The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-01-14
Near Beer and Real Beer Are
 Sold In Many Places
CONDITIONS IN ATLANTA
Average Citizen Has Respect for Law, But This Is Not the Case With the Sellers and Buyers
 of Drinks.

| much interest in Atlanta in a statement given out yesterday by Solicitor General
 Walter C. Hartridge of Savannah upon his return to that city after a conference
 with Governor Hoke Smith regarding al legged open violations of the state pro- l hibition law in Chatham county.
 It is considered here that Solicitor Gen eral Hartridge speaks ex cathedra, and, in this case, practically as the represen- | tative of the governor.
 | MT. Hartridge made 1t emphatically plain that the governor had no intention or purpose to interfere with the eXecu- tion of the law in Chatham or any other county, but was determined to leave 1t 1 wholly in the hands of the local -authori- ties, confident that their conception of duty and public sentiment would result in upholding the law.
 That is all very well and good" saE a we'll known Georgian who has kept careful tab on the working of the prohibi- tion law, "but suppose the authorities and public sentiment don't want the law en- forced, what then? Such a thing is pos sible in many counties in the state. Wouldn't the effect be the same as under local option? Wouldn't it be the exercise of local option in the enforcement of the | law?
 'Take the situation as it existed in Atlanta. Here the near beer dealers have paid the s2OO tax and nobody Is bother ing them They go on selling real beer' and it is not likely they will be materially interfered with It doesn't make any difference what the extreme prohibitions ists may say about it, the majority pub lie sentiment in Atlanta has no material | fault to find with the violation of the prohibition law to the extent of selling real beer, and that is now about the only thing that can be found in one of these socalled near beer saloons. outside of few bottles of the imitation which are kept for display purposes or samples in case anyone should want to make an analysis.
 "So far as whisky is concerned, there is considerable of it sold in Atlanta put this is done covertly. Now and then the police make an arrest, usually Of some negro, and there Is a fine or chain-gang sentence. The near beer dealers do not sell whisky; they are afraid to.
 "But public sentiment in Atlanta tol- crates the sale of real beer just as, ac- cording to all reports. it tolerates the sale l of stronger things in Savannah So IT real beer can be sold in Atlanta upon payment of the near beer tax why | shouldn't the Savannah dealers pay the tax and sell whisky and mixed drinks besides? So far as the open violation Of the prohibition law is concerned, there IS no difference in degree. q am talking now from the standpoint of the dealers Of course, the average citizen who has respect for law, feels, in a general way, that all law should be enforced But still looking at 1t from the same point of view, where the Savannah dealers made their mistake was in being so open about it. Pretended acquiescence | in the law covers multitude of sins' | and therein I think the Atlanta crowd has been wise. They have pretended to sell only a substitute for beer, but every body is aware they can get the real thing
 If the Savannah dealers had worked 1t on the same basis, no matter what they | sold. there would hardly have been so l much fuss about 1t.
 l "Rut the situation has resolved itself | into one in which practically every coun-. | ty in the state is going to do Just as IL | likes, and in my opinion, unless some | thing is done about it, we will have with | in a short time almost as many wet. | counties as we had under the old loeai | option law
 1 Diphtheria Anti-T oxn. l The state board of health has on hand l 1Iral1t ttar a mi | but cannot issue it for use because It | has had no means of accurately testing 1 it's efficacy.
 | This antitoxin is one of the most ex- 1 nensive medicines known, costing in the | drug stores something like S to sS for
 each dose and approximately $50 for the | medicine alone in the treatment of each | case of diphtheria-
 The state proposes to furnish it free l in all cases where 1t is needed for the | treatment of this disease, but the board l of health will not do so until 1t has a remedy of known efficacy. The trouble | is the board has no place in which to keep animals upon which the tests must | be made It cannot be told, therefore,
 whether they die from the effects of the | antitoxin, from the cold or other causes.
 Secretary H.. F. Harris, however, has
 sent some of the antitoxin on to New
 York in order that a test of it may be | made there If the report from New
 York proves satisfactory the state board
 expects to notify the public that it has
 the antitoxin on hand for use in any
 cases of diphtheria for which it may be
 desired.
 The board has had no trouble in pre-
 paring and testing it's antitoxin for hy-
 drophobia the method being far less diff l ficult, and 1t has done some effective work in connection with the treatment of this
 malady.
 The 'Possum Dinner.
 Extensive advertisement of the pos
 sum dinner to President-elect Taft has
 raised the question here as to why the 1 stuffed imitation 'possum should not be-
 come as popular plaything with the l children as the little bear If a Teddy
 bear why not Billy 'Possum? The talk has led an enterprising At
 lantan to get up model of a Billy
 'Possum" and take out a copyright on
 1t with that end in view. How the idea i will take remains to be seen, but it Is ! possible another season may see the 1 stuffed. fuzzy 'possums with long curly i tails on sale as Christmas toys Atlanta is not talking about much else
 this week but the Taft banquet on Fri
 day night The list of guests so far has reached 400, though original preparations were made for 600. It is expected, how ever, that the present list will be con ? siderably swelled.
 All final preparations have been made, the food Is all in, hand with the arrival | from Worth county today of the carload , of 'possums captured by Judge Frank |