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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1916)
rnr f-TWWJf r t- The Commoner VOL. 16, NO. 5 22 Real Facts About Birmingham (From tho Birmingham Age-Herald, February 4, 1916.) Presidont of tho city commission, Goorgo D. Ward, replied with vigor yesterday to tho slander against the ! city of Birmingham being given wide circulation about tho state of Mon tana In tho prohibition fight now un der way. Mr. Ward Is not a prohl- bltionlst, but he Is unwilling that the namo of Birmingham shall be stulti fied in such manner. Commissioner Ward's statement has been mailed to various persons in Montana as a complete and ofjlclal refutation of tho charges of lawless ness in this city. Copies of tho statement have also boon mailed to "Tho Survey" of Now York and "Fi nance" of Cloveland, Ohio. The state ment follows: "The pcoplo of Birmingham are Incensed at tho articles being circu lated throughout Montana by tho Commercial and Labor league of Helena. It is known now that these and similar articles are being used systematically throughout every sec tion of tho United States where there is a prohibition campaign In prog ress. "In other words, the liquor Inter ests aro willing to blacken the repu tation and damngo tho financial stat us of a groat city in order to carry out their designs. Tremendous Blunder "It will doubtless occur to the li quor people in a very short time that they have mado a tromendous blun der in citing Birmingham as an ex ample of tho disastrous offects of pro hibition. This is going to bo a clear case of 'Ho laughs best who laughs last y "Tho article in the 'Survey' has boon exaggerated and garbled. "Although thore was a large re duction in expenses of the city of Birmingham last August, It was not duo to prohibition but to tho largo floating debt that has been accumu lating for some years. This debt was funded by a bond issue, with tho un- EIGHT MILLIONS At tho end of Us tenth year THE MIDWEST LIFE has $8,000,000 of Insurance in force, representing a not gain of $800,000 a year for each year it has been In business. Now that It Is entering upon its oleverith year, tho officers wish to express again their appreciation of tho sup port and 'patronago which it has re ceived. They expect tho second de cado of its existence will show a greater growth and that tho company will be in a position to render still better service to its policyholders. April of this year, while not the host month in new insurance, yet it was tho best April in tho history of ' tho company. All of which shows that western people aro buying their insurance more and more In western companies. JjTHEMIDWESTLIFE OF LINCOLN, NEBRASKA , A STOCK COMPANY SELLING I MMHTEED COST LIFE INSURANCE VMK derstanding that in tho future tho city of Birmingham would bo kept within its legitimate income. Hence tho drastic cut in expenses. Reverts to Survey Article "Reverting to the 'Survey' article, Birmingham has not dispensed with its health officer, its city physician or its market inspector. They aro all doing business as usual and accom plishing flno results. "It has not extinguished one-half of its street lights, although it cut out some few and shifted others around to better locations. There are about as many lights in tho city of Birmingham today as ever before. "It has not discontinued one-third of its police department, nor put it on a twelve hour shift. It re-organized this department, with some re movals, and left it on an eight hour shift. Tho reduced force has proven more effective than ever, to the as tonishment of the public. "Not a single fire station has been closed, although some men were dropped from tho fire department as a matter of economy. The result for tho past year shows that this re duced department has responded to this burden and produced one of tho most wonderful records in tho his tory of the United States. Tho fire losses were $416,000 this past year as against $1,252,000 for tho pro ceeding year. Owing to this won derful record the insurance com panies have practically agreed to re duce the rates in the city 15 per cent in the near future. "In addition to perverting the 'Survey' article, the liquor people stultify themselves by adding: "That in Birmingham social dis order prevails; that the city is seeth ing with crimo; that the city is in fested with criminal crooks, etc.; that crime is rampant and drunken ness more prevalent than ever before In the city's history; that the worst kind of alcoholic poisons aro being sold in enormous quantities to col ored people, and that tho uso of deadly drugs is growing daiiy.' "Not a word of which is true. Just tho reverse is true. "The use of deadly drugs has prac tically been stamped out by the har- luuiiiuuo uu-uijuruuon or ail the courts and tho police department. There is practically no liquor com ing in, except as is provided by state law. Seldom is a drunken man seen. "The larger phases of crime, mur der, etc., are practically reduced to a minimum, as the following record will show: Record of Arrests "Comparative statement of arrests and convictions for months of Octo ber, November and Decomber, 1914 and 1915: 1914 1915 P.O. Sa- Prohl- De- m . . . lQons bition crease Total arrests ...4599 2742 41 Total convictions 3294 1910 42 Drunkenness . ...999 340 66 Wife whipping . . 