The age-herald., 1900-11-21

1
 !" "A rich old pipe,
 | A yellow leaf to bless, l A lighted match,
 l And so forgetfulness.' Governor Johnston does not wish to l longer hold the office of Governor, and as
 a business proposition he wouldn't con- 1 tinue the duties of the office for $10,OO0, for
 he has made very important private busi-
 ness engagement" said a close personal and | political friend of the Governor.
 But he will insist on seeing the way l legally clear before he will relinquish the
 office; he will not consent to yacate his office unless he knows he can do so abso- | lutely according to law. He desires to quit l office, but he must first know that it is lawful for him to give up the trust the people have reposed in him. He will not 1 go out and leave a cloud on the title of
 his successor; for if he should not be law
 fully succeeded endless difficulties and con-
 fusions would arise Should his successor l be in any respect disqualified all the acts
 of the Legislature would be vitiated, the l Governors pardons and other acts would 1 be illegal and the State auditor and the | treasurer would be without proper protec-
 tion. Therefore Governor Johnston's sense of duty and his interest in the public well l fare impel him to be extremely careful in
 surrendering the Governorship. | My own impression is that the only way out of the difficulty that now confronts the l State is that so forcibly, clearly and wise 1 ly suggested by Hon. J. A. Winston Smith of Birmingham in today's Age-Herald; that ! is by immediately calling constitutional l sts4x, ;- plain and so simple, and therefore so wise | ly common-sense, that it seems surprising
 that it has not been sooner put forward | MT Smith has done a great public service, | it seems to me-
 "The Hon. H. s. Doster, the able and | painstaking lawmaker from Autauga, has given the Legislature the opportunity to | abate sthe terrible vice of reckless dealing | in deadly drugs against which all physi- clans and good people generally have l pleaded" said citizen who takes a deep | interest in this question of public morals. | "Mr DosteP has introduced in the House l of Representatives at Montgomery sim 1 pie bill which would effectually destroy the deleterious drugs evil, and thereby do a | great work in the cause of morality in every l | the Doster bill reads
 GA bill to be entitled an act to regulate
 the sale or giving away of cocaine, mor- i phine, laudanum, opium or any opiate l Section l. Be it enacted by the General l Assembly of Alabama, That after the pass age of this act it shall be unlawful for any druggist, apothecary or other person to sell | or give away any morphine, laudanum. l cocaine, opium or any other opiate except
 on direction or prescription of some rep | utable, licensed physician.
 :" Section 9 Be it further enacted, That l any person who violates this act or any | of the provisions of this act, shall be guilty | of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction | shall be punished by fine of not less than | $2O nor more than $500 dollars, or by inn | prisonment in the county jail for not less
 than one month more than twelve months, or by one or both, at the discretion | of the court "
 | "All honor to Representative Doster! | Clearly he has the real supreme interests l of the people of Alabama at heart. His bill
 is precisely on the line so consistently urged | through the columns of the Age-Herald, and
 favored in effect by every reputable physi- |
 1t has been urged through the Age-Herald | that this evil of deadly drugs was loath-
 some menace to society at large, and earn i est pleading has been put forth for pub | lie protection from the most monstrous
 evil of the hour. Medical societies through
 out the State have called attention to the l grave question and have urged legislation
 necessary for its regulation. Notable l af hau
 ing for their object the public welfare is the
 Jefferson County Medical Society, which | but recently took renewed and emphatic
 action against the indiscriminate and reck-
 less sale of cocaine, morphine, laudanum, | opium and similar drugs.
 MT. Dosters bill is in part an answer
 to the earnest pleadings for restraint upon | the traffic in such drugs. He goes as far | as he can at the moment in complying with
 the almost universal petition; and if the | Legislature will enact MT. Doster's bill as | speedily as it may the lawmaking power
 will win the gratitude of multitudes of
 mothers and children, and fathers as we'll; 1 and to MT. Doster all these who are suffer-
 ing now will build monuments in their | hearts. If the Legislators could know it, if all men could come to realize 1t, the noblest | tribute any man can win in the world is
 womans praise, ,woman's gratitude! And day by day woman is being forced to appeal
 in ever more resounding speeches for pro-
 lection from public vices or for the power
 to protect herself.''
 "An eminent ictizen of Birmingham Is
 possessed of a vest which he prizes and on
 which there were a half dozen buttons of 1 somewhat odd design, though of little l value,' said man about town. Two of