AMERICAN PROHIBITION.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 249, 17 October 1908, Page 15

AMERICAN PROHIBITION.

"HOLDING DOWN THE LID." Governor Fort, New Jerseys ramonS moral reformer, who is an administrator of similar stamp to Governor Hughes, oS New YorU, on Sunday, August 30, succeeded in what Americans call "holding down the lid" in Atlantic City, "and sitting on it." In other words, he directed the strict erfoi-cement of the new ordinance forbidding the sale of intoxicating liquors within the city boundaries on Sunday. Now, t'icre is no more popular seaside resort in eir.her hemisphere than Atlantic City. Its sands, its sunshine, its five miles of wonderfa! broadwaJli are for ever coaxing Philadelphia or Baltimore, or Washington, or even New York, to half-empty themselves at all seaeons of the year. At the moment there were probably 200,000 visitors crowd* ing its huge hotels and innumerable boarding houses. On almost any Lot <say in summer you can see 50,000 people aisporting themselves in the waves. You can therefore readily guess the commotion caused by Governor Fort's threat to send a military guard to the back doors of the saloons, and the manifold devices employee by visitors to avoid the distressing calamity of spending twenty-four consecutivo hours on a thirsty August day without anything more stimulating than "soft"drinks. Tfcere are 220 licensed saloons in Atlantic City. So tightly was the lid held down that the police say that not a single drop of intoxicating liquor was sold between midnight oo Saturday r,nd miduight on Sunday. Over the front door of a saloon on Illinois-avenue one mute and inglorious Mr Dooley tad hung the sign, "No liquor sold on Sunday, and d d little on Jidnday." Another proprietor had knotted about the knob of his locked bar-room door a beer bottle draped with black crepe, and beneath were the words, "Smell and pass light O'J." The landlord of the Old Veirina, one of the best known saloons on the Atlantic coast, invited a coterie of politicians to tea in tls place daring the afternoon. Ho put u(; nut-brown ale for all, and since Governor Fort himself cannot prevent « man giving away intoxicants on Sunday or any other day, this seaside Samaritan was b.iiled as blessed throughout the evening. Late on Saturday night hundreds of people were seen staggering under a weight of beer cases, or trundling suspicious-loos-ing casks in children's waggons on the w-ij- home. When midnight came an« brought two hours when the saloons might open, the mall for liauor -resembled a huge tidal jmw*.