The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-08-23
Reports Indicate the Blind Tigers Will Be Routed
 By Big Majority
MOORE REVIEWS THE
 WORK OF CAMPAIGN
Tells How Statements of the OppOsi- ton Have Been Carefully and Conservatively Answered
 By Real Facts

tee has maintained a cheerful optimism
 that has not only been convincing, but has
 set at rest all fears as to the final out
 come of the present campaign, yet the
 events of the past few days have ap-
 parently been so propitious for the sue
 cess of regulation against blind tigerism, that the optimism has been succeeded by jubilation that insures victory. Daily reports received by the leaders from country precincts show continuous gains and the estimated majority has gone from 15OO to $500 in the past few days.
 There has never been a campaign con- ducted with more businesslike precision than this one, and the local option lead CTS have carefully avoided personalities. In other words, except to answer mis- leading statements, the local optionists have ignored the opposition and follow ed out to the letter the campaign as originally planned. Those who have been on the firing line | from the onset of the campaign have
 not let up one iota and are putting in
 every available minute to make the vic tory a memorable one In the annals of
 tbe county.
 Moore Reviews Campaign Reviewing the work of the campaign
 from the local optionist standpoint, Chair
 man Jones Moore expressed himself as
 being more than satisfied with the sit
 ration. and stated last night that as the
 date of the election approaches he feels that the majority for high license and regulation will be even greater than has
 heretofore been anticipated.
 "One at a time we have exploded the fal'acies of the opposition" he said, and
 brief review of the campaign will show
 that we have met every issue squarely and to the entire satisfaction of the reople.
 ITO start out with, they not only at-
 tackled the provisions of the Smith bill,
 but they misrepresented it grossly, and erdeavored to make the people believe that 1t provided for things which can rot possibly be allowed under the law. They harped on old time saloon condi- tions. and ignored entirely the stringent regulations which the new law throws around saloon. and the strict require ments which a man must measure up to before he can secure license. la They have endeavored to make scare
 crow out of the hotel feature of the law, | trying to make the people believe that even 30-room boarding houses could be | licensed to sell whisky. Not only that.
 but they have made statements that the license for hotels to retail liquors would
 be only $500, when they knew that the
 law imposed the same amount as upon saloons, namely, 5000.
 These and various other misrepresen- tations have been made, but not one word as to the safeguards that have been thrown around the community by the regulations of the bill. Why, able lawyers
 have said, after giving the Smith bill careful study, that 1t was in fact the
 most drastic and stringent measure ever put upon the statutes books, affecting the liquor traffic. .- Then they tried to make a 'bogey' out of the excise commission feature of the bill, some of them admitting that If they were sure of the character of men who would be appointed, the situation would be simplifed Now that objection has been promptly met by an open state ment from the governor that he would appoint only such men as were satsfac- tory to the business interests of this
 county He even went further, and stated
 that no man would be appointed on the
 board unless he were approved by our board of city commissioners So, you see. one by one we have swept away all possible objections that could be raised to our side of the issue and l am content
 to leave the verdict to the judgment of
 the voter.
 Strongest Men of City Some of the strongest and most emi-
 nent men of the city have come out open ly and stated their convictions that the
 vile conditions brought about by blind
 tlgerism could only be remedied by the
 well regulated saloon. Judge Lane, a
 man of the widest experience in civic affairs, and one who is as highly regarded | for his honesty and integrity as any man | in this city. has stated it as his candid | opinion that the interests of law and or der can best be subserved by the peopIe l voting for regulated saloons, and he made
 this statement only after giving the sub- l ject the deepest study. Mayor Exum has also added his indorsement The prohibition side of the fight. | long ago deserted the main issue and
 have said practically nothing in defense | of conditions that prohibition has | brought upon this county. They have emphasized their inconsistency by ask inu tho poonle to vota for Iio,,or +a I, =