The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-18
ROGERS OUTLINES
 HIS LIQUOR BILL Licensed Saloons the Solution
 in Birmingham HOW TO REGULATE THEM Licensee to Make Bond and Present Application Signed By Voters of Ward-Thinks Dispensnry
 Will Not Work
HOW TO REGULATE THEM

Thomas M. Rogers, a we'll known law
 yer of Birmingham, who has made the
 subject of prohibition careful study, is the author of a strict high-license saloon
 bill, which will be introduced for him in
 the coming session of the legislature. MT.
 Rogers is an old hand at drafting bills,
 having drawn many during his ten years
 residence in Washington, and he drew up the first bill that was introduced provid- ing for the creation of the department of commerce
 | MT. Rogers took a leading part in the | fight against the amendment, and was ac- | tive in behalf of Colonel O'Neal in the past campaign. He has spent much val
 uable time in collecting the data for his
 bill and in discussing 1t yesterday he said:
 Discusses His Bill
 q really believe that should my bill ever become law the old saloon would
 look like thirty cents when compared with the new, and Birmingham would have saloons that would be conducted as l they should be and most of the objec- | lions raised against saloons by the Anti Saloon league people would be shown to | be fallacies. am also sincere in the be- | lief that said bill doessnot contain a sim gle section, or provision, that will not sue cessfully withstand an attack in the courts. While many of the provisions are strict-I might say 'tight-there are none that are drastic or unreasonable. yet sew cral of them are open to amendment, as for instance the hours of opening and closing, and the amount of license fee re- ouired.
 "Tor the past two years I have given the solution of the whisky or saloon problem in this state careful and earnest thought and consideration. Although a teetotaler myself for the past five or six years. have never been prohibitionist, because from personal experience and ob- srvation was convinced many years ago that prohibition was a bowling farce and nothing else, and, in fact very few ever wanted it-except for the other fellow. In fact. so long as Uncle Sam permits in- terstate shipments of intoxicating liquors there can be no successful prohibition. It is true that Congress has from time to time placed restrictions around such ship ments, and by so doing has shown that ie possesses almost unlimited power, it has never as yet attempted to enact a law liouors from a wet state into dry stato,' and until 1t does so blind tigers will flourish and illegal sales, no revenue and no regulation will exist. instead of legal sales, large revenues and strict reg ulation. The real question confronting the people of Alabama is, which condition is to be preferred? sincerely believe that the majority of the people in Ala bama if asked to answer this question would without hesitation says, the latter
 Return to Local Option
 "Eyer since the adoption of state wide prohibition I have felt that 1t was only a question of short time when the majority of Alabama citizens would ask for a return to the old dem ocratic doctrine of local self-govern- nent. or. in other words, to- local op- ton. They did that this year For the past two years I have studied with care the liquor legislation of the various states; have carefully examined so far as possible their excise laws, with the end in view of preparing myself to draw up bill providing for saloons but saloons of far different charac- ter from those to which we were once accustomed; a bill that would eliminate the objectionable features of the bus mess as formerly conducted. would take them out of the hands of the law breakers, and instead would give us as proprietors men who would strive | to obey the law law that would make a saloon license a valuable as- set, instead of something granted by or through the mere caprice of some ward boss and held only so long as the boss was willing; or else was the actual property of some brewer who compelled the ostensible owner of the license to use his make of beer or lose his license; | O bill that would eliminate the old-time dive-the loitering place for thieves and thugs and disreputable people of both sexes and all races; a bill that would bear alike upon the rich and the poor; special privileges for none.
 Many Plans Suggested
 l During the past few weeks many different bills have been spoken Of, many different plans proposed. Some advocate one thing, some another. Some of the opponents of the present condi- tions, brought about by prohibition, want legislation enacted that will per init the sale of beer and light wines In high toned cafes and clubs. Some favor beer and wine saloons with high license and whisky sold only at dispensaries. Others advocate nothing but the dis | pensary system. Those who favor a law permitting intoxicating liquors and l beverages to be sold only at high tone cafes and clubs overlook the fact that this would prevent the larger per cent | of the adult population of any city from getting anything to drink except through the medium of blind tigers or bootleggers. The great objection have to the second plan I have mentioned is that blind tigers would still exist | The dispensary plan, while all right for a. small city, would never be success in large cities like Birmingham, Mont | gomery and Mobile. I am firmly of the
 belief that the best solution of the liquor problem In city of say 1000. or over is the open saloon under strict lregulation, with a license high enough to bring in a goodly revenue but not SC high as to induce saloonkeeper te handle poor or impure goods. l woulc
 suggest that in cities of the size ol
 Birmingh am, Montgomery and Mobile
 that the license be either 5000 or $160' rI< |.