The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-11-26
THINKS TALK OF
 UNCLEAN CITY LIBEL

To the Editor of The Age-Herald
 Conhding my trust and faith in your
 civic pride and loyalty to Birmingham,
 beg space in your columns to call at
 tention of the people of this city to what
 consider the most malicious, menda-
 cious unjust libel, islander and disgrace
 that has ever been, to my knowledge,
 perpetrated upon any civilized people
 And not only has Birmingham, in my
 opinion, been most Inalieiously slandereo
 and libeled but she has doubtless been
 injured by loss of hundreds of thousands
 of dollars Of patronage and trade of our
 hotel men and trades people, through the
 act of boycotting and banning of Bir-
 mingham as a place so morally corrupt
 and perrneated with social vices and
 communicable diseases as to make her
 unfit for the visitation of soldiers from
 the cantonments at Anniston and Mont
 gomery.
 Yes, Birmingham is the only city in
 the United States that has been so
 banned and boycotted. and yet, l must
 say, that from my knowledge, by per-
 sonal acquaintance and general reputa-
 tion of Anniston, Montgomery, Mobile,
 New Orleans, Chattanooga and other
 cities having cantonments. that they
 cannot be compared with Birmingham 1 comparative freedom from the social evils
 complained of. Then why is it that our city officials ministers of the gospel. representative citizens and our city press do not, realizing as they must, the ma liciousness and hurtfulness of the in fernaI, libelous aspersion, arise to re- flute the islander and strive to remove the embargo that rests upon our fair city.
 Co hat in pr1 long before this ban was placed upon her. banished her red light district, put saloons and gambling dens out of busi- ness and by city ordinances employed special detectives to ferrit out and close up all bawry houses and places of ques- tionable reput. Now, if these state ments which I make are true, is 1t not apparent to every intelligent man anu to every unconverted fool that the pre- vailing ban and exaggerated islander IS perniciously wrong and detrimental to lhe present and future welfare of Bir- mingham? Will not the effect of such 8 slanderous malicious libel act as detri- ment to good people everywhere who might contemplate coming to B1rming- ham to settle and live? will it not have the effect of reducing the value Of real estate; forestall the coming to this clty of students seeking opportunity for edu- cation in our colleges and school ana est as a cloud of reflection and susplc- ion on the probable character of every woman who goes from Birmingham and writes her name on the hotel register or | any other city. For surely, If Birming- | ham is believed to be such moral cess ! pool of licentiousness, immortality ana oathsorne diseases as to make it an un- | fit place for our soldiers to visit or re- turn to when discharged from the army, will it not naturally appear to the par rents of young men and women who are looking out for a proper place In Wnich to obtain an education that Howard and Birmingham colleges and our sev- eral business colleges, are so unfor- tunately situated as to be justly poyeot- sed all parent3 and guardians of such sekers of educational advantages Of course, Birmingham must have some