The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-10-25
VOTE ron ALL or THEN.

The safest plan to avoid mistake In voting on the three proposed con- stitutional amendments in the general election is to vote for all three. If the voters of Alabama have given thought full study to the three questions in- voIved in the adoption or rejection of the amendments. The Advertiser be- lieves that the three amendments will be overwhelmingly endorsed at the polls.
 The new Constitution of Alabama is in. many respects a splendid document. But 1t is not sacred document to which a touch would be sacriIege. It is the product of human minds. and being SO, 1t Is subject to improvement and amendment. The Advertiser be- lieves that If each amendment Is studied as to it's purport and its prob able effect all will be heartily endors- | ed at the polls. S" The most criticism in the campaign, so far as could be judged. has been di- reeted. against the proposed amend ment re-establishing biennial sessions of the Lsgfslature. instead of auad- rennial sessions established by the new Constitution. The criticism comes from error and misunderstanding. On one proposition, the entire Democratic electorate of the State could unite the proposition to reduce to a nin- imum the evils of nasty and ni-ad- vised legislation. The surface view of that question Is to permit the Legisla- ture to meet as seldom as possible. This is the view taken by the constitu- tional Convention of 1901, when it de- creed that the Legislature should meet only once every four years. This plan has been tried for seven years. What has been the resu1s? No reasonable man doubts that in seven years Alabama has. suffered more from injudicieus and hasty legislation than ever before in it's history. If any les.
  the quadrennial sessions It is the les- son that this constitutional provision has brought more legislative evils on Alabama than the State had ever to endure before. except in the re-con- struction era. The cost of quad- renniai session has been twice as large as that of biennial session. The ap- propriations made at quedrenniai session have been more than twice as large as those made at biehniaf ses- sion. The legislative mistakes, ex- perience is proving. have been twice as numerous. and what is more to the DO. . these mistakes have to be en- dured four years instead of two years before they can be corrected
 The New County Amendment Is 50 logical and reasonable that the only open opposition to 1t has come from the county seats of those counties, which, if the amendment carries, are likely to lose a slice of territory in the formation of new county. The op- ponents of this amendment at Birm- ingham are not frank and candid with, the people. They send out shrewdiy. drawn manifestoes }picturing ,the formation of new counties in every section of Alabarnas. As a matter of fact under the restrictions of the Con- stitution and under the restrictions of the proposed amendments. only four or five counties can be created. New counties cannot be established indis- criminately. The proposed new county must have at least 500 square miles It must have $1.oOo,ooo worth of taxa ble property. It must have sufficient population to entitle 1t to one repre- sentative in the Alabama Legislature. according to the present basis of rep resentation. Moreover. no new coun- ty will be permitted to reduce the ter ritory of an old county to less than 600 square miles. The opponents of the amendment invariably fail to state these restrictions. After they are read and understood where is the dan- ger in the adoption of the amendment
 The Good Roads Amendment has been so clearly put before the people of Alabama that the cloud of misrep- resentation which originally overcast 1t has been dissipated into thin air. For the Good Roads Amendment 1t may be said that it is the only practical. feasible plan for helping patriotic local enterprises for good roads. It Is con celved to help those who help them selves. Alabama is actually In need of good roads. The Good Roads Amendment offers a means of secur- ing them.
 The opponents of the measure may dream dreams and see visions of evil but they offer no other way to get good roads.
 The amendment offers a remedy for the existing conditions of public pads in Alabama.
 It should be approved.
 -S-o-S--
 A SERIOUS MATTER