The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-06-09
GENUINE BEER AND RED LIQUOR EASILY
 SERVED n THIRSTY
One Oasis in Chicago Desert Discovered By Accident Is Now Continuously
 Crowded
By HUGH W. ROBERTS

Chicago. June s-(Special -Budweiser
 beer at 25 cents the mug. and bottled-in- bond whisky at 75 cents per small drink
 are openly on sale in Chicago. Further
 more, one Italian restaurant, more or less
 pretentious. serves very fair grade of wine with meals-and reasonably. It is not to be gathered from the above that Chicago is wide open. It Is not. That is the strange feature. For how the saloons retailing to few customers all of whom are ignorant and most pro- fane-a variety of 'near-beer" while one of their neighbors, police protected, ap- parently, sells the real article. and reaps harvest of money sufficient to pay the way of another senatorial candidate ill Alabama or Michigan, constitutes an ir- ritating mystery which no on attempts to solve.
 The one real saloon known to exist and there are doubtless few others | makes no effort to conceal its business A customer, when he has opporru- nity to approach the oar, simply asks for what he wants and gets it. He tastes, smacks his lips. tastes again, and ex- claiming, Tt is the real thing, proceeds greedily to drink, and asks for new service.
 This saloon is in the police district. It is near the headquarters of the prohi- bition enforcement officer Directly to the front is a police call box, from which at regular intervals brave policemen re- port to headquarters that al is well-as it is. Very often a policeman is ob- served twirling his club to the front ot the establishment, out of which d con- tiEuous stream of the bibulous pours to make way for the inpouring stream. Sometimes a policeman gravely and un~ smilingly looks in. Apparently satisfied, he moves on The barkeep and assistants.
 half dozen buxom Irishmen, show no
 alarm, and the buyers-wondering the
 while wh ythe barkeeps sell the stuff
 they should preserve-continue tho
 quenching of their thirsts unmoved and
 undismayed.
 It is not known whether the proprie-
 tor is sure of his ground by executive
 approval or not. It is not known if he
 has protection or from whom, or whether
 or not he is putting up,'' dividing, or
 pro rating. It is simply known. that he
 is on the job, and has the goods.
 There was no advertising. The location
 of the joint was discovered by accident.
 Last Friday night an excited individual
 broke into the lobby of the Congress
 hotel exclaiming, They are selling real
 beer and whisky down the road apfeCe.
 He gave the address. The great ma
 jority which heard. although interested,
 made no move. They feared hoax. But
 two newspaper men, saying nothing,
 slipped away into the night. They found
 the word of the discoverer true. Since
 then-why, everybody has been in the
 little saloon around the corner.
 It is very much like ye olden days. The
 place is always filled to overflowing.
 The barkeeps are too busy to answer
 questions or discuss the political prob lens of the day. The visitors are not insistent. They simply ask for what they want, and pay the money. They drink either standing about the bar with the foot on the rail, or sitting at four of five tables conveniently arranged. As in other times, they order a sandwich. and after the first bangs of thirst are re- lieved, indulge in gossip and small talk. Soon the atmosphere is filled with the murmur of many voices, and the old aroma pervades.
 And for the first time in many moons men are perfectly willing, if not volun- tarily, inclined to laugh heartily at jokes older than the beer they consume. IS any more convincing proof of tile excel lence of the brew demanded?
 If so, the reader had better come and see for himself. Several bellboys have become rich guiding visitors to the gen. tie oasis in the midst of all the desert, and the doubting Thomases. even if ono of them be William J. Bryan, or the bold- est prohibitionist in Alabama or Georgia. are not barred.