The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-30
ROBSON SPEAKS ON
 LIQUOR QUESTION Audience in Montgomery Alp preciates Address THEATRE IS CROWDED Captain HObson Talks on His Subject From Scientific Standpoint md Discusses the situation in
 Alabama
THEATRE IS CROWDED
BY BERRYMAN G. BETTY

Montgomery, January 29.-(Special)- =. Several thousand people listened atten- lively at the Grand theatre, this city, this afternoon as Capt. Richmond Pearson Hobson, congressman from the Sixth ccu- gressional district, delivered his address on 'sThe Great Destroyer" The occasion was a distinct prohibition one, frequent applause which burst from every corner of the crowded and capacious auditorium attesting the partisanship of the gather ing and the position of the audience on the liquor que ,tiel.
 While many of those who attended inc gathering came for the sole purpose of hearing the hero of the Merrimac," re- gardless of his views, the majority, by their spontaneous outbursts showed that the anti-liquor forces of the city had turned out in full force. Men who were prominent in the recent amendment fight sat in the circle back of the stage, and leaders in that fight were to the front in the vast auditorium, and crowded to overfiowing the huge gallery and bal cony. Hundreds were turned away.
 Lawrence Present 's W. H. Sanford a well known lawyer of Montgomery. presided at the gather ing and introduced prior to the speaker of the evening "a gentleman from Ohio, Brooks Lawrence" MT. Lawrence in brief talk explained that his intro- duction to the audience was for the sole purpose of taking up a collec- tion,' which he proceeded to do for the anti-liquor cause.
 MT. Lawrence during the collection addressed the audience on the endeavor of the AntiSaloon league, and declared emphatically that the fight against 1i- quor was by no means ended, nor even well begun. He stated that the liquor forces have already been put to rout once in the state. and that history must repeat itself when the time Is ripe.
 The anti-saloon lobbyist urged his audience not to get discouraged at any reverses but to continue the fight to the end. confident that victory is not far off.
 UsunI Address
 The address of Congressman Hobson was along the usual scientific lines which have been impressed pPcn suasences | throughout the United States, but despite this he had the closest attention of his hearers from his introduction to the audi ence to the close of his speech, Prior to launching upon his subject, however, the speaker addressed especially the mem bers of the legislature who were at the gathering, urging them not to permit their zeal for one cause to overshadow their enthusiasm for other causes equally as meritorious.
 He insisted that district taxation in Alabama for school purposes was merit orious endeavor, and expressed himself as equally confident that a court of ap- peals should be established
 And along this line," he continued q wish to say that the act now before the legislature for the erection of a gover- nor S yrnaflsion in Montgomery should be sJassed. My heartEis made sad when I travel throughout the other states of the union. visit the fine gubernatorial mansions at other capitals, and then am brought face to face with the fact that this great commonwealth has no home for it's highest executive officer
 Figures Produced
 Launching into his topic, Congressman Hobson called the attention of his hear CTS to great scientific demonstrations of recent years, in which it has been proved that alcohol is the greatest destroyer known to the world He painted vivid word picture of war vs alcohol, conclud- ing with the statement that battle was thousand times more to be desired, when engaged in by sober ,oldiers, than all the alcoholic forces of the world com bined
 The speaker referred to alcohol as the great toxin poison which feeds upon the cells of the brain, ultimately creating a
 
 ing words of the great fight which Is all the time going on in the human mechan- ism, where the army of white blood cor puscles is constantly assailing the forces of disease. He then pointed to the scien- tific demonstration that alcohol makes inebriates of such corpuscles, ultimately destroying their capacity for usefulness.
 Annual Liquor Deaths
 The speaker called attention to the dis covery that more men die from alcoholic poison in one year in the United States than have been killed in all the wars of the civilized world since history began. He stated that 100000 people died annual ly as direct result of alcoholism and that the numbers mortally wounded every year from drink run up into the millions. At the conclusion of his address he was roundly cheered by those present, and many of the audience crowded around the stage to grasp his hand.