The Chronicle star the Moss Point advertiser., 1950-06-30

composed OF young lawyers,
adopted a resolution last week
asking for impartial enforce
ment Of the state liquor laws in
that county. That action poses
question-iust what are the
state liquor laws?
On the one hand the Stale
law prohibits the sale of liquor.
while on the other hand state
laws have been responsible for
the collection of S4.50o.000 by
the state of Mississippi in taxes
on these illegal sales during the
past six years. The collections
were made under the so-called
black market" tax which lev
les a 10 per cent cut for the
state on the sale of illegal
whiskeY.
Mississippi has had what are
probably the most stringent dry
laws in the nation since 1918,
yet today there are l,767 Ii
censed (federaD retail liquor
dealers in the state and 46
wholesale whiskey agents. In
1949 alone the state collected
$1,169,232 in "black market"
taxes on the sale of liquor. On
the basis of the 10 per cent col
lected, the state bootleggers did
a thriving business of almost
$12-million during that year.
Not bad in a dry state.
The states prohibition laws
date back to 1908 when any one
person was prohibited from
possession of more than two
quarts of whiskey month. In
1918 laws were passed prohibit
ing the transportation or I h e
keeping for sale or for personal
use of any intoxicant. In 1884
the law was modified to allow
the sale of light wines and beer
under local option. Alcoholic
content was limited to not more
than four per cent of alcohol
by weight. However. only %
of the states 81 counties legal
lied the sale under local option.
Virtually every session of the
legislature since has wrestled
with the prohibition laws. but
all efforts 10 modify them have
been unsuccessful. In l946 Gov.
Thomas L. Bailey pumped for
the black market tax and said
at the time that il was designed
TO Chase the twin evils of
black markets and liquor" out
of the state. The Law was passed
and instead of chasing out liq-
uor. ls4s saw the biggest tax
collections TO date. One reason
for the big collections. however.
has been the stream lining of
the state tax commission by
Mrs. Bailey. widow of the late
governor. Mrs. Bailey put the
finger directly on the whole
saler and assessed them a flat
tax on every case of liquor sold.
BY doing this the hit-or miss
method of trying TO collect di-
rect from the retailers was
abandoned. and the states
take" upped a considerable
amount. Incidentally. in dry
Mississippi several booileggers
have been tried and convicted
not for selling liquor. but for
not paying the tax!
Despite this farce and hypoc-
racy every effort to allow a
state referendum on the ques-
tion was firmly beaten at the
last session of the legislature.
$4,000 for 81 pages of print
ing are pretty good pay for even
a senator. That's what Jump
ing Joe" Mccarthy got for writ
ing portion of pamphlet on
Wanted: A Dollars Worth of
Housing for Every Dollar
Spent" for the now defunet Lus-
tron Corporation which was
loaned $37-million in taxpayers
funds by the RFC. The material
was gathered by Mccarthy dur
ing a 10000 mile tour as vice
chairman of the joint congress
sional committee on housing.
Expense of the trip. needless to
say, was also footed by the tax
payer.
McCsrthY's contribution to
the Lustron Corp. book ran ap-
proximsielY 5000 words. which
made his literary efforts worth
better than 81 a word. This def
initelY puts him in the top
brackets among writers-inso-
s far as pay is concerned. Incl
dentallY. il IS now charged that
the actual writing was done by
government agency and
"Jumpin' Joe" simply lifted il.
both the health menace and
Heretofore the practice
x.,hara, -