Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-03-07
HOW THE DRY ORDER
WAS RECEIVED HERE
Serious Economical Conditions Face
the Town Because of Action
of Daniels.
CITY OFFICIALS TALK.
Mayor Strange Regrets Action But An
nOunces Intention to See il
Enforced.

the Dd0lelS OEuST uTAliS up AuudpO-
lis has for the most part been re-
ceived in Annapolis with groans from
all "wets"
A very serious phase of the matter
has apparently been overlooked by
many AS was pointed out this morn
ing by City Counselor George Rull-
man, the closing up of saloons will
wipe out an annual income from Ii
censes amounting to over ten thou
sand dollars Where this deficit will
come from is not known. 1t will in
all probability cause the city tax rate
TO jump to its constitutional maxi
mum of $1.00. I'VE will simply have
to economic all along the line" said
Mr.. Rullman.
Two other points which are causing
much discussion in the town are these:
The whole complaint taken to the ear
of Mr.. Daniels came not from Ad-
miral Edward W. Eberle, Superin-
tendent of the Naval Academy, known
as one of the most reasonable, though
thoroughly efficient, disciplinarians of
the navy, had made no complaint.
The other point which has made
the vets "hot under the collar" is the
fact that the voters little less than a
year ago voted overwhelmingly
against closing the saloons. In addi-
ton to this the police records show
that Notwithstanding the tremendous
increase in the number of young men
of the governments service, both army
and navy, who have flocked to Annapo-
lis within recent months, there has
been less drunkenness and disorder
than for a long time past.
Mayor james f. Strange this morn
ing discussed the action of the Secre-
tary in the following way:
while l am a firm believer in ma
tional prohibition l do not favor local
option, and l do not think the order
of Mr. Daniels is going to improve
conditions; l fear it may make things
worse Conditions surrounding men
of the service here are not bad, but
am not sure but what they may be-
come so now. Baltimore, with its un-
limited supply of liquor is only 26
miles away, and Brooklyn and Curtis
Bay are even nearer 1t would not
surprise me to see a jitney bus line
established running down the Balti-
more Boulevard from these sections
dealing in the illegal sale of liquor.
Then, too, l fail to see with the
order having no anti-shipping pro-
vision, what is to prevent persons
keeping their sideboards filled with
liquors and entertaining their friends
of the service with as much as they
care to drink"
Going back to the jitney bus man
ner of evading the law, Mayor Strange
pointed out that it would be perfect
ly possible for persons to meet these
travelling booze-joints well up the
Baltimore Boulevard and outside of
the Daniels restricted area. The de-
livery of liquor under those circum-
stances would not be violation of the
Federal prohibition.
Mayor Strange called attention to
the fact that conditions had not been
bad and that the records at police
headquarters would show there had
been less drunkenness and disorder
than for some time.
In concluding his statement, the
Mayor announced his full intention to
cooperate with the officers in every
| way in seeing that the order was not
violated so long as it had been issued
He expressed the hope that the people
of the town would cooperate with
him and promptly report any and al
cases of boot-legging that may come
to their attention.
Along the line of the expectation
/ that conditions will improve in An
napolis while Baltimore remains dry
Sheriff Joseph H. Bells pointed out
/ that the source from which the few
enlisted men who have been getting
| drunk has been traced to Baltimore
MY deputies and myself, as well as
! the police force of Annapolis, traced
| the only serious boot-legging traffic
with enlisted men to a woman whC
was bringing the liquor down from
! Baltimore We almost got dead wood
on this woman and so seriously fright
ened her that she has stopped he
traffic" said he. Sheriffs Bells ais
announced that Department of Jus
tice men and Secret Service operative
had been sent to Annapolis fror
time to time, and that every assist
ance had been given them by his offic
and nothing serious had been discov
cred.
How hard the blow will be to Anna
polls economically was pointed out b
James A. Walton, President of th
Board of County Commissioner
There are hundreds of men workin
in Annapolis now on the big govern
/ ment contracts" said he, "who hav
to my knowledge within the past
/ hours announced that if they are to
: deprived of their right to buy drin
: when they want it they will vacat
their boarding houses here and NOV
! / to Baltimore These men are, for th
= most part, of the skilled labor clas
not loafers and buns, nor men WI