THE ALLIANCE HERALD, ALLTANCE.CE, NEBRASKA, DEC EM HE It 16, 1919.
Comment-and
Discomment
Alliance ! not the only city In the
country where bootlopors abound, if
gn these daily newspapers tell the
Jnith about bootlogglnsr. Now and
then one of them may fake a little
.ctntf on gatnboliers, or circulation
ttnt the bootlepRer la a common en
roy. We doubt if there are many
reporters low enough to accept so
jnnrh aa a single free drink from a
peddler of illicit rum, nnd we don't
Jcnow of any whose salary would
permit him to pay the prices they
are asking now but there are re
porters and reporters, Just as there
are different varieties of other folks.
The last wave of crime seems to
be concerned with booze. Those who
believe that the whole pesky busi
ness would be done away with with
the coming of national prohibition
seem to have met up with cruel dls
appointment. A couple of weeks ago,
there were a series of robberies of
private Blocks laid away against a
lifetime drouth, and precious wines
and more precious whisky were
stolen sufficient to total a staggering
sum. One Omaha man estimated his
lost whisky worth several thousand
dollars. Probably he was too en
thusiastic but it may have been
worth that to him.
The latest and most popular crime
against the peace and dignity of the
boozehounda seems to be the opera
tion of private stills. Chicago news
papers, a day or so ago, came out
with a story describing how govern
ment revenue men had picked up
nearly two hundred private stills In
Rhein Hardware Co.
Offers as Gifts
For Mother or Wife
Beautiful Ranges
Electric and Power
Washers
Pyrex Baking
Dishes
Electric Irons
Carving Sets
Percolators
Thermos Bottles
Flashlights
For Father or Husband
Army Saddle
Blankets
Guns r '
Electric Razors
Saddles
Flashlights
Pocket Knives
Thermos Bottles
For Boys and Girls
Sleds Skates
Trievcle B. B. Guns
Ball Bearing . ?S
Horscycles
Coaster Wagons
Knives
Kiddie Kars
Quality Goods Always Shown
Our Best
Salesmen
Are our Satisfied Customers. Ask people
who have their work done herepartic
ular' persons, too and let them tell you
why we do their work. And then try
our excellent Dry Cleaning and Pressing
service.
Have your Suit or Overcoat Cleaned
for Xmas
Keep-U-Neat
raids in that city, and these same
stills had no less than 175 gallons of
whiskey still In them. It wouldn't
be safe to leave the average Chicago
cop in the company of Illicit whisky
or any other kind, but maybe federal
officers are made of sterner stuff.
From 'way down in Dallas, Texas,
comes the newB of some sacrellglous
Jnnitor who erecter one of these stills
in the very basement of a large
church, and had built up a most
profitable business before the officers
located him. Reminds us of the
happy days when we were police re
porting and Night Captain John Dee,
Patrol Driver Art Shrupp and yours
truly ran across another Instance of
villainous skulduggery right within
the portals of a Lincoln church
but that's another story.
In time, of course, these private
stills will get their comeupance, Just
as the booze runners are getting
theirs, one by one. The government
has made it illegal, for instance, to
sell recipes for making wines and
other tempting liquors within the sa
cred confines of one's home at a frac
tion of what those vicious bootleg
gers would charge for them. A num
ber of newspapers have been carry
ing the advertisement of an eastern
publishing house, which gives all
this information for the small sum
of one dollar.
The Herald, by the way, had an
opportunity to run this same adver
tisement, but we resisted the temp
tation, even though the money we
received from it might have enabled
us to struggle on an hour or two
after the time limit Bet for us by
our generous competitor. It was one
of those name-your-own-price ads,
which mails electrotype and check to
cover cost in advance. It described
a book which gave full, directions for
making wine and beer at home, and
the reading matter was cunningly
worded so as to make the mouth of
any reformed sinner fairly water. To
quote from the advertisement:
"A neatly compiled book of simple
formula for the making of the best
French, American, German, English
and Italian Wines, Beers and Whis
kies. Strictly reliable information.
