The daily progressive-miner., 1916-06-02
SPEAKING OF ROBSON.

son of Alabama yesterday as the lead
 CT of the prohibition movement in the House, we touched the source of off
 cial agitation for prohibition and the leakiest bucket in the brigade. He it was on December 22, 1914, inrtoduc ed resolution for an amendment te the Constitution of the United States Il forever prohibiting for sale, manu facture for sale, importation for sale of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes in the United States and all | territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof, and exportation for sale there of. Among the others opposing the resolution (which failed largely) was Oscar Underwood, now senator from has following in Alabama, and that state is in the "dry" ranks. That re. suit and the results therefrom bring Jus of the cities of Alaska nearer home" on the subject of prohibition, which we must vote on next Novem- Der. Take the result of prohibition in Birmingham, Alabama:
 Alabama is struggling with a de- felt of $3,000,000 since prohibition went into effect, and the city. of Bir- mingham has since then been com pelled to dispense with it's health of ficer, discontinue it's streetcleaning and garbage collecting, let out it's city physician and market inspector, extinguish half it's street lights, cut the city school term from nine to seven months, and reduce by 10 per cent the salaries of teachers where their salaries reached $75 a month. It has let out one-third of it's police force and put the remaining two-thirds on a 12-hour shift. It has closed sev- eral fire stations, stopped every cent of it's appropriations to hospitals, children's homes and charities, and reduced by one-third it's annual al lowances for the maintenance of parks In short, it has had to cut it's expenses $34O, ,000, to meet it's decreas- ed revenues.
 What would apply in Birmingham Alabama, would apply in a greater de- gree in Fairbanks, Alaska, for the support of public schools, improve ments and firefghting forces is to a far greater degree here dependent upon the revenue from liquor licenses than in Birmingham. The gross rev enues of Fairbanks are around $64- 900. Some $21000 of that comes from federal licenses From taxation of property both real and personal of men who are engaged in the manu- facture of sale of malt and spurious liquors, and those citizens who are employed by such people, another $29, 900 from $64,000 and what would be the result?
 Today the schools of Fairbanks are supported entirely by license money that is, the license money covers the cost of the schools and no more. The fire department and the schools re- quire half or more than half of the total revenues of the city. Cut out half of our revenue, or nearly half, and what will become of our schools or our fire department? All the schools and half of the fire depart ment, or all the fire department and half of the schools or three-fourths of both of them (enough to make neither of them efficient) will have to go. No use saying what other ways can be found to make up the deficit = the people consider themselves over-tax- ed now; besides, there is a legal linn it to taxation, and the limit would not come near making up the deficiency.
 Do you know that more than one third of the total revenues of the United States are derived from the liquor business? Do you know that the only remedy really suggested or considered for creating revenues to replace such a deficit if national pro- hibit:cn ruled is to reduce the income tax exemptions to $1,000 and DOUBLE the tax? Would the rich stand for that? It would be all right with us, if they would pay it, but they won't.
 Hobson nor any other legislator can prohibit a man making liquor for his own use, nor can any law be passed to keep any man from drinking as he sees fit, so long as he is not an habit ual drunkard-the Constitution of the United States guarantees man such rights.
 Nowhere under the sun is there a land where personal rights and per sonal freedom are demanded and de- sired more than in Alaska. Most men are here in the search for the land of greater personal freedom-here in search of personal freedom in the ut. most, or to live off such men. No city the size of Fairbanks anywhere on earth has less drunkenness than Fair