The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-06-25
Citizens Continue To
Discuss Liquor Problem
F Ensen Favors High Licensed Saloons With Close Regu
lation-O Neil, DR. Newfied and Chief Bodeker
Inclined to Favor Dispensary

home We can manufacture as purs
and as good beer in Alabama as N
any state in the union and the brew
cries should be permitted to operate
under proper restrictions
City Clerk H. E. Shropshire, Jr., said
yesterday afternoon that he was in favor
of the dlspensary as the only practicable
way of getting rid of the citys blind
tigers. THE blind tigers and speak
easies of Birmingham are fast becoming
a joke to every one who visits the city
he said. 1T is no fault of the chief of
police or anyone else except the people.
II they want blind tigers they are going
to have them, even If you arrest a man
every minute in the day.
Il personally am in favor of the high
license saloon. l have been in cities
where there was prohibition, in cities
where theer were dispensaries and in
cities where there was every other kind
of remedy for the liquor traffic, and
looking at the matter from a fair and
impartial standpoint | have come 10 the
conclusion that for enforcement of the
law and for the promotion of peace for
the citizens of a town, high licensed sa-
looms come nearest to solving the prob
lem
"Candidly, however, / do not believe
that there will ever be licensed open
saloons in Birmingham. and therefore 1t
appears to me that a dispensary is the
next best way to rid the city of these
lawless and corresponding blind tigers
that exist simply because there is
strong demand for them and not because
there is a delinquency In the enforce
ment of the law.
Il have serious doubts whether a dis
pensary can ever be obtained, however,
unless a bill to that effect is passed by
the state legislative body. If the adoption
of a dispensary is left 10 the vote of the
people it will meet with the combined
opposition of the prohibition and the
blind tiger element and will be defeated
The blind tiger element will be its
strongest opponent, because it will mean
death to their business.
The best governed and most lawful
town in regard to the liquor question that
| have ever known anything about was
Jackson, Miss There they had high
licensed saloons and every saloon in the
town was strictly orderly place. There
were no screens at the windows and even
large and fantastic lettering would not
be allowed on the windows to conceal
what was going on inside. Before a
saloonkeeper could start business there
he had to have a petition signed by all
the leading citizens of the town and the
petition advertised for a month before
he opened his place of business. Any
saloonkeeper who sold liquor to a minor,
a habitual drunkard or to any one whom
their blood relation had requested him not
to sell to, had his license revoked. There
was no music, and I never heard of a
saloon brawl. Besides this the tax col
lection amounted to a great sum in the
city treasury.
Here we get nothing from the blind
tigers. They do not pay the city a cent
but they create a lot of drunkards, they
lower the morals of the city, they pro-
mote crime and lawlessness and cost the
city much money in the prosecution of
cases. Let's get rid of, the blind tiger,
who pays us nothing and does US all
harm and no good
I'VE do not want saloons such as were
in Birmingham before, and if we can't
have respectable saloons then let's get a
dispensary. The dispensary will put lots
of money into the city treasury, will
eliminate the blind tigers and elevate
the morals of the community.
1.-The dispensary should be placed In the
hands of a competent dispenser. He
should see that 1t is closed at o clock
every evening and also on circus days,
election days and simiI>> occasions. We
should grant the leading hotels of the
city the right to serve drinks with meals,
and then I believe Birmingham would be
transformed into a different town. all for
the better of its citizens and their pros
perity.'