The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1913-01-24
v. c. I. j. DEPARTMENT


AIa.-RingIng Letter from Captain
James Elliott, Prominent Capitalist
and PhiIanthropist, Tells Hew Happy |
His Home Town Is I'm the Enforce
ment OF the Prohibition Law.
Gadsden. Alabama, the center of the
famous mining and manufacturing
section, known as the "Gadsden Dis
triet," is an inspiring illustration Of
what a determined citizenship can do
in the enforcement Of the prohibition
law
After having tried prohibition for
four years, a tremendous effort was
made to bring barrooms back-an the
guns of the whisky forces from Mont
gomery and Birmingham TO Booze
anooga," all the way. being trained on
the Gadsden District, in order to re-
take the citadel OF their hopes in
Northwestern Alabama.
Nothing doing!" Despite the efforts
made to misIead the rural districts and
debauch the workers in the mills and
mines, Etowah county rolled up the
crushing majority of about seven hum
bred against the return of legalized
saloons.
The friends of law and order have
done the wise thing in seeing to it
that every officer e1ected-councilmen
and policemen, are out and out prohi-
bitionists, not only believing in the
principle, but brave enough to fight
day and night, if necessary, to enforce
the law
Capt. Jas. NJ. Elliott, Jr.. the lead
ing capitalist Of Gadsden, and a high
toned Christian gentleman, who has
consistently and persistently fought
Il. H.. g
his great fortune. and who fought
side by side with the editor of the
Golden Age, during the last two pro-
hibition campaigns in Gadsden, writes
the following ringing Christmas week
letter, which we feel like passing on
to our readers for the good of the
order"
81 know you will be glad to learn
that prohibition has prohibited in
Gadsden and Etowah county, Alabama.
The liquor crowd has been thoroughly
routed. Gadsden now has full pro-
hibition set of offfcers-mayor, alder
men, chief of police and every man on
the force and they are doing their
full duty. There is not a blind tiger
in all Etowah county, who dares take
out United States license, as you
will see by the report of our sheriff
none issued"
We have now about $4,000 inhabi-
tants in Etowah county; 25 900 of them
are located here around the county
site, within the corporate limits of
Gadsden and her suburbs. I have not
seen a single drunken man nor one
under the influence of liquor during
all this Christmas time. I have not
seen a drunk man in the city limits
of Gadsden within year. If one
should get drunk on blind tiger liquor
shipped in here from Birmingham or
Chattanooga, the police take him in so
quickly that no one sees him, and he
is out of sight, SO he does not disgrace
our streets. as he used to do in the
days of the saloon here.
II presume, as long as we have in
terstate traffic in liquor and allow it
| to be shipped in from Chattanooga and
other places, we will have some men
who viii use it and get drunk.
1--WE have had no disturbance in our
county this year during the holidays,
whereas, in days gone by, when liquor
was here, it was no uncommon thing
for many men to be killed at Christ
mas time.
1--WE are building up a citizenship
mere Oh Wh1ch we are very proud, and
our industries are having no trouble
whatever keeping their labor, no
strikes, or discontentment whatever,
such as surround an industry when
saloons are in existence
Take the record of Birmingham,
where they now have open saloons,
and compare it with Gadsden We
have the same class of people to deal
with, men who work in mines, rolling
mills, steel works, cotton factories,
car works, foundr es, etc., yet we have
not had any of the disturbances with
which Birmingham has been bothered.
| Whether or not liquor has anything to
do with it, let any man who wants to
know the truth, investigate these two
districts, and the answer is plain,
that liquor is the cause of nearly all
the labor troubles"
member of the legislature where
temperance contest had been waged
saw a farmer walking up and down in