Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-01-09

b. CARTERSVILLE, Ca. Jan. 2, 1902.
60 PROMISED in the postscript of
my last weeks letter to gather up
some facts and make such COM
ments upon those facts as would
make interesting reading, and per-
haps the fur fly from some quarters.
Let me say first and foremost that
Barlow county Georgia. has enjoyed
all the benefits and good results which
come to any county under local option
for near a score of years. With faith
full officials we have been dry-very
dry-for all these years, of course bar
ring the stopping over of Atlanta and
Rome on us in the way of jugs, demi-
johns, beer kegs, etc.
This pleasant, agreeable, and re-
spectacle state of things has at this
time been broken up by decision OF
our Supreme court on our local option
law.
Barlow county eighteen years ago.
J. by our representatives. had a special
local option law passed which gave
the people of this county the right to
vote on the abolishing of the sale OF
spirituous, malt and vinous liquors.
excepting and exempting from this act
the sale of domestic wine i'm quantities
of not less than one quart If said wine
was made in the county. This being
a special act it was perhaps in con-
fict with the general act Of the state
which allowed or permitted the sale
of domestic wine i'm quantities of not
less than one quart.
AS 1 say, after enjoying all the bene-
fits and blessings OF local option for
nearly twenty years. this law incident
ally got before the Supreme court. the
lawyer carrying the case there believ-
ing I'm and fighting for its constitution
ality. 1t went upon a writ of habeas
corpus on the grounds that the case
was tried and the party convicted TOT
selling malt liquors under the general
law OF the state prohibiting the sale
Of spitituous and malt liquors.
The supreme court in deciding the
appeal on the habeas corpus question,
took occasion to decide also that our
prohibition law was unconstitutional.
because il limited the sale Of domestic
wine to that which was made in Bar
tow county.
The supreme court of a state has
perfect right to reverse itself If they
want TO. This is a free country. But
this rule of declaring the whole law un-
constitutional because one clause OF II
is unconstitutional in their view, only
gets such a kirk or twist in the heads
Of our supreme court judges. or a ma
ioritv Of them, when 1t applies to
whisky, beer or wine. Not long ago
no fence act was passed by the legis-
lature to be voted upon by counties or
militia districts in the state, and where
the election carried in favor of no fence
in any district or any county, then that
district should levy a tax and build
fence around 1t, fencing itself in from
the balance of the world, and have the
no fence law on the inside Of the fenced
up district.
This case went to the supreme court
OF Georgia. It decided that the clause
of the act which empowered any dis
trict to levy a tax and build d fence
after ii voted no fence was unconstitu-
tional, but the balance of the law was
constitutional and did stick and hold
and holds to this day.
Now. il the supreme court decides
that no fence law was constitutional in
part and unconstitutional in part and
the part that is constitutional sticks
and sticks on and keeps sticking and
the part that is unconstitutional is
simply declared so and made null and
void. now by what parity of reasoning
or by what logic or law is the special
local option enactment for Barlow
county which prohibits the sale of
spirituous, malt, or intoxicating
liquors. except wine manufactured in
the county, unconsti -utional because
IL has three words attached which are.
''in the county" or ''in Barlow coun-
ty," and those three little words viii
ares the whole law, brings consterna-
ton 10 the sober. decent, God-fearing
people of the county and JOY to the
buns, thugs, red-nOsed rascals,
drunken negroes and so on.
Doesn't this whole thing look to any
reasonable, thinking man like the eff
feet of the decision of the supreme
court of Georgia is TO slap the So
Der. decent, better element Of
this county and state square
in the face, and then turn around and
say to the buns and thugs and whisky
devils: Gentlemen, you have gone
away back and sat down for IS years.
and now we will make the decent ele-
ment 60 away back and sit down. and
we will turn the thing over 10 you.