23 11 57 Disorderly conduct 863 487 44 "Homicides in the city of Birming ham have been reduced exactly 33 1-3 P?r cent for the last three months of 1915, "Suicides for the entire year of J" wer JO. For tho entire year 1915 were 14, or a reduction of 60 per cent. "It is a noticeable fact that Bir mingham has never before in its his tory been so quiet and orderly. "Following is a comparison of the number of cases in the police court on February 2, 1914, 1915 and 1916: Saloon, February 2, 1914, 130 cases Saloon, February 2, 1915, 44 cases Prohibition, Feb. 2, 1916, 3 cases Little Uso for Jail "Another fact the liquor people can chew upon. "Tho city of Birmingham has the handsomest city Jail in the south, costing about $100,000 and sur rounded by twenty acres of ground beautifully cultivated. "Tho normal number of prisoners confined within it before the advent of prohibition was 200 and upwards. Today tho number ranges from 60 to 70, most of them co'lored women. "Now our problem is, what to do with this fine jail. As a result Bir mingham is forced to do its street cleaning and garbage collection with paid labor instead of with prisoners. "This wonderful fire and police record can be traced almost directly to prohibition, for, in the fire depart ment it is preventing conflagrations by minimizing carelessness and wan toness. In tho police department it is forestalling crime. Attack from New Anglo "In other words, through force of circumstances and economic neces sity Birmingham is attacking these problems from a new angle. That is to say, instead of winking at or ig noring crime at its source and then handling it afterwards at a tremend ous cost, tho city is annihilating the source. "Instead of handling and putting out fires after starting with a costly department, it is ejecting the causes of fires. "A systematic inspection of all firo risks with additional inspectors was devised to offset the reduction in the fire fighting force. This, as sisted by a sober populace, is doing tho work. "Every passing month demonstrates more clearly that the monetary loss from prohibition is being offset in so many other ways, both direct and in direct, both financially and morally, that the result is startling. This al so to the wonderment of half the population. "While the anti-prohibitionists in Jefferson county have polled large votes in preceding years, it is doubt ful should the issue come up again that the open saloon would have any adherents at all. "It would be well to call the liquor people's attention to the further fact that the effect of such villianous tac tics and slanderous statements will bo to drive away from their ranks many conservative people who here tofore have looked on their propa ganda with favor. "It is known in Birmingham that I am no prohibition fanatic, having never" voted that ticket, but in fair ness to tho prohibitionists I can not stand idly by and see the results of their effort minimized by false and absurd reports. "Nor will our people allow the fi nancial status of the city to be dam aged for tho sake of a lot of saloons in Montana or anywhere else." must spend and what for, instead ot plunging recklessly with no regara for taxpayers who must foot the bills. Even more than other people, our farmers are ready and willing to bear their share of the cost of gov ernment economically administered. They will give freely their treasure and blood, if necessary, for their country's welfare. Farmers are of that stern stuff which has "millions for defense but not ono cent for tribute." Yet they will npt be swept off their feet by the hysteria which is being worked up to commit our government to half-baked plans of preparedness that may enrich muni tion manufacturers and impoverish the common people without corres ponding benefits to the United States. Let Uncle Sam keep cool, sensible, wise, far-sighted, planning prudently yet comprehensively for the impend ing Evolution in world economics, world politics! Employ sound econ omy of thought and labor, money and life, in preparing for peace as well as for insurance against war. Working along these lines, the United States may serve still more largely, in pro moting world civilization, but not for her own selfish aggrandizement. This great nation, co-operating with the other republics of the western hem isphere, may yet induce the eastern hemisphere to recognize that right, not might, is the only basis for a civilization that shall bless all the people with peace and plenty, lib erty and life, health and happiness. Farm and Home. LOOK THE DOOR BEFORE THE HORSE IS STOLEN An era of unbridled extravagance In national expenditure! Billions for preparedness," without adequate insurance against waste. All sorts of schemes for extracting millions from the federal treasury, to benefit t"-,1'101 icieaib ramer tnan the gen eral welfare. Neglect of many use ful measures and prudent reforms. The piling up of more taxes onto people least able to bear them, in stead of making war profits carry the cost of preparedness! These are the mistakes congress Er3!?6' neBS Bternly strained by public opinion and organized ag- S11 T1!e Svernaient should have a budget, know how much it THE DEMOCRACY OF THE DEAD In the democracy of the dead all men at last aro equal. Thero is neither rank nor station nor" prerog ative in the republic' ' of llie rgrave." At this fatal threshold the philos opher ceases to be wise, and the song of the poet is silent. Dives relin quishes his millions and Lazarus his rags. The poor man is as rich as the richest, and the rich man is as poor as the pauper. The creditor loses his usury, and the debtor is ac quitted of his obligation. There the proud man surrenders his dignities, the politician his honors, the world ling his pleasures; the invalid needs no physician, and the laborer rests from unrequited toil. Here at last is Nature's final de cree in equity. The wrongs of time are redressed. Injustice is expiated, the irony of fate is refuted; the un equal distribution of wealth, honor, capacity, pleasure and opportunity which makes life such a cruel and in explicable tragedy, ceases in tho realm of death. The strongest there has no supremacy, and the weakest needs no defense. Tho mightiest captain succumbs to that invincible adversary, who disarms alike the vic tor and the vanquished. John J. Ingalls's eulogy on- Congressman Burnes of Missouri. NOT PERSONAL DIFFERENCES It should not be necessary for Mr. iiryan to say in The Commoner that there are no personal differences be tween himself and the President and that their relations continue cordial. Honest men can disagree without dis- ' 1? 1 ? 0ne anotuer- There is not the slightest reason to suppose that tho 1 resident's respect for Mr. Bryan and belief in his sincerity aro im paired by his opposition to the Pres ident s plans for the national de fense. The intimations that Mr. Bryan and the President have come to bo personal enemies have their origin in JS dj incapable of understanding this difference of opinion is compati- Ji0iwit!l,kindly' feQ"ng between men or intelligence and self-respect.- Columbia (S. C.) State. - ,Wl,lWMlHll