by the inter-
probation Of that court been rendered almost
valueless. Ale houses and beer saloons have been
substituted for barrooms. Our sons and our
servants In much peril as they ever
were, and when municipalities. as In Marietta.
have tried to protect their people, judges ike
Judge Ellis have estopped them.
The near-beer bill OF Mr.. Alexander Is intend
ed 70 explsin and render effective the anti
saloon bill Of the last legislature.
We have been very patient with the law
breakers, and with the law evaders, but 1t 10
tempt to hoodwink US. They know that the
present saloons the old ones under another
name. and are they absurd enough to suppose
after using such efforts to suppress the old
saloon, we are going to allow its substitute to
defy the will Of the peOple7
Governor Brown may veto the bill, but he
knows as we'll as any other that he will merely
cooperate with those who defeated in fair
stand-up fight and not by triekery, seeking to
The near-beer saloon is the sport Of the men
who are for an open town. They know 1t Is
but another name for an ale house and blind
tiger.
we are in for this war. That Savannah leads
in the fight against anything that restricts the
sale of intoxicants is sadly true, but We are
the evils Of the saloon, to protect the country
outside Of Savannah against the sale OF intoxi-
cants to its people. If city so exposed as
Savannah is, a city to defend which the rurNI
counties sent thousands Of men. during the war,
a city whose prosperity is due to the patronage
Of the interior, defies boldly the law Of her
state, she may not feel II as strange when those
whose wishes she so contems should fail to give
her the support, and sympathy she hitherto mad
rendered
II IL was a fact that the advocates OF the
near-beer saloon were simply friend to the ale
houses and foes TO the whisky shop, then might
be something like respect for their preference,
but we all know. and no one disputes II, tnat
the pretended sale Of near-beer is only a way
in which the dealing in all kinds OF strong
drink can find a
We are not strengthening to prohibition law;
we are simply making an honest effort to keep
II from being evaded and neutralized.
We are not fanatics. II men choose to pro
vide themselves with poisons or narcotics OF
strong drink, and do IL legally, have no
way TO protect them against themselves but we
have a right to protect ourselves against the
saloon and we intend to DO II.
Prohibition has done wonders for Georgia. The
fearful woe predicted when the wholesale deal
ers left our country has not been realized. Ma
con and Atlanta were never prosperous, al
though we have been checkmated as far as she
saloons are concerned, have, thank heaven
seen the exit Of the wholesale whisky dealers
and the retail whisky dealer has found there
was q law In the land II he shrewd
enough sometimes TO evade II.
YineviIle, Ca GEORGE G. SMITH.