The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-08-17
Prohibition Abandoned To
 Theoretical Experiment

Theoretical Experiment A Lucid and Forceful Statement Show
 ing That Blind Tigers Can Be
 Eliminated Only By High lE
 cense and Stringent Reg
 ulations ttr 1 The deep and abiding affection which the Hon., s. J. Bowie entertains Tor the dispensary system is again mani- Tested by a lengthy paid communication | which appeared simultaneously in the Ledger last Saturday and the Sunday is sue of The Age Herald. It Is rather 1 unusual for a private citizen to pay | for the privilege of presenting his views on public questions and we are inclined to believe that even Mir. Bowie's I well known zeal for the dispensary sys- l tenn would hardly have induced him to adopt so expensive a method of com- municating with the public. Are we not, therefore, justified in assumin g that the Saloon Opposition league paid the bill? The appearance of this com munica ton in The Age Herald (mark ed "communicated''- which means paid for per line) warrants us in asserting that the Saloon Opposition league deemed 1t of such importance as to justify them in making a liberal contribution to se- cure its publicity? If this assumption is correct Is it not conclusive proof that that organization has abandoned it's advocacy of prohibition. has tacit- ly admitted that that system Is inde-- fensibl~ and has proven a failure, and that they have boldly Joined the ranks of those who favor the iegalized sale of liquor? Having repudiated the dis credited system of prohibition they should no longer fight under the false and misleading name of the Saloon Op- position league
 Commencing their campaign by
 avowing their unalterable opposi-
 tion to the Iegaiiged sale of liquor
 in my form, they now declare that
 they favor the dispenssry as sub
 stitute for prohibition, and thus
 admit that conditions in Jefferson
 county imperafively demand that
 liquor he legally sold.
 Under the present dispensary law all spirituous houors can be sold by the drink, and hence the only difference be- tv cen a dispensary and a saloon Is that one is conducted by the city and the other by an individual. In both, spirit uous liquors can be bought by the drink, the difference being that in the dispen- sary the drink can not be inlbibed on the premises. Therefore, whether liquor be sold by individuals under license or by city under the name of 8 dispen- sary both are essentially saloons. De- claring in one breath that the liquor traffic must be absolutely outlawed, in the next the Saloon Opposition league, with singular inconsistency. assert that they favor the legalized sale if such sale is conducted through the medium of a dspensary Therefore, the issue pre- sented to the people of Jefferson county is not whether prohibition must be re- tained or the legal sale of liquor per- mitted but solely as to the method by which liquor should be sold. The Saloon Opposition league assert that the legal 1 ized sale of liquor must be restored the | local optonists assert that the legalized sale of liquor must be restored; and | the only difference between them Is whether that sale shall be by individuals under license or by the city through the dispensary It is gratifying to know that even the ministers of the gospel who | have heretofore been so unalterably op- 1 posed to the sale of liquor In any form or by any method are now advocating l the necessity of making 1t a legal article ot merchandise and permitting its sale through a dispensary.
 Having in effect conceded that they committed grievous error in l favoring prohibition as . penacea for the liquor evil, and that all of their predictions and prophecies about it's success have proven err roneous, false, we are not ln- eIined to believe thnt the public will now be very swift to favor their newest and latest remedy the dis pensary, or what Is in effect monopoly by the city of the liquor traffic
 MT. Bowie says that the chairman of | the local option committee made a se- | rious mistake in supposing that there is any analogy between the conditions | In South Carolina and those which ob- | tain in Alabama. He asserts that in | South Carolina the dispensary system was imposed upon the people of Charles I ton, Colunb ia and other places without a vote of the people and contrary to | their known wishes in the matter. In other words, he asserts that the fall I ure of the dispensary in South Caro- | lima was due to the bitter opposition of an active and hostile minority who were unable to defeat that system, yet waged against it an unrelenting war | fare Does not MT. Bowie know that | the same conditions would prevail in | Jefferson county if by any possibility the dispensary system should be es- tablished in the approaching election? Would 1t not be confronted by an &C., | tive opposition who have no faith in its ability to remedy or improve the pres | ent lawless and deplorable conditions which he himself admits now exist in this city and county?
 According to MT Bowie's argument the dispensar cannot succeed unless 1t l is sustained by the overwhelming sem timent of the people. We do not ques- | ton the correctness of his view, but by his own argument he in effect ad- mits that the dispensary in Jefferson | county would commence it's career doomed in advance to certain failure | for under no conditions would he claim | that 1t would be possible to back it up by that force of public sentiment which alone, in his judgment, would se- cure its success
 Notwithstanding MT. Bowies apologies l for the failure of the dispensary in South Carolina, and his efforts to ascribe it's defeat to the bitter opposition of tho old
 aristocracic regime which Tillman over threw he can not deny that no system was ever ushered into existence with
 fairer promises of success. It was adopt et. by an overwhelming vote of the legis- llature. It was proclaimed as the wisest
 and best system which had ever been de-
 yised for the solution of the liquor prob
 lem. It was the pet scheme of a gover.
 nor who had been triumphantly elected
 by a decisive majority of the people I whose popularity was unquestioned, anc
 who was regarded as firmly entrenchet in power and influence. At the tint
 of its adoption Tillman was the idol o