The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-08-15

business. If a dispensary was established in Birmingham hundreds, if not thousands of blind tigers would be created
 Birmingham is cosmopolitan city, and men from all over the state and country are pouring into it's borders after o'clock, they want a drink, bottle, of beer or a drink of whiskey, and where such want exists among such a large class of peo- pie somebody will be found to- supply the demand.
 Why not recognize human nature as it is? Why say to the man who reaches the city of Birmingham after o'clock in the evening that he must remain thirsty until next morning? Why encourage the use of the most ardent spirits and dis courage the use of the milder and less harmful stimulants?
 Dtspensary and Revenue
 It is no argument to say that the dis pensary will bring more wealth to the city or county, as the supreme court of Alabama has decided that the only iusti- fcation for a dispensary Is upon the the ory that it will lessen the consumption of liquor.
 If the sale of liquor is to he in-
 creased, If revenue Is fo be the oh-
 ject, then the law will he pro-
 nounced unconstitutional by the courts.
 With dispensary in a city of the population of the city of Birmingham the officers and agents who manage and control a dispensary are to be se- lected in effect by the board of revenue. The board of revenue exercising such an important power will be subject to influences which will be pernicious and antagonistic to the public welfare The purchasing agent of a dspen- sary, who is corrupt man, could in a year amass an enormous fortune, and without much fear of detection. The whole theory of a dispensary is wrong in principle
 Wherever state. county or a mu- nicipality has undertaken to engage in a private business, especially to mo- nopolize that business. 1t has always led to evil to fraud to graft, to cor ruptlon, to mismanagement The theo- ries of Jefferson are the only sound and true theories upon which our system of government can be maintained.
 The whole province of the govern ment is, to protect the individual in his life, liberty or property, and whenever We embark upon the socalstic theory that the government must become the guardian of the people, must conduct the business for the people, must en- gage in trade or traffic, then we de- part from the republican and embark upon the monarchial principles of gov ernment.
 Democratic Principles
 We should not overlook the cardinal principles of democracy, one of which Is that the government should have no power to engage in private business, to conduct any trade or traf- fc, or undertake to monopolize any business under the false and spacious pretense that it is for the public good
 If the sale of liquor is m evil,
 If men wffo drink it are drinking
 poison, If under no circumstances
 or conditions should it be permit
 ted, then prohibition Is the only
 true policy, but if the abuse and
 not the use of intoxicating liquors
 Is the evil to be remedied, the only
 sane and proper cOurses is to com
 init the traffic to private individ-
 uals under strict and stringent pro-
 visions of law.
 The sale by dispensary is in effect an admission that liquor is proper sub ject of merchandise, use and consumption. and that it is the duty of the state, for the purposes of revenue, to assume it's monopoly. As well might the state un- dertake to monopolize the traffic in to- bacco or any other food or drug, the abuse of which might lead to evil
 Abuee of Appointing Power
 4hi' pOWic IS dppItHtDSlNt I1dI some governor might be elected who would use the power of appointing excise commits sfoners for political purposes. On the same argument he would no doubt favor a change of the constitution of the United States and take away from the President the power to appoint federal judges, for eign ambassadors, consuls, marshals and United States attorneys.
 The power to appoint is power which pa ha o httt t,tya n, i,o chief executive of all power and author ity for fear it's exercise might lead to abuses, unless we abandon our system of government We well know that if excise commissioners were to be made elective by the people that that would offer every incentive and inducement to the lawless and criminal element, to the dive keeper and the selfish liquor inter ests, to undertake to gain control by elect ing men who would servilely do their bid ding. il
 Smith Regulation Law
 The state of Alabama now has the best laws for the regulation and control of the liquor traffic of any state in the union. It has divorced the liquor traffic from politics; 1t has limited the number of saloons to a population basis, and in all of our larger cities has made the number of saloons proportionate to pop ulation, smaller than any other state in the union.
 It has created a commission which Is always in session and vested with full and complete power to grant licenses only to those who are deserving, and to sus- pend or revoke the licenses of those who violate the law.
 It stimulates every man who has
 secured the privilege of selling sIi-
 quOr by severy consideration of
 tnf fn EaRx nupA
 thus secure the continuance of
 privilege which Is so valuable.
 It requires the saloon keeper to make a bond by which he agrees to pay certain sum in liquidated damages for any sale to minors, to drunkerds, on Sunday or within, the prohibited hours. Under the laws that formerly existed in Alabama a suit for civil dam ages against a saloon keeper was un- known. The amount of damages was uncertain and unliquidated, and hence the legislature, realizing this fact. wisely provided that in addition to the criminal punishment which is pro- vided by law the saloon keeper should be subject to civil damages for stip- ulated amount for selling to minors, drunkards on Sunday or for causing any other damages by the sale of liquor to persons or property.
 Every remedy which the experience of this or other states has suggested to secure the proper control and regu- lation of the tra fife is embodied in the Smith bill.
 The law may not he perfect, 1t
 may require amendment, but, tal~-
 ing 1t all in all, it marks n most
 decided advance &nd improvement
 over any statutes which formerly
 prevailed.
 Under the system which once existed there was no tribunal to pass upon the