The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-01-29
LETTERS TO EDITOR
Urges 5O-Cent Liquor Fee

To the Editor of The Age Herald: There is so much bowling about the city proposing to collect a small fee on each package of whisky coming into Birmingham that it does seem
 Ike high time for someone to show up
 the other side of this question. In the first place half gallon Of
 100-proof whisky is listed according to
 the circulars mailed out by the whisky
 houses at S1.50 express prepaid. In each
 half gallon there are GA fluid ounces
 Now, if this same liquor was bought
 in saloon, over the bar, at 15 cents
 drink, and we all know, or most of us do, that whisky glass will hold one ounce, thereby making GA drinks at
 IL cents each, nine dollars and sixty cents Is what the consumer pays. No
 one cuts up-everytnins Is all right The same element that is objecting
 to the city collecting this fee will go into blind tiger and pay 50 cents for
 half pint of whisky, that being at
 the rate of $S a gallon. At the same
 time this tiger booze has been doped With tobacco juice, wood alcohol pos sibly and God only knows what else
 Down it goes just the same The cost
 of it is never thought of or considered
 He goes away we'll pleased with him.
 self and yet he objects to paying $2
 for half gallon of good whisky be- cause the city is getting 50 cents of it.
 There are more fanatics and narrow
 minded people in Birmingham to the
 square inch than any other town in the world. Judging from their conver- sation there are men here who actual ly believe that all the tax money col lected from the people goes into the
 pockets of the city commissioners and
 that they close the doors down at the city hall and shoot crack or lose with it.
 If the city of Birmingham was as old as London the schoolhouses, the
 sewers, the streets, the boulevards, etc, would have long since been con
 structed and paid for, but as it is we
 have yet to do this work and common sense'will teach anyone that money, and lots of money, is necessary to do this work; and the man who is unwilling to bear his part of this burden should
 be placed in the category of an unde- sirable citizen.
 It is estimated that a 5o-cent fee from each package will net the city a
 revenue of 5000 day
 I am not in favor of taxing the poor man for the necessities of life, but to the contrary would feel more like giving him something he needs. But right here I wish to say that a man
 whc is too poor to have two days pro- visions in his house has no business whatever to fool with whisky in any
 way. He is better off without it. And if he has no more sense than to spend
 his last dollar in this way there is
 no hope for him and all your sym pathy is wasted on the desert air. And the man who has plenty of money? Oh, we'll, he won't be hurt.
 It seems that the city commissioners have a perfect right constitutionally to collect this fee even if they had to establish headquarters in the streets out in front of the express office and inspect these packages after the in terstate commerce transaction is com pleted. Let's hope that they will do it, anyway. -s. My contentious are that If a man
 Is able to buy whisky he is able to
 give the city a little lift. So let's have the fee--not less than 50 cents. Yours
 respectfully. LOUIS R. DEAN.
 Birmingham, January 27, 1916