The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-01-30
Liquor Inspection and Street Tax Will Both Come Up
 at Tuesday Meeting
NOVELTY IS CAUSE
 OF THE DISCUSSION
Estimated Revenue From Liquor In spectiOn Is $500 Per Day, But Cost of Collecting Will
 Be Heavy
By RICHARD IF. HESTER

Much discussion was aroused yester- day among the citizens by the knowl-
 edge that on Tuesday the city com 1 missioners will pass two ordinances | that are about the most momentous pieces of civic legislation proposed in
 Birmingham in several years. The ordinances in question are the "liquor inspection" tax and the street tax"
 The liquor inspection" tax aroused quite naturally the most comment be- cause of the novelty of the proposed | law to inspect and charge a 5O-cent fee on all liquor packages coming into the city of Birmingham.
 According to the best statistics there are about 1700 packages of liquor com ing legally into the city each day. This means, at two quarts of whisky per package, about 340O quarts, or $50 gal, Ions per day.
 The representatives of the express ! companies at the commission confer
 ence Friday afternoon admitted that
 the railroads were shipping by freight to Ensley and other outlying districts beer by the carload. This statement caused Commissioner Arlie Barber of the department of public safety to sit up and take notice.
 PLACED ON ITS HONORS However, the city commission now proposes to place the community on | it's honor It says definitely in it's new 1 ordinance that all liquors that come l into Birmingham must be forthwith l taken to some civic inspection depot | and there stamped and the incidental 1 fee paid If this is not done and the city finds 1t out a penalty of not less 1 than $10 and not more than S1OO is
 incurred. An additional sentence of not | more than six months on the city 1 streets can also be imposed. While the city will in theory expect
 great many citizens to come in vol | untarily and have their liquor inspect l ed, steps will also be taken to see that l the majority of the shipments that come into the city are inspected. | A suite of rooms will be rented oppo site the Terminal station on the ground i floor, and there city office of the liquor | inspector will be constructed. The liquol | inspector with his aids-police officers 1T full uniform-will keep watch over the persons who are receiving liquors from | the express office and immediately after
 l signing for the package the consignee vii
 l be escorted, with all the honors of war
 across the street to the presence of thu
 l liquor inspector, where the tidy package
 l of intoxicants will be opened, the bot
 ties properly stamped, the 50 cents col | lected. and then the pedigree of the citi zen is taken in triplicate form. | If the express shipments continue after the city imposes it's philanthropic tax il l will mean an income of about $500 a day l in the coffers of the city. However, the
 cost of levying the tax will probably be | heavy.
 While the other tax is called street { tax it is really collected for the purpose
 of maintaining the schools and is based
 on equity and justice, in that only those | persons who in no way whatsoever ren-
 der support to the city or county are sub | ject to this tax
 | However, there is certain to be whole
 lot of pyrotechnics at the meeting or | Tuesday.