The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-01-28
A LAW DEFIED.

There is a bill before the Virginia Legislature making drinking in the presence of passengers on railroad train a punishable offence. The Columbia State says the law would be good one If there will only be some means of enforcing its pro- visions" It then gives case in point to show what the same law Is worth in South Carolina, where it is now on the statute books. It says:
 An interesting illustration of the need of this very law, as we'll as of its ineffectiveness, was to have been observed upon a certain South Carolina train not more than week or two ago. The principals in the disgraceful af- fair were not young, smart Aiexs. either, but old gray boards who should have been possessed of more decency sna sray aar Tsspeer %ere iGn three Of tsm all old enough to be grandfathers. They sat in seats facing each other, and they had a quart bottle fin their midst" It was the ordinary day coach, crowded with men. women and child ren; the train did not carry a Pullman. Across the way from them were q young woman and her husband or
 
 shameless old fellows raised the bot tie of liquor to their lips; ana as the fluid got In it's work they got more and more noisy and objectionable. The conductor passed through the coacn at frequent intervals. but somehow never managed to see what was uD. The young lady looked out of the win dow and tried to make 1t appear that she was not aware of what was going on and did not hear what was being said. which was often not fit for a lady's ears. Because, perhaps, of the haps. no one wished to become involved in a scene with them, the nuisance or their presence and conduct was en- dured until at last their arrival at their of relief from the seIf-respecting men and women aboard the car.
 And the curious feature of 1t all was that right over the very heads Of ed copy of the law. placed there by the railroad company, making it punishable offense for anyone to drink in public on railway train in South Carolina. A young man seated nearby raised his finger and pointed to the sign, and everyone within eyeshot looked and then laughed a little snort of disgust--laughed at the printed law which they had just seen so wan toniy and boldly disregarded.
 The law is needed. as The State thinks. and is ineffective. as shown, because not enforced. No law at all is to be preferred to one that is not only not enforced. but is openly de- fled or disregarded. And yet, fin this case. there seems no excuse for failure to enforce the law, except the fact that no one cared to make what would probably have been a personal affair. If an officer had passed along and seen what was going on he might have taken cosnizance of what was being done--and then he might not. In most states we believe conductors on trains have police powers. but if this one was so clothed he failed to act.
 And yet we see no reason for such disregard of this law as The State describes. It is not one of those un- reasonable legislative enactments. which no one respects and none care whether it is enforced or not. This law seems to us both reasonable and proper. Drinking in the presence Of passengers Is an offence to many good people, just as indecent or profane language is offensive. and a law to prevent one is no more unreasonable than are the laws to prevent or punish the other. These men could not put up the plea of necessity, even. to excuse their offence. If they really felt that they were compelled to take something stronger than water common decency and respect for their fellow passen- gers should have induced them to go into a smoker or bagsage-car. They violated the proprieties because they did not know any better or did it in spirit of bravado. In either case they needed a lesson. In short, a law that can and ought to be en- forced should not be openly set at naught in such a public manner.