The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-12

deemed to be an unwise provision in
 the Constitution of Alabama. The gen.
 tlemen. however, has seen fit to charge
 that there has been an holy alliance De-
 tween the dispensary men and the ad-
 vocates of the schools of Mobile, mask
 ing. as the gentleman says. the desire
 to take from the public treasury money
 for the upbuiIding of the interest Of
 private corporation; under that guise
 as he says, trying to strike down the
 safeguards of the liberty of the people
 that he. the great Chairman of this
 Committee. has inserted for their pro-
 lection. Mr. Chairman, I desire to say
 that in the first place there is no
 masking in any controversy that
 may raise in this Convention or on any
 issue that l may make with the gem
 tleman upon this or any other question
 that may be presented for discussion.
 In being opposed to certain provisions
 of the article have objected, not be-
 hind any masked battery, but upon the
 ground frankly and openly stated that
 they did affect the schools of Mobile.
 nave given to this Convention a full
 and fair statement of the reason why
 I desired to protect the system, and 1 asked this Convention. upon the facts
 there stated. to protect that interest
 by making amendments to certain sec
 tions. Why 1t is that from my course
 the gentleman should judge that l was hiding or dodging or fixing any se-
 cret provision I am at loss to say. l do not believe that the Committee on
 Local Legislation participated with the gentleman in the denunciation that he
 made of the school system of Mobile.
 believe that the denunciations of the Chairman are those of the individual and not of the Committee, and l there
 fore have no quarrel with the Commit
 tee or with it's report on account of the charges that the gentleman has made
 So far as the alliance is concerned, my
 friend from Barbour spoke to me in re-
 gard to clause g. and called my atten-
 county. and of my county were the
 same. conferred with me as to oppos-
 ing that section. and I agreed with him
 that our interests were the same aDd
 that we should oppose 1t, and we did
 oppose it. And that. and that alcne.
 is the holy alliance that the gentleman refers to. but the gentleman on the contrary. although he here declares
 that it is wrong in priciple to take dispensary money and apply 1t to the common schools, gets up in this Con-
 alliance with gentlemen in arraying the dispensary interest against the city of Mobile. He gets up and declares that if they will help him in his attack on
 my county and city that he will put almost anything in his article to pro-
 tect the dispensary law. Judge. then.
 gentlemen of the Convention, between
 us as to who 1t Is that is willing to trade away the safeguards of the peo-
 pie in order to accomplish his purpose
 my purpose being the protection of
 my people, his purpose being the pro
 lection of personal pride as the author
 of an article that he offers to this Con-
 vention. Mir. President, that Is all
 that I have to say upon the personal attack that the gentleman has made.
 that Is all that I have to say in regard
 to the school system of Mobile on this occasion. I expect the gentleman is personally piqued. not because 1t is in the interest of the people, nor because it is his duty to be SO, but because l dared vote against the provision, he threatens to make determined fight against a great school system. and as the gentleman says. when that issue comes I have no doubt that he will | attack 1t consistently from feeling | of personal anger. and l, gentlemen. | will be here to join him in the contro- versy and submit the issues to this | Convention. Now, MT. President, so far | as the merits of this article are con- cerned l desire to say a few words. It l was not my purpose to have anything l to say on the subject, but being upon | my feet, I am unwilling to take my | seat and leave the impression that the question is only one of local interest. l These gentlemen have. as has been re- | peatedly said designated every subject | matter of local legislation that their imagination could conjure up and then they forbid any legislation on all other local subjects and provide that the | legislature shall pass no other local act that Is provided for by general law, | or where a remedy can be given by the ! courts. MT. President, you nor I, nor l any man can foresee the necessities of l the future. If we were able to proph- | esy what those necessities would be there would be no necessity for legis-
 lative body meeting every two or four years. If we all had the foresight and
 wisdom that the gentleman from Lau- derdale arrogates to himself, we would look down the dim vista of the future
 and see what the demands would be | for the next fifty years to come, and
 this body would here codify a set of
 laws to gui1e the people prosperously
 into a Utopian government, free from all troubles, endorsements and diffi- culties. Unfortunately this Convention
 has not that prophetic power, and
 do not believe that there is a man in | the Convention who has it save the 1 Chairman of the Committee on Local
 Legislation. It is for the purpose of
 meeting contingencies as they arise | in government affairs from time to
 time that we have legislature. It Is because of the lack of this prophetic | power that we have the legislature tC | meet. It is one of the coordinate | branches of government, and its pur- | pose is to enact laws from time tc ] time to meet contingencies that this great Constitutional Convention cannot now foresee. If we say you shall not do this and that, and shall not do any. | thing else, what have we done with the
 prerogatives of the Legislature? We
 have declared the provisions for the
 formation of our government when
 first organized are mistakes: that it is
 not necessary to have any legislative | body; that what Is necessady is a Con-
 stitutional Convention and court:
 thereafter to hold the Legislature down
 and prevent them from exercising the l prerogatives that have been vested in
 them. MT. Chairman. 1 believe that il | is unwise. believe that the great safe | guard that my friend has erected iS | no safeguard, but is a folly, and I dc not believe in accepting that folly l simply because a gentleman is so sen
 sitive to any objection that may bt made to his views by another delegate
 in this Convention. Besides that MT | President the provision Is sure to bt