Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1921-12-02

We're queer, contrary creatures,
aren't we? Take Prohibition-and
bootlegging.
Yesterday an insurance company
doctor came to my office to examine
me. Among the battery of questions
was one as to whether l used intoxi-
eating liquors. This prompted him
to relate his amazing experiences
since prohibition was adopted-that
is by law.
He said that it is astounding to find
the number of men who formerly de-
clared when taking our policies that
they didn't touch intoxicating liquors,
but who now confess that they take
drinks. He added that the number of
business men who carry a little sup
ply of booze in their desks or their
safes is extraordinary. Not a few of
them in offering him a drink declared
vehementIy that they don't propose
to let any one dictate to them as to
whether they can have a drink or not
when they feel like it.
That was yesterday morning. While
at lunch yesterday 1 fell attacking
with the manager of the restaurant.
He complained about how unfairly
prohibition was working out. 'In
here" he declared, I'VE won't sell a
single drink. Some of our customers
asked us to when prohibition first
came into force, and when we wouldn't
they vent to another restaurant next
door. Here they can get anything they
want every day"
He added that he personally could
have made many thousands of dollars
merely by letting his customers know
where they could buy liquor in guam
titles. Bootleggers had repeatedly
offered him generous commissions to
book orders from his restaurant GUS
toners. While he had declined, he
remarked that in some other places
this practice was common.
After the Army and Navy football
game, l visited a restaurant in COM
pany with an army officer and M
or two others. Here we saw a new
wrinkle in supplying diners with
liquor. The waiter would come along
and while either putting down nap
kins or placing dishes on the table,
he laid down an innocent looking ex-
ira napkin. Wrapped in it was a little
bottle of whiskey.
Another dodge is to slip a tiny bot
tie into a diners pocket, so that the
customer. as in the other case, can
do his own pouring.
One very large industrial establish
ment employing a great many alien
laborers of the toughest type, used TO
have to employ quite a force of Getec-
tives disguised as workmen t try 10
prevent or stop fights and Killings
many of the workers used tools which
could be employed very effectively to
kill an enemy. Since prohibition
nearly all these detectives have been
dropped. 1t was discovered that most
of the bad blood between workers was
created in saloons at night, and that
tlC oIIoOho III liz Pl0hI WClO plOLlplCU
by revenge. Now very few assaults
occur.
Coal mine owners were puzzled for
a long time as to why it was that the
largest number of accidents occurred
just after work was started. Finally
they conducted a most thorough in
v~estigation. They discovered con-
vincingly that these accidents took
place when the miners were under
the influence of the drinks which
many of them habitually took before
entering the pit. When legislation
was procured f%orbidding saloons to
open thus early in the morning, acct
dents decreased most ~noticeably.
In Jersey, since prohibition, 1 have
seen policemen in uniform sitting
drinking booze quite openly in a large
restaurant, where liquor was dis
pensed to all corners. So far as L
know, this place is still doing a roar
ing traffic in booze.
A man in a position to know the
facts told me the other day that one
fellow offered to pay higher-ups thou
sands of dollars for a position as a
dry" enforcement officer in New York
City. Before the present official took
charge it was common gossip that
some revenue men were rapidly at
tanning great wealth. Badges, it is
said, were rented out, on special oc-
casions, for a pretty penny.
What is the future to be?
One widely held opinion is this: No
law which hasn't the support of the
public for it's enforcement can be made
effective. Therefore, prohibition will