The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-08-16
EUGENE |. BROWN
 REVIEWS FIGHT Results of Stormy Cam paigns in Birmingham PREDICTIONS TRUE
PREDICTIONS
Men Who Formerly Opposed Prohi- bition Have Had Views More Than Confirmed by the Ex-
 pertinent in Birmingham

Eugene l., Brown, who took such
 prominent part in the former prohibition E campaigns in Jefferson county, said yes terday that he was surprised that the Headers of the prohibition forces in the
 present campaign had been charging that the men who were formerly conspicuous against prohibition were remaining silent
 now.
 Those who formerly opposed prohi-
 bition have not changed, said MT Brown,
 But events have only confirmed us in our
 views About four years ago. Birmingham
 passed through bitter and distressing political campaign. The scars of that
 battle are not yet healed. Broken friend
 ships, divided families, unlind and unjust
 words and actions still follow 1t. refer
 to the memorable prohibition fight of 1907.
 In that campaign I opposed prohibition. I opposed it because I believed then, as l
 know now, that in city the size Of Bir-
 mingham it could but be a disastrous fail ure.
 ''There were only a few of us who dared to come out in the open and pub licly express our opinion. We were then, as others are now, vlifed, abused, and cast aside as hirelings and tools Of the
 whisky interest. Preachers, in the pulpits |cf the church of God. denounced us as Immoral, unholy and unclean; and great bishop of a great church publicly an
 nounced that the women of Birmingham
 who failed to approve of prohibition were unfit to come in contact with decent peo- lple.
 "rhe fight was long and bitter and at
 the end prohibition won.
 Predictions Prove True
 | ,"As best we could, through the press, lty mail, and in public meetings, We told lthe people the truth as we saw it. We | tried to show them that prohibition in
 large cities was not a cure for the liquor
 evil We failed, but our predictions, our warnings, our fears. have all come to
 pass, and prohibition, stripped of it's
 fanatical glamour naked as see it to-
 day, is not the thing for which our peo-
 rle thought they were voting.
 l I've have not seen jail doors dropping
 from their rusty and unused hinges; we l. have not seen the sheriffs and police off
 cers discharged for lack of work to do;
 we have not seen that happy condition so
 eloquently pictured to us, when sin and
 sorrow want and distress, drunkenness
 and poverty, would be forever banished.
 The reverse has been entirely true. It has
 not redeemed one promise or kept sacred I any part of it's solemn contract. It stands today an unholy thing, discredited by numbers of it's truest friends; the only mission left for it, the only service 1t
 can now perform, is to act as proxy for
 dispensary votes
 | q am quite sure that the leaders of
 the Saloon Opposition league do not | hope, in the present contest, to carry l this county for prohibition. The whole l fight, under the guise of prohibition, Is l to fasten on Jefferson county dis l pensary system. The real issue In this campaign, though clumsily hidden in a wooden horse. is dispensary versus reg ulated saloons. q am quite prepared to believe that | in small cities and towns both dis pensafies and prohibition may be suc- cessfully tried provided large ma jority of the people prefer these ways of regulating the liquor traffic; for after all, in this country of ours, pro hibition, dspensaries, and open saloons, are only at best different methods of regulating an admitted evil, which can not be eradicated. The only question for us to decide is which system is best adapted to the needs of the city of Birmingham. Tried Two Bad Systems
 gro our own sorrow we have tried unlimited license, and practically un- regulated saloons We have thorough ly tried prohibition, protected by the most drastic laws, and both systems have proven failures. We are now asked to try dispensaries, notwithstand- | ing the fact that this system wherever
 tried in cities anything like the size
 of Birmingham, has proven not only a failure but breeding bed for graft and corruption.
 Tt is true however unfortunate 1t may be, that the bulk of wine and beer sold In cities is sold by the drink. It is also true that if men can not buy
 drink legally, they will buy it illegal ly In cities where prohibition or dis pensares prevail, blind tigers. always ready. spring up and in d measure take the place of legalized saloons To my mind this Is the worst form of liquor selling and believe that there is noth- ing so destructive to the morals of our community as this Illegal system or liquor traffic. This system will con