The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-01-10

| 10 SldNtus HOWCkCEs ttinb thC RCAtcS are unable to convict after arrests un- | der the present law. There are mum
 Der of answers to this statement. The | first Is, that if case is proved to be
 one not within the purview of the stat ute, conviction should not be had, and | if the case is one within It's purview, and an acquittal Is had upon the evi- dence of perjured witnesses. the fault | is not with the law. but with the com
 munity which tolerates perjury in it's courts.
 Tho third answer is, that In the opinion of persons qualified to pass
 upon such matters. the law Is sufficient and convictions may be had in proper | cases before the courts.
 'The Chief of Police to the contrary notwithstanding, the city of Montgom- | cry Is not the haven of gamblers from Atlanta. Birmingham, Mobile, Nash vile and other places. and from reli- | able authority. 1t Is stated that this | city Is one of the best-regulated of any | of the cities of the South, or North. but in the face of the Chief of Police | that he Is unable to regulate the city | under It's present laws. 1t must be that ] the city Is self-regulating. Tt Is not intended by those in favor of the adoption of the ordinance re- ferred to this committee that 1t Is to be enforced, but they say that its en- forcement shall rest in the sound dis cretion of the police department. This committee does not advise the Council to pass laws with the direct command that they be not enforced. If any out rage Is committed by those who have | the administration of an outrageous law, they have the law to back them up, and the just blame falls on him who with a knowledge of its character passes the law under which the outrage was committed.
 'sThe city already has too many ordi- nances not enforced to pass another with an express direction not to en- force 1t.
 f"Gaston Gunter, Chairman; J. K. Jackson, c. P. Mcintyre" Report of the Minority. The report of Alderman Holloway, as a minority of the committee, which was tabled by the Council, was as follows: ITO the City Council:
 "As a member of the Judiciary Com mittee to which was referred the ordi- nance to re-enact Section 1123 of the City Code of Montgomery, and that the ordinance of May 16, 1904 amending said Section 1I23 be repealed. I beg leave to make the following minority report:
 bell6VtHE Iudt tnt pEdCllCe LII gam bling tends by necessary consequences to promote public idleness, theft, de- bauchery, and general moral perversi- ty, and believing further that a just and proper ordinance prohibiting gam bling should be passed and maintained as a statute of the city for the welfare and protection of its citizens, and espe-
 cially the young men of our city, I
 have given the proposed ordinance
 careful and serious consideration. l
 find that Section 1123 of the City Code
 has been the law of Montgomery for
 more than twenty-five years, until
 amended on May 16. 1904.
 '"rhe practice of gambling is mostly
 carried on upon the second and third
 floors of down town buildings, where
 1t Is difficult for the officers of the law
 to catch q game, having to climb to the top of adjacent buildings, climb ladders,
 etc.
 T find further that the present law
 Is being avoided by giving such gam
 ing places the resemblance of a bed
 room or private place, by placing there-
 in bed, washstand, etc., and the bur den is placed upon the city to prove every such place a public place, in order to convict under the law.
 "The Supreme Court of Alabama has declared that 1t is not easy to define public house or a public place. and believing 1t to be to the best interest of the city and the welfare of its citi-
 zens to have plain. unequivocal and we'll defined laws, prohibiting such
 vices, I report favorably on said ordi- nance. J. l.. Holloway" The adoption of the majority report was not accomplished without a parlia-
 mentary battle.
 Mr. K0hn'a COmurOuiae Alderman Kohn made an effort to ar bitrate the question and submitted a compromise measure, which provided that the police could not enter a build
 ing used exclusively as a residence. Alderman Sullivan moved to amend
 this amendment by adding lodging
 houses The motion met with no sec ord.
 Alderman Kohn in speaking to his
 amendment, reviewed the Haas case and contended that his amendment prevent ed a repetition of this occurrence, but gave the Chief of Police full power to go after the professional gamblers. Alderman Sullivan said that a man | in boarding house, playing cards in l his own room, with his own family, should not be disturbed and still boarding house could not be termed strictly a house used for residential purposes alone.
 He then criticised the Police Depart ment for keeping one man in the day | time and two at night watching the Merchants Hotel and taking names to give to the grand jury. The Alderman from Ward declared that there Is
 no game at the Merchants Hotel and he
 objected to this method of spending the city's money.
 Alderman Forbes thought that the Kohn amendment would interfere with the char
 tered rights of the policemen to enter a resi- dence when in their opinion n crime was the charter in question He said that Alder
 man Roemer had argued that the law, as 1t existed before the Jackson amendment,
 had been in force forty years and only one mistake had been made by the police de- part ment in that time In entering a private residence.
 Yes. and the Chief of Police had author fly to enter any place those forty years" continued Alderman Forbes. but did he break up gambling any more successfully than he is doing now under the present law?"
 Strictures of MT. Strauss.
 Alderman Strauss spoke in favor of the Jackson amendment. He said there is less gambling going on now than there was fif- teen years ago He criticized the Chief of Police for his mercurial way of doing things, "arresting saloon keeper now and then, when all the saloons run wide open Sunday"
 Alderman Holloway spoke at length on the ordinance. He read the law to show that the Kohn amendment imprac- ticable, showing that every living room a castle. He did not think that the police