The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-15
BEDDOW'S REPLY TO
 CHAIRMAN MOORE
Expresses Regret That Joint Debates on Question Cannot
 Be Held

| Chairman C. P. Beddow and the lead CTS of the saloon opposition league have made the following reply to the
 letter of Jones G. Moore, declining to engage in a series of joint debates: July 14. 1911. "Messrs. Jones G. Moore, Chairman; J.
 F. staley, Secretary, Brown-Marx Building, City:
 s"Dear Sirs-We have received with regret your letter of the 18th inst. de- clining our invitation to meet you or any gentlemen whom you might desig nate in joint discussion. The insertion | in your letter of a good deal of mat ter patently labeled for campaign pur poses renders an answer necessary. We did not challenge you to a 1 heated and acrimonious debate which | would tend to- accentuate differences and do the community harm We de- sired and promised on our part far and unpreiudiced discussion of new liquor issues which exist in this cam
 paign.
 Tt is true. as stated by you. that the l liquor question is no new one. It is as old as the legalized sale of intoxicants, I but it will remain an ever-present source of difficulties, agitation and evils as long as it's legalized sale is allowed.
 There are. however, entirely new . liquor propositions raised by the Smith l liquor bill which you state that you expect to defend. An excise commits . | sion with untrammeled authority, in whose selection the people have no voice and from whose decrees there is no
 appeal, who have authority to decide
 most important public questions in
 star-chamber proceedings is new
 fangled proposition in democratic Ala
 bama; the liquor licensing of 30- room
 hotels and restaurants the extension
 of the whisky business to corporations
 the authority to place liquor saloons and l hotels anywhere within corporate limits . with no authority to restrict their loca =
 tion will set up strange idols in i'm
 perial Jefferson.
 These issues are startsrgly new
 strange and dangerous. Sc new that
 they were not brought into discussion
 until we exposed them. In your cam
 paign for signatures to the petition for
 an election, in the interviews of youl
 supporters, in the letters which yol
 have sent broadcast over the county
 these provisions were overlooked. |
 is our opinion that having committed
 this significant act of omission thu voters will be rather timid about ac- cepting your written defenses of thi, usdemocratic measure.
 we note that 1t is your purpose tc confine your defense of the Smith liquor
 bill to the press and the post. We re-
 gret your unwilingness to make youi defense where the attack will be strong est With the financial backing you seem
 to possess you may be able to cover the
 print and fill the post with ingenious
 and spacious arguments in defense of this
 law, but if you would give us a join,
 discussion full light could be turned on
 and the hearers would be able to reach true and intelligent conclusions. That
 is what we desired. You state that from time immemorial it has been the custom for the weaker side to seek debate with the stronger. ? We do not know to what immemorial
 customs you refer. but we do know that in the present day. whether 1t be in the 1 submission of cause to a jury or of
 a public question to the people, as a l jury a sensible man with the weak arxu- l ment is always avoiding joint discus . sion, and the one with the strong argu- S ment is always ready and willing You also state that joint discussion would involve on our part the defense ot | the blind tiger evil. Of course you, as | well as every one else know that the bind tiger has never been, nor neve, ' will be, defended by the forces we repre-
 sent. On the contrary. we have alway,
 fought the blind tiger and it is our pur pose 70 DRDt tnis eNli W1tn Ill our enerR- Tn the effort that is now being made t ! surrender to this great evil and rewar,
 his law breaking with a liquor license = After this campaign has been concludes r if you and the forces you represent wi = devote to the blind tiger that consumin n hate which your utterances indicate yo . have and join with us in our continue 7 fight his lair will he driven still furthe s inoo the rece.ses of outlawry and his evil
 reduced to a minimum.
 :, We do not agree with you that tn e prohibition laws have demonstrated thei IF utter failure on the contrary even wit l.. the difficulties which the officers hay
 encountered by reason of efforts of bin tigers and others to bring the law int
 disrepute and thereby secure return (
 the iniquitous saloon. conditions for lav ~ scbriety and decenoy have been much in
 proved.
 Should you decide during the campaie
 10 authorize your speakers to meet wit
 us in our discussion we assure you ths
 We will gladly give them a division (
 time at any of our meetings and will siv
 them calm end unprejudiced discussio
 of the pending issues. We remain, your :. truly
 z "C. P BEDDow. Chairman.