Price $1 postpaid. Order Quick."
We threw the letter into the waste-
basket, along with a lot of stuff that
ten or fifteen government bureaus
wanted printed and had labeled:
"Rush news don't delay." Along
about a week or two later we re
ceived another letter from the pub
lishers, urging us to hasten to tell
what money was needed for us to
run that advertisement, and assuring
us that they were wild to write a
check payable to us. This time we
replied-, and that is what we told
'em. We addressed the publisher in
a friendly way, using his first Dme
in order to put him at his ease:
"My Dear Ezra: We have your
second communication relative to
publishing in The Herald a two-inch,
double column advertisement which
same is for the purpose of urging
our subscribers to purchase Howard
Williams' interesting book, 'Home
made Wine and Beer'.
"Our rate for this particular ad
vertisement will be about $17.63 per
inch, in advance. Did not the laws
of the country frown upon such pro
cedure, we might be Induced to take
the amount out in trade in some of
that Italian wine made according to
one of those neatly compiled formu
las . We have an aunt, my dear
Ezra, who suffers from sciatica or
is it arterlo-sclerosis? No matter;
she suffers.
"If you know of any good recipe
to make Scotch whisky at a cost of
not to exceed 13 cents per gallon,
let us in on it.
"Believe us. my dear Ezra, thirst
ily yours."
And, do you know, to this day we
haven't received a single word from
Ezra in reply to that friendly leter.
We can't understand It. It may be
that the authorities beat our letter
to his Joint, or it may be that he
didn't like our style. Possibly he
may have though the rate too high
but we'll gamble that he'd have
made money, even at that rate. De
spite his cold silence, we harbor no
111 feelings toward him.
And, while we refused the adver
tisement, we still owe a duty to Her
ald readers, some of whom may even
now be suffering due to a lack of the
Information that Ezra's little book
contains. If you have an ingrown
thirst one of those thirsts that
lemond extract cannot satisfy sneak
into our sanctum any day but Sun
day and we'll be as liberal as a cer
tain Alliance man was with coal
only we'll keep dark about our gen
erous Impulses. Our right hand Is
deaf, anyhow. It's possible that it is
already too late we don't know
how soon that new ruling about such
literature goes into effect but if you
feel strong enough to suffer possible
disappointment, our Information will
be as free as the air you breathe or
the water you drink.
We have a distinctive line of
Christmas cards and gift books,
which we will be glad to show you.
A eood aossortnient stil on hand.
Mann Music & Art Co. 5
For Sale Two six room houses
on Sweetwater. Modern except heat
Price and terms right. See Nebraska
Land Company. 4
if r
2
Warm Friends
There's no chance for chance chills at baby's
bath-time or any other time with a Perfection
Oil Heater around.
Gives the extra heat you want where you
want itin a jiffy. Warms ten hours on a
gallon of kerosene oil portable heat for every
room. Saves coal too. 4,000,000 in use.
Your Perfection is ready now.
PE
RFECTTJQN OilMtm
We were entirely out of these Oil Heaters, but received another
shipment, so can supply your wants.
George D. Dariin
Alliance, Nebr.
115-117 West 3rd Street
for your
Christmas Dinner
Fowls of every kind for your Christmas Dinner are here in
abundance. We suggest that you place your order early and so
secure a better choice. Even though we try to have an ample
supply to meet the demand, those who wait may be disappointed.
Present prices, too, are an added advantage as prices Christmas
week are almost certain to be higher than now.
At all times we invite you to compare our prices on
Meats and Groceries
Whatever you may need for your Christmas Dinner in the line of
Groceries, you will find here articles of superior quality. We em
phasize the importance of sanitation in handling all our merchan
dise. We stock only the best goods that can be purchased.
Christmas Trees
Give the Children the joy of an early Christmas morning surprise.
Picture their surprise and delight when they first catch v.t t '
the glistening, sparkling tree. Their presents are increased in
enjoyment a hundred-fold. We have a good supply of Trees in
desirable sizes, together with the decorations.
Duncan & Son
Phone 32
City Meat Market
Groceries