The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-09
Letters to the Editor
EaYnrs DisnensarY

10 the or me ARe-f16TalQs AS you have kindly opened the column of your paper for the discussion of tt whisky question, I, as a citizen great interested in the welfare of every on. would like to make a few suggestion The greatest good to the greatest nun Der of people is the end to be sought. A will agree that when 1t comes to the ques good is supreme The wise man sal to fear God and keep His command I ments was the whole duty of man." Chi] taught men to seek first the kingdom [ God and His righteousness, and the grea Apostle said, 'whatsoever ye do, in wor or deed, do all in the name of the LOT Jesus" giving thanks to God the Fathe etc.
 Now. let us all discuss the whisky ques tion with these teachings in view. Let II carry the spirit of Christ into all d our controversies. By so doing we wi preserve and keep intact our business, sd cial and church relations. Let ever man be swift to hear, slow to speaH slow to wrath, for the wrath of ma worlieth not the righteousness of God. To seek the will and cooperation God in the settlement of all difficult ques tions is highly important and becomet an intelligent and God-fearing people. have always believed that no cause coul' be just, nor necessary that ignored Go in it's advocacy Let each voter striv to bring his life and conduct into har mony with Gods will, then we will no fear the result As the saloon question i a moral one. am treating 1t as such.
 It is no more a political one than tn prohibition of the cocaine or opium traffic So the epithet. political parson" an fanatic" has no place in the discusso of a moral question. If all who vot against the saloon are fanatics. then good majority of the voters in Jefferso were fanatics four years ago and nearl half of the voters of Colbert county ar fanatics now.
 At the shirt sale last Monday l was sur prised and pained to hear Harry Jone say publicly that Jones G. Moore, leade of the saloon forces, was the champion of the peoples cause" The expression was unkind and out of place. The plaiI. inference is that only those who demand the restoration of the saloon are entitled to be called people" The ministers ol | the gospel Christian laymen, Tssa s-ss' wives and daughters, with scores ant | scores of moralsts who do not profess t. l be Christians, are brushed aside as un worthy to be regarded as even people" l I would like to ask MT. Harry Jone | 1s4a.z f,. title one to be called "people?" If 1t b, | respect for and obedience to the laws. O. our country, moral character and intel ligence. we are willing to be compared with MT. Jones people" and expect to lose nothing by the comparison. As have indicated, let me preserve our feel. ings, keep back our spleen. we b< brethren" and must work out our des. tiny, side by side. The saloon from Maine to California Is looked upon as a nuisance, a menace to the peace. pros perity and happiness of the people. and to my mind is the most demoralizing and iniquitous form of selling whisky. Get ting rid of the blind tiger Is no argument in It's favor, for 1t has been shown that moro blind tigers exist where high licensed saloons are allowed than where the license is more reasonable. There are hundreds of men in Birmingham with lirn- ted means who will want to open saloons. but because of high license will be pro- hibited. These men, looking upon high license as class legislation, will not sub- init to such discrimination. and will open blind tigers. So instead of having blind tigers alone. as we have now, we will have with saloons restored tigers blind and tigers seeing, to say nothing of the multiplicity of the 3o-room dens of yica and crime. Now, If the advocates of the saloons are sincere and want whisky re- stored as a means of relief" and l judge that means relief from the necessity of having to buy whisky illegally. why not have the dispensary? Here we have relief-liquor, beer. law and order, and more-revenue for city and county. As long as whisky Is manufactured by law. and allowed to be sold in the United States. and men persist In drinking 1t. believe 1t should be sold in legal and open way, and ! believe that way, and the best way. to be the dispensary. This mode of handling whisky will accommo- date every man, and do away with the social drink evil, one of the worst features of the open saloon Let us not once think of opening loo saloons, together with dozens of 3O-room dens of vice, upon our fair streets. REV. D. D. REEVES,
 West End City.
 Birmingham. July s, 1911.