The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1916-09-08
Not So Very "Dry"
in Old Mississippi
Prohibition Has Little Effect
ia Southern State.

Mississippi adopted prohibition in
1908. like other so-called dry
states, However, she has made no
serious effort TO enforce this statute
so unpopular with o large per cent.
of her people. The success of pro-
hibition in Mississippi can best be
judged by the official facts as to
drinking in Jackson, the state capital,
as reported recently by the News of
that city. The newspaper article fol-
lows:
More than 100000 was paid by
Jackson people for booze during the
year 1915; 3,S35,520 ordinary drinks
of whiskey Were taken, end the con-
tents of 145, ,656 bottles went down the
throats Of folks in this prohibition
town.
These facts developed as result of
the compilation of figures IN the
circuit clerks Office from certificates
filed according to the provisions OF the
May, Mott, Lewis gallon-at-a-time
law passed by the legislature in ia.
Briefly, the law requires that every
person receiving 4 shipment of any
kind of "booze" shall sign certif-
cate that the shipment was for his
own use, and stating the quantity in
each package. The express companies
or railroads are not allowed to make
deliveries until these certificates are
signed and the carriers file them in
the circuit court clerks Office.
Some rather startling facts are
brought out IN the figures, for this is
supposed to be q prohibition state.
That booze, however, still is CON
sumed in enormous Quantities is
shown from facts and figures gath
cred from official records.
An example OF how much liquor
comes into a county is the record in
Kinds. Deputy Circuit Court Clerk
Cadwaller has been working hard for
q. week compiling the figures from
dozens of drawers in which the certif-
icates are stored. He has zone con-
siderabiy into details md his list will
show what Jackson proper received,
and also the total number of ship
ments that came into Kinds county.
The figures of Mr.. Cadwaller are
extremely interesting. They are as
follows:
For Jackson proper during 1915
there were 25,769 separate liquor
shipments. These included 2O.S46
4 gallons of whiskey, 1.465 u ship
merits of beer in dozen bottle lots, 80
packages of beer listed, 1,165 y eases
and casks of beer, 137 q kegs of
beer, 926 boxes of beer.
A little figuring will show that this
is an average of 1,735 10 gallons Of
whiskey month, or 81 gallons day.
Figuring further, at the rate of %
average sized drinks to the quart, it
gives more than 100000 average
sized drinks OF whiskey for the year
in the capital of the state alone.
Estimated in money, allowing an
average OF 81 a gallon for whiskey
Jackson's whiskey bill in 1915 was
$50, 1888, and her people spent about
$4,000 for beer, 4 total Of nearly
100000.
The records show that outside the
Kinds, and including Terry, ByraIn,
Clinton, Tougalo and Pocahonfas,
there were $500 packages of intoxi-
eating liquors received, of which there
were 2,478 q gallons of whiskey.
THE figures given above are conf
piled solely from official records of
certificates in the offices of the circuit
court clerk, and mean that these
shipments came by express or freight.
They do not include shipments that
come via another route, namely the
"gripsack" method.
"Why," said one official'"there arc
hundreds OF instances month where
both whites and negroes get on the
trains and go to points without the
state, and come back with their grips
loaded with bottles of whiskev Many
people make n business of taking
their dress suit cases and hand bags
to points in Louisiana, load them
down with whiskey and bring them
to Jackson. There is no way. of
course, of getting accurate figures on
such shipments but the quantity of
liquor brought in by this means is
very considerable"
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