The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-06
SALE OF LIQUORS
LEAGUE WILL PRE-
 SENT A BILL.
Rev. Hrooka Lawrence Talks of Meas are Thnt the LegIslature of Ala bama will Re Asked
 To Pass.

Rev. Brooks Lawrence of Birmlng- ham, state Superintendent of the Ala bama Arsti-saloon League who was in Montgomery yesterday en route to Eu- fauIa to attend the annual session of the Alabama Conference of the Metho- dist Church talked interestingly of a proposed law which the Legislature will be asked to pass.
 Today" said MT Lawrence "the citizens of our counties have absolute ly no means of preventing saloons from being established in their counties, un- less a special act is passed by the Legislature, prohibiting the sale of in- toxicating liquors in a certain country or counties. Such an action takes from the citizenship of county all re- sponsibility and places it upon the members of the Legislature.
 'sWe shall not ask the legislators to vote ito close a single saloon, but we will ask them to give Alabamas citi- gems the right, both American and Dem- ocratic, to protect their homes by popu- lar vote on the question.
 Our present no saloon territory is the result of years of effort on the part of its most substantial citizenship, and we feel confident that the Legislature will not ask this territory to put up
 what 1t has already won as a stake to be gambled for.
 "The proposed law will provide that ! on petition of certain percent of the lquaI.fied voters in any county where
 the sale of intoxicating liquors is au- ItioriSed by law, the Probate Judge
 must issue an order for an election to | be held in the entire county, within
 forty days from time petition was filed
 in his office.
 "The election is to be carried on py
 the regular election officials ana is
 every sense the same in power as a regular election of public officials. !. If the result of this election shows a majority os votes against the sale of
 Intoxicating liquors, then, as the expi-
 ration of the license year, all places in the county where intoxicating liquors are sold must close their doors, and no more liquors may be sold at any place within that county for period of two full years from the expiration of the license year. and thereafter, unless another petition has been filed and an
 election keld. which results in a ma
 jority of the votes being cast for the sale Of intoxicating liquors in that county Such elections cannot be held
 oftener than every two years. If the result is majority for the sale of intoxicating liquors then each SuDQAVlSlOW m the county may protect itself from saloons by pre- censes a petition signed by a certain percent of the qualified voters of the community effected, asking such --au- thority to not issue license or licenses. and such petition makes 1t mandatory
 that no license or licenses be issued. No saloon can be established or carried on at any point without first present. 4FFs~ aNrftl hafr g1aA c-.. petition signed by a certain percent Of lths qualified voters of the territory whore saloons are to be established. The names on such petitions shall be advertised for three successive weeks, and no license can be issued until the end of the fourth week. /durlng which tune a counter petition may be filed and must be considered by the licen- sing authority, tid, if informing to the law. shall have power to destroy the petition and application for saloon licenses, and no such licenses may be granted
 The foregoing section of the pro- posed bill will repeal the infamous twenty free holders petition right to
 establish saloons, and win confer the right of local option by petition on every political subdivision of our Ala bama counties. By this means a town in county voting by a majority for the sale of liquors may establish it's sale, but, upon the other hand, a town giving a majority against the sale in county where the county has voted for the sale, can protect itself and pre- vent the sale of intoxicating liquors. It Is a. pure type of home rule.
 Provision is made that in a county voting for the sale of liquors this shall not be an exclusive permission for sa- looms to open their 10B-s, but on I,e contrary, if the people desire to estab- lishna dispensary this can be done, and saloohs. excluded, thus giving the wid- est liberties to the people to decide this important question for themselves
 The foregoing outline of our pro- posed legislation indicates it's fairness. and only an extreme liquor partisan who believes that the liquor crowd should have all the liberties and rights and the moral temperance citizen none at all will find room to quibble or com plain at the provision set forth The fiat has been issued py the citizenship of Alabama that they must have the right to decide this matter for them selves.
 ''The great Democratic party of Ala bama speaking authoritatively in its state platform dee4ares-Plank 24- We favor laws establishing and gov- erning the privilege of local option for the sale of intoxicating liquors In this State"
 "A law enforcement measure, will be provided in the form of an Anti-Ship- ping provision, which will make 1t un- lawful for any person or persons, or in- dividual or corporation, public or prl- vate carrier to bring into or distribute in any county, district, precinct town or city where the sale of intoxicating lid- uors has been prohibited whether by. special act of the Legislature or by vote of the people under the local op- tion law. any spurious, vinous, malt or other intoxicating liquor regard less of the name by which 1t may be called. Each package so delivered or distributed to constitute separate of- fense, and the place of delivery of such liquors shall be held 10 be the place of sale"
 MT. Lawrence left for Eufaula yes terday afternoon.