The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-02-18

being ffty-two yeas and seven nays re-
 corded by the clerk.
 "An attempt was made the next day to
 verify the vote; forty-nine members vot-
 suspend. Not receiving the necessary
 four-ffths the attempt to verify the vote failed"
 Twenty-Five members signed the fol- | lowing paper:
 '"rhe undersigned members of the House
 of Representatives of Alabama, who are
 recorded as having voted for House bill No. 1924, to repeal the anti-pooling law
 so far as 1t applies to Montgomery Coun- | ty. desire to go on record as opposed to the repeal of the law as provided for in | this bill"
 Many of those signing this paper stated t that they were not even present when
 the the, bill d was voted on, and others that that
 been recorded aye"
 Sixteen others including the Speaker signed a paper stating that their vote
 not being on record they desired to state
 the law.
 When took the paper mentioned above
 to the Governor, he assured me that he would veto bill. which the majority of the House stated had never passed that body. The bill for repeal, however was
 defeated in the Senate. The opponents of the anti-pool law, not
 satisfied with this defeat, and the ex. pO6uIc Ol tHe HnetnOub TesOrLeQ 10 10 OVer-
 ride the wishes of the Legislature. tackled
 on to the city charter bill of 1899. an | amendment legalizing the selling of pools
 and book-fnaking within the police juris- | diction of the city of Montgomery. The following extract from a card from Senator Wiley in The Advertiser of Feb ruary 22nd, 1899. gives, with charming naivite, the secret history of this inter- esting amendment:
 Senator Wiley's card:
 Near the hour of midnight, on Satur-
 day, Feb. 18th, the city charter bill and amendments passed the Senate. In these amendments were included a provision legalizing and authorizing book making
 and pool-selling at horse races during the progress of such races. within the police Jurisdiction of the city of Montgomery, and also appropriating the State and
 county license of Montgomery County for public school purposes. . T receipted MT. Proctor, the Secretary
 of the Senate, for the bill and amendments
 and took them to my ofice for safe keep T returned the bill and amendments to
 the Senate on Monday morning. Feeling considerable interest in the matter, fol- lowed tho Senate messenger who trans mttted this bill and amendments into the House on the 20th, and when MT, Bibb moved for the House to non- concur in the Senate amendments and asked for a com mtttee on conference. l went to the clerk s
 desk and immediately detached from the
 
 horse races and appyopriating the State and county licenses for school purposes
 l adopted this course for the sole and ex-
 press purpose of preventing the newspa- pers from ascertaining what these amend
 ments were. Publication of them would only have resulted in stirring up the op- position.
 Prudence is very noble virtue under | such circumstances whatever can be &C., complished in a parliamentary way Is le- | gitimate and fair. l told each member of the Montgomery delegation that I had these two amendments in my pocket, and l that they would be considered when we got together in a conference committee" Fortunately for the friends of the anti | pool law, Senator Wiley not only succeed ed In preventing the newspapers and the public from knowing the contents of the | two amendments, but also his colleagues
 in the House, who intimated in published cards that If the Senator had only been
 kind enough to have let them into the se-
 cret in spite of their convictions on other | portions of the city charter bill, they
 would have voted for the bil with it's | two fascinating amendmentsi
 | The attempt to repeal the law by Mir. | Seibles in 1900 did not secure enough sup l port anywhere to make 1t Q matter of in- | terest.
 First-It is urged that we should legalize | gambling on races in order to raise fine | horses in Alabama.
 In answer that Alabama's chief glory
 must ever be In her manhood. Our chief | interest Is in raising not horses but men! No Surety Company In America will | bond young man that engages in book | making and pool selling at fairs. The chief of police of New York City | said few years ago More young men | have stood this desk confessing their l first offence against law, and ascribing l their downfall to gambling than l would | care to estimate, Homes are being des- l troyed, and the lives of young men blight
 ed every day for the same reason" | Chauncy Depew, as president of the
 great New York Central Railroad said | T have seen in my vast employment SO | much misery from the head of the family | neglecting its support and squanderinR | its earnings in the lottery and policy shop | and promising young men led astray in | small way and finally becoming fugi- | tives from justice or landing in the crim- | nal dock that 1 have come to believe | that the community that licenses or
 tolerates public gambling cannot have
 prosperity in its business, religion in it's | churches or morality among It's people, | Second-It Is said however, that We
 must legallze gambling in order to have
 successful State and County Fairs: | l answer that the most potent factor l in the decline of public interest in State
 and County Fairs, next to the frequency | Of the great national and international | shows, has been the gross licentlousness | and Immortality attending them. The | plain, sober moral loving people of the | country districts have become unwilling | to expose their sons and daughters to the | degrading influences and associations that | have made fairs in Alabama for the past | few years a stench in the nostrils of | decent people. This opinion is shared | by the ministry throughout the State of | every denomination. as they have sounded
 the sentiment of the people in village | and hamlet
 | The fact that the author of the present | attempt to repeal the anti-pool law, says | he desires to have gambling for only | twenty days in the year, is itself a con fession of the essential and inherent l weakness and immortality of the move ment. which threatens to prostitute the manhood and womanhood of our State. | We have been asked by the advocates of repeal, why We do not seek to shut up bucket shops and other evils of this sort? l answer that we shall be glad to join forces with these gentlemen in any | movement of this sort. It is a matter of | special qualification that Mir. Arlington,
 the author of the attempt to repeal the
 anti-pool law. publicly and solemnly | promised at hearing before the Com mittee on Commerce and Common Car riers last Friday night, to vote for a bill to submit the question of liquor or no | liquor" to the people of the city of Mont gomery. But the fact that your neigh