The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-02-05
BAN ON CITY IS ID BE RAISED +
 REPORT ACCEPTED
War Department Receives Recommendations of Lieut.. Pelletier to Give Birming-
 ham Clean Bill of Health

Birmingham is at last to get clean bill of health from the war department
 and the ban placed on the Magic City is going to be raised so that soldiers at
 Camp Mcclellan and Camp Sheridan will be allowed to visit Birmingham if the recommendations of Lieut.. John H, Pelletier of the sanitary corps of the United States army are accepted by the war department.
 Lieutenant Pelletier asks that the city commission of Birmingham be no tiled of the raising of the ban in jus tice to the city of Birmingham. The interesting point in the report of the medical officer is that Birmingham has won in her valiant fight to have these restrictions removed, and due credit is given Commissioner Taylor for his
 efforts and the full cooperation given the government with his police and de- tective departments.
 Tam now thoroughly convinced" Lieutenant Pelletier states in his report to the war department, "of the hon. esty of purpose and desire of the city commissioners and the city health of
 
 the department in Birmingham and of their intention to carry on sincerely a constructive and intelligent programme in the control of vice and liquor in the future"
 Under direction of the department Lieutenant Pelletier came to Birming- ham January 31 to make a final survey of conditions in this city and to ascer- tain whether the city commission had r,la tad O | the city.
 | After recital of his preliminary ac- l tivities Lieutenant Pelletier states he called upon Commissioner of Public Safety John HsTaylor and City Health Officer pr. Bowling.
 Commissioner Taylor furnished me | two plain clothes officers, City Detec- lives McGill and Patton, with instruc- tions to them to go with me, show me everything I wanted to see and follow 1 any instructions I had to give them and to keep notl.ing from me"
 Lieutenant Pelletier's report says: Before going on the tour of inspec- tion with the detectives learned by in- quiry and investigation that conditions were remarkably good considering the l size of the city and the former dispo- sition of the inhabitants and some of | the officials.
 | "In company with the city detectives | Saturday evening I went to as many places as, in my former inspections, l believed women and liquor were likely | to be found. No one knew where l was going and which places I intended to visit so the possibility of 'tip-off' was entirely absent. We went in a private automobile and the detectives were in plain clothes. I gave the directions and ! only one place at time was indicated
 to the driver. We spent about four | hours on Saturday night and in none of
 the places did we find any liquor nor | any prostitutes plying their occupation. | After this tour of inspection with | the officers I visited two public dance halls, but found nothing warranting ! any interference or. any suggestions and upon talking with the managers l they welcomed any suggestions and promised to conform to any regulations desired.
 No place disclosed in my former in- | spections or by the report of the se-
 cret investigator of the war depart ment was overlooked Tn my tours and l in addition many other places were sug- I gested by the two detectives and I was
 satisfied it was as thorough an in spection as could be made of any city,
 DR. SHROPSHIRE TALKS 1 "The question has been discussed many times as to whether ban was really placed on Birmingham, and at 1 one time Col. John $. Hammond of the | Twenty seventh Field artillery of Camp Mcclellan gave notice,' said Dr. Courtney w Shropshire, chairman of l the committee of 100, that the ban
 had been lifted. But Colonel Ham,
 mond was misinformed, the ban 1 has always been kept on this city on | account of the liquor sold here during 1 the past, houses of questionable char l acter, etc, not tolerated by army off 1 cials.''
 On February 3, 1919, Lieut. Pelletier left the Magic City for Montgomery, having been in Birmingham making
 an extensive study of the vice condi- tions and liquor traffic, etc, and com- pairing them with what they were re- ported to have been when the ban was placed on the city nearly year ago. Lieutenant Pelletier made a final 1 survey of conditions in Birmingham and before he left for Montgomery he made the following statement to Dr. Shropshire and members of the board of health:
 q am more than convinced of the Ihonest and sincere purposes of the city commissioner and board of health in their efforts to stamp out the vice and other disagreeable conditions of this city. They have done more than their promise to make Birmingham a model city and I take pleasure in re- questing that the ban be lifted as ] feel sure that Birmingham in the fu- ] ture will not let these conditions get a hold on it's citizens and rooted in the
 city in the future. as the period which
 we have just passed through"
 A special treatment by skilled sur geons will be given to all soldiers and sailors with venereal diseases and a separate ward has been arranged al
 the Hillman hospital where treatment
 will be given three days out of each
 week.
 lWaterwOrks~ COmnanv