The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-09

other? Why should those in number one rank have more rights than those | in numpel two rank, or in number three or Iour. Why should a city like
 Montgomery, of lS.U00 white people and | ] .00U darkies or negroes. have more l rights than Eufauia or Greensboro or | Troy. Why should you make the | classes if you make them to burden l them wnen the people in those cities object to those ciassifications. If it is for the purpose of giving them rights. privileges and liberties which are not | bestowed upon other portions of the | State. then he remnant of the State i object to the discrimination, and there- | fore in that case there should be no classification. That is one part of Section 10. The other part is cities having twenty thousand or more than twenty thousand inhabitants should make their own charters. There is no gentleman in this Convention but who
 knows that charters are nothing more than the collection of great preroga- tives. Franchises were formerly in the hands of the king, in monarchiaE gov
 ernments. in our country they are in the hands of the State. Now, why should these franchises belonging to the ! State be conferred upon cities having %, 900 or more inhabitants, and not up-
 on one having ten thousand or less. Why should you make a discrimination
 of the rights and powers and liberties and privileges among our people any where in this country. Shall Mont-
 gomery with thirty thousand inhabi- tants have more rights than Huntsville
 with ten or Florence with eight or
 Eufaula with six or seven or Greens boro with two thousand? Why should
 they have more right? Have they any
 more virtues. except in proportion to their numbers. than any other commit nity in the State of Alabama? Why
 should you make this discrimination, this distinction? Why not make it a general law? I admit that a city of
 twenty thousand population may have
 more power. Why? It has more mus
 cle, and it may have more wealth. but
 should not have more rights and priv
 ileges or liberties than city of two
 thousand or of fifteen hundred popu-
 lation. I am standing here for the
 people. and not for privileged cotntlu-
 mites. Why look at the wrongnesss of allowing a city council t6 make It's own charter? It appoints nine men who
 have heen in town long enough Give years) they say for the purpose of be- ing indoctrinated by the aldermen (and they are not always men of heroic vir- tue or Roman civilization) but many of them are insolvent and bankrupt in fortune and in character Qaughter0 And yet these men are to apply to the Circuit Judge and ask him to appoint nine men who have lived here not less than five years and make charter. Many of them are incompetent Look at the charters which have afflicted the
 people of Alabama in the different parts of the State, proposed by coun- cilmen, or proposed by committees they
 have appointed. Some of them are excessively oppressive. Some Of them say you cannot walk the streets with out paying your tax. and so much for
 the privilege of going from your house to the market. or from your place or employment or labor. These are all
 wrong. Give the cities the right to
 make their own charters. Mark you,
 this says subject only to the Consti-
 tuition" which will prevent them from establishing great hells in their place. It does not say contrary to the laws of the State" It is contrary only to
 the laws of the Constitution and upon
 this subject the Constitution IS pro
 foundly silent. What will prevent
 them from establishing pool rooms? Gift enterprises are forbidden. but oth-
 CT enterprises of the same kind-cock- pits. race tracks, prize fighting estab- lishment and everything that pertains to immortality.
 The President resumed the chair.
 The President-The time Of the gen.
 tleman has expired.
 MT. deGraTenreid-I have an amend
 mcnt to offer.
 The Secretary read the amendment
 as follows:
 Provided. that nothing contained in the Constitution shall affect the char ter of any town. city or village now in existence in which charter there IS contained a provision against the sale. exchange, barter or giving away or sprituous, Ninous or malt liquors, ln-
 toxicating drinks, liquors or beverages. or in which there is any regulation of the sale or giving away of spirituous.
 vinous, or malt liquors. intoxicating drinks. liquors or beverages, but such charter of such towns shall remain as they now exist until they are altered, changed or vacated in the manner pro yided by law at the time of the aoop-
 ton of this Constitution.
 Mir deGraffnnreid-M President and delegates of the Convention, that amendment is simply introduced Tor the purpose of allowing, so far as an' concerned the town of Greensboro to
 
 know that 1t Is d fact, but l suspect fl is true that the town of Greensboro. is The only town in Alabama in which if is nrovided that no liquor shall be snld in that town. That provision was placed in the charter of the town or Grrensboro because of the estaDllsh- ,nont of the Methodist Church of an of learning at that place. Greensboro as you know is the place
 uhere 1he Southern University is To-
 cated. When the church determiheu unon GrpcnslUro as the place for the location of this University, IL was plac- ad i'm inc charter of the town that no uuuor should be sold or gwen away
 within the town of Greensboro or With in four miles of the town do not nnow and I doubt very seriously
 whether any of the delegates lo uilS (tonynnfion know what effect of sec ton 10. or even of the ahIenuiiepl D inc section will have upon the various towns and cites or thS otdte oL Hta
 tayna So far as 1 am personally con cerned l am opposed 10 the aooPt'o'' either Inf section 10 or of the minori-
 tv report but l nave put tnls ci"uoe in bare so that If the Convention dis agrees with me the CohFthtlo" "iI' "t
 I,eT. rho charters of Greensboro to re- main as it is until that charter is di-
 rored or changed in accordance wtth the laws of the state as IL no" eAtS.o.
 As understand it they propose to classify the towns or the S'ale ol A'a- a Sn,,ra ,nd nut them in four classes, IF effect destroying the charters ol eacii ei to,.n as they now exist, because eacn
 Gin