Interview With A Providence Man

Mr. Charles Moore, one of the students in the law department who comes from Rhode Island and is naturally well posted on the workings of prohibition in that state, especially in Providence, where he lived for some years, was interviewed by an Argus reporter the first of the week on the workings of prohibition in that state.
He said that, "the Rhode Island law made it not only a crime to sell liquor but to keep it. By an amendment to the law, cider was included with other liquors. After the passage of the prohibition law the saloon keepers in Providence went into other business as a cloak for their own. For instance, many started groceries, selling groceries at cost and making their profit on liquor, thus injuring other grocery traders. In twelve months after the prohibition law went into effect, the number of saloons doubled in Providence. The Providence Journal, which I have just received, says there are now 591 places where liquor is sold in that city or one to every 206 inhabitants, while in high license Omaha, there is one for every 400 inhabitants.
"After prohibition went into effect, the Fall River, Mass. chartered boats giving free rides from Providence to Fall River. This hurt the trade of Providence merchants.
"Providence has a splendid police force many spotters were hired, informers or complainants received under the law half the fines and a state police force was established to enforce the law. Yet it was found impossible to enforce it. They had to fall back on the old nuisance law and convict saloonkeepers of keeping a nuisance. When convicted, the cases were appealed. There was so much litigation that appeal cases were not heard under two years." When asked What effect prohibition had upon young men, Mr. Moore said, "I knew many young men who were not drinking men when prohibition was adopted. They formed a social club and are now veterans in drinking. One case in particular, I remember, of a young man employed at $7 a week in a box factory, the sole support of his mother. He got to frequenting a social club and became a drunkard, nearly breaking his mother heart.
"The Rhode Island law offers every facility for conviction- complainants are not put under bonds. spotters are employed on salary and get half of all fines on convictions. It is almost impossible to get jurys to convict and the law is a dead letter."
"At county fairs men were around with bottles in their pockets, selling drinks wherever there was a crowd. Saloon keepers could not complain of them as they were in the same boat. Another effect of the prohibition law is to make the liquor of poorer quality as well as to greatly increase the amount to be raised by general taxation."