The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-03-17
tr.-om the Baltimore sun.)

AtciliSon, Kan. March l6.-~~There
are los counties in the State OF Kan
saa In % or 100 OF these the pro-
hibittor law is as well enforced as
INV other. william Allen White,
who a little over "a year ago wrote
xhat Is considered the best recent de-
Tense Of the prohibition law in KAN
sas named five counties in which the
iaw is enforced less rjstdiy than else
where In LeavenwoTth, Atchlsoh
.rs sedreyvtck counties. he SAID,
~thara are sporadic commissions OF
the rum Gead that seem to indicate
vitality but il u a mere a!Coholic re-
action in the dead muscles III the
xmsu mining towns OF Two 0theT
counties. Cherokee and Crawford. lie
added. there are open saloons. whites
a staff man of the Baltimore sun
Two other counties, perhaps, ought
10 be added 20 fhis tsj--" y3n9olt",
in which Kansas City. Kan, is stu
ats5 and Shawnee, which contains
the sfste capital IN Kansas city
thev have had some trouble up TO
very recent times growing out OF the
delivery Of beer in brewers wagons
The drivers Of these wagons, 90
Navor c. ". Green. ef the city, told
me not only delivered beer. they also
ao,6 II As q result Of recent httEa-
ton the c!iY has been able TO pre-
vent the delivery Of beer in this way.
Since them. said the Mayor the num-
w. ~ arrests In Kansas City mas
fallen OFF about 4a per cent. In To-
peka. Mr.. w. f. Atchtson, the County
Attorney. Informed me, the number
OF louor cases handled By his office
eo,,sIs that OF all other glasses ot
Eases combined This would seem
TO indicate rather persistent attempts
10 violate the law. II can hardy Do
said OF Shawnee County the prohio'-
ticn law il as well enforced there as
any other statute.
Has Rural Population.
It should be recalled IN connection
with these seven counties that tneN
cnntatu practically all the cities OF
the State with population OF /. CIV
or more Kansas City. Kan. Wien
Tf44ka-- I4eayenworth. Atchison
and Pittsburg are all included IN
them. Hutchinson is the only other
CITY to which the United States CEN
sus of 1910 gives more than $4,000
inhabitants Emporia. Which, because
OF Its famous citizens, Mr. White ana
walt Mason. has been widely adver-
Used as a typicaily progressive Kan
sas city. had only about 5000 inhabi-
tants when the last national census
was taken.
In Kansas, indeed, the population
fs largely rural 1t Is an enormous
state, IL is about 400 miles long and
200 miles wide II has room within
Its borders for eight commemorative
the size OF Maryland. with more than
enough space left over TO insert a
state of the size OF Rhode Island.
Parts Of 1t are very sparsely settled
indeed. Two or three Of Its counties
average less than two people to the
square mile and n score OF them have
less than a half dozen to the square
mile.
In Border Towns,
This article will deal chiefly with
conditions as I found them in Atchi-
son and I.eavenworth, Two of the
border cities Each OF them IL sepa-
rated from a wet town by the width
of the Missouri River only. Neither
of them is in any sense typical oil
other Kansas cities. Their experience
is valuable In connection with study
of prohibition only because of the
bearing II may have upon the cues
ton of prohibitory laws working
in community where there is a
strong sentiment In opposition to the
law.
Atchtson is a city of something
more than 10000 people. Across the
river from II is East Atchison, Mo-
Anyone in Atchison who wants 10
daily with the stuff which inebriates
can call up a dealer over the river
and have II delivered to his home In
the course If half an hour Despite
the case with which thirsty individ-
uals can thus get their liquor, the Ia"
has been more or less flaErantly Nio-
lated in Atchison. Only last necem-
Der the Attorney General of the state
personally conducted u raid on the
Eagles clubhouse there and found IL
ouor-eelling and serving in fun blast
in direct violation of the law. As a
result OF this the Mayor and Chief OF
Police both Of whom are members OF
the Eagles have been forced to hand
, in their resignation, to take erect on
the goth Of this month
There is in Atchison a gentleman
by the name Of Paul TonsinR, Sew
erai of the men with whom ] talked
referred to him az the most active
worker for prohibition there. He Is
the editor of little four-page weekly
journal called the Church Visit IT l
found him In overalls hard at work
In his printing shop. and this is the
tale he told me:
Tried To Get Him.
"On Saturday night TWO or three
months ago went to the postoffice
near midnight to mail copy OF my
paper Coming away ] saw wagon
loaded with beer drawn M before the
Eagles clubhouse. ] am a newspaper
man. first Of all and the first thought
that came to me was that there was
a good story for my next edition. SO
7 hung around til the wagon Was
unloaded.
"As / was about 10 leave small
crowd Of men came out Of the club
Ne eH 7 don't know whether they
4sa lt Lecauae they saw me or just
80 after they came out. They
die = fue then however. and one OF
them Hstd There's that ..,.. Tons
ing: lct'H him They made a rush
for nus t}3 not know whether TO
call for hrl,s 70 fight il out, bat the
thought came q me that the police
man OF the beat vas an Eagle and If
he came along he might tap nae on
the head with has club. SO / deter
mined to fight II out myself
There were three OF them after
me. spun around fighting all of
them. and after a while landed on