The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1925-10-16
THE KALEIDOSCOPE
By l. B. McCUMBER

Sitting outside of hotel in Mis-
souri,, | remarked to the man in the
next seat, Somewhat hot and dry"
Shifting a generous cud of tobacco,
and without blushing, he averred "as
it was somewhat sultry an dusty"
What do you do personally when you
get as dry as the country?" was our
next in trying to start a confab. This
time he elected copious mouthful of
tobacco juice toward the gutter, wiped
his chin, and averred he was going to
get a small cup of coffee. Hike
along, if you WILL" he answered as he
sauntered down the sidewalk. Enter
ing small cafe, he greeted the man
behind the counter with, 'Ello, AL.
Small cup coffee; one for stranger"
Without taking the trouble of going
to the coffee urn, the man took two
cups and saucers, sat them under the
counter and quickly placed them be-
fore us. No milk or sugar being ad-
jacent, l wondered if it were possible
he served instant coffee" My new
acquaintance placed the cup to his
lips, threw back his head, and gulped.
Noting that he kept straight face,
l followed suit. "If it. is all the same,
stranger" said as l sat my cup back
on the counter, would you care to
have another small cup of coffee ?"
The man had already anticipated his
answer, and thus two small cups of
coffee were consumed and we had ir-
rigated. Yes, it was very good corn
whiskey, and much better than lot of
so-called coffee.
Awhile ago this column told about
how easy it was to get real beer and
whiskey in Pittsburgh, Pa. We told
the same story year ago. And the
same story as to other cities for sew
eral years. News dispatches inform
us that some thirty "booze" hounds
in the Smoky City have stopped
signing government pay vouchers.
The same thing has been going on for
five years. And then we are inclined
to reiterate: "Who's liar?" x
No, gentle reader, l. B. McCumber
is not agent for anybody or anything.
In my younger life it was dinged into
my ears to be truthful and honest.
If travels reveal hypocrisy then it is
but another form of dishonesty. And
when any law needs be bolstered
with hypocrisy, then it is fiagrantly
and unequivocally> dishonesty.
"Home brew" parties are all the
rage in some Of the southern cities.
On an evening "out," our host related
the following: II have a friend who
claims that he is a 'prohibitionist.
Quite frequently he calls, and always
comes in munching salted peanuts.
You fellows up north know what a
thirst for beer you could accumulate
that way. Well, be is a self-styled
prohi, but those salted peanuts!"
Tennessee some three decades ago
voted constitutionally "dry" It is too
long story to relate the real reason
here; suffice it to say, that it is now
operating under tobacco tax. 1t
appears that when the legislators
passed the dry law, they stated that
Tennessee would be in the forefront of
the southern states. There is a ten
per cent tax on tobaccos and cigar
cites. Some dealers advertise they
will pay the tax, while others say the
customer will pay. In scanning the
news columns we discover many cases
N the courts brought by tobacco tax
1ounds. And thus one law after
mother is promulgated to place |
voucher signers on the payroll.