Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-05-20
'DROU1H At AL%ONC CITY
EXPRESS COMPANIES QUIT
HANDLING LIQUOR SHIPMENTS
TO TOWN.
SUPPLIES TO BooTLEGGERS
ALMOST ENTIRELY CUT OFF
Local Express Agents Express Gratifi-
cation at Order and Say Business
Said to Be Preparing Similar
Order.

Mason City. May 20.Circular letters
have been received by the local agents
! of the United States Express Company.
and also the Adams Express Company,
instructing them that hereafter their
respective companies will handle no
more booze Of any kind, for any pur
| pose and to any person. The effect oe
! this letter is that two local express
companies have completely gone dry
which indicates that the d"outh will be
extended considerably over Mason City
and vicinity. Agents for the Wells
| Fargo and the American Express com
/ panies said they We're expecting sim
! liar orders from their companies. which
will shut off entirely the handling Of
booze by express companies in Mason
City and in Iowa.
The cause of it ali is the law re-
Gently passed by the United States
congress known as the Webb ker
Won bill which prohibits the shipment oe
liquor into dry territory unless to
person legally qualified 20 handle
But recent investigation Of the effect
Of this law and also other legislation
on The statute books is TO vitalize 3
statute which SAYS that an outside
liquor jobber shall have 10 advantage
over a state jobber and as liquor ship
mentS are prohibited from one part of
the state to another, the outside ship
per is affected BY the same law
Express Men Are Happy.
The result is that probably no set
Of business men in Mason City today
is feeling in higher fettle than the ex-
men. drivers and messengers. No traf-
hc which the express companies handle
has given the men more grief than the
handling Of beer In the first place To-
cal officials say there was no money in
II for the express companies For in
stance in each case of beer shipped
from a Minnesota border city to Ma
son City the company received 81
cents. Fifty-f per cent of that -
cents or little more than IS cents goes
10 the railroad company, leaving little
less than Is cents for the express
company out of which must be deduct
ed the cost of handling the cases at
both ends Of the route. II is not a pop
ular traffic with the express agent.
Already tons of beer have been re-
turned to the breweries by local ex-
ton over the legal right OF the con-
signee to receive il.
Customers Unstable.
Another source Of grief 10 the eX
press man was the character of Gus
toner he had TO deal with. The per
sons who buy a case Of beer for So
called family use explained the ex
pressnlan. is very particular. often
times he is not at home More fire.
quently he will not receive the beer If
taken TO his home in the day time.
especially if the neighbors are looking.
a big pile of beer cases in front of
an express office" SAID one agent. is
not good advertisement. People
think You are doing a saloon business
instead of express business SO if all
the companies cut out the booze traf-
&c they will be sure not 70 receive
protests from their employees
Local agents Of express companies
said today that the Great Western
railway was about to promulgate a
similar order to the effect that that
road will not accept beer for shipment
INTO Iowa