The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-10

efal I2W uxIn8 the p0WSte oA cuSA VI In the State of the diRerent ciAssss The cities in the State will os nlassed and there will be charter pass,d re. vidins for the needs of each city and town in the State and giving them their rights and defining their powers and there will be | general law. Such . law would give them power to levy license taxes on any subject. I WI ask the gentleman from Greene why NcouId that not be done. and would 1t not be dones
 Mir. coieman--You would have gem erai law that would allow any city or town to pass any license law that they saw proper?
 Mir. o;Neal-You might limit 1t to such subjects that the general law might provide for.
 MT. waiker-why would not 1t be competent for the Legislature to pass general laws under which the local authorities could make different r-su- iations upon the subjects that have been mentioned here. in reference to the sa1 or use of intoxicating liauors. in refg snce to bird laws. ar. in ref- erence to privilege taxes? It would not require at all. that the same reguia- tions should prevail all over the State. Uut A AEuGfAl law hohu pt0NA AVs sse~ regulation of those matters by the To- cal authorities.
 MT. o'Naal--I am obiiSad to the ssn- tIeman for the suggestion. That was the idea of the committee. that 1t would be the duty of the Legislature to pass general laws giving the local au- thorities authority to pass such laws as the demands and necessities of the par ticular community might requps, 90 that every community could have It's local laws, without applying to the General Assembly for them
 The President-The time of the gen. tleman from Lauderdale has expired. Mir. Ashcraft--The question which
 has been raised in connection with this clause ss to the regulation of the liquor trafic is one of great importancs- We
 are told that the Legislature may pass general laws. whereby pafticuiar loeali-
 ties may enact such liquor laws as
 win suit their own ideas. New, cir, if this law shall be enacted into the Contribution. and at the next Legisia- ture' . bill should b. introduced au- therizing every county, municipality or district to take . vote in that partic- ular community, as to whether er not prohibition should be pnt into sRsct the result would be that the large cities and towns in this state, where tt ts sxceedineiy dihicuit to regulate the liQuor trafilc. would be oppessd to giv- ine the people of other communities the opportunity they desired. The liquor tratfic, if 1t is ever regulated in this State, must be regulated first In the small communities, and as the general Idea of temperance grows. to reach the larger ones gradually. When you pfo- pose this general law giving every
 community the right te vote Tor os against prohibition, you will at once have arrayed against that general law the strong whisky interests In the State. and the result would be that nc
 such general law could be passed not. | withstanding that multitude Of small communities might like to have the | privilege and opportunity of voting up- | on the question themselves.
 | MT. walker--Is 1t not fact that in l States in which provisions such as this prevail, that there is a successful. reg | uiation of the liouor traffic by the com munities. under the general tawsf | Mfr. Ashcraft-I am not prepared to answer that question. understand l that so far. in human experience. 10 | successful regulation has ever been | made of the liquor trafflc. I understand | however. we are growing in that dirsc- | ton, and I believe, Mir. President, that | the enactment of this clause will cut of for many years to come the growth that we are making In this direction. because it win deprive the .malicf communities of the opportunity of tx- l ercising the privilege that they have
 of securing from the Legislature local | option.
 MT. ONeal-I desire to ask the gen. tleman c question. Does he think that the Legislature ought to grant to any community local option or dispensary contrary to the wishes of a majority of the people in that community? Mir. Ashcraft-No, sir; do not think that the Legislature ought to grant any particular community any privilege contrary to the wishes of a majority in that community, but do think that the Legislature ought to grant to a community privileges that they may desire, but wife may be against the wishes of majority of the whole State to have applied to their locaii- ties. and the proposition here Is that before we can do anything in any par ticular locality, we must get the con- sent of the whole State to have q gen. eral law passed giving the same right in every locality. That Is the point that am making. Mir. President.
 MT. ONeal-If the gentleman will allow a suggestion, desire to say that if he will read this section he will see that we absolutely require the Legis- lature to pass general laws on every subject enumerated In this section. TEen 1T the section would have the ef- feet which the gentleman claims, to prevent a county from having a dis pensary unless there was a general law on the subject. 1t would be the duty of the Legislature. under their oaths to pass a general law by which the coun- ty could secure the beue1t of dlspen-
 saBy, and by the same law the Legis- lature could provide for Its adoption by c vote of the people or in some other manner. Certainly that is a matter which may be left to the Legislature. It was not the purpose to prevent any county or any community from having a local option law or a dispsnsary. or to have the control of the liquor trafdc in any mode or manner that the people might wish.
 MT. Ashcraft-I did not say, when I yielded, that would allow the gentle man to make Q speech in my time. MT. President. the conflicting interests be- tween the large cities and the small cities and the country communities. would be so great that no general law could ever be passed that would pro- vide for the different localities in this State, and for taking such action as suited the particular localities, because the action taken in a locality must be adjusted to the state of the public sentiment in that locality.
 Mir. Weatherly-Would an amend ,,,aot n,e fhiS kind answer any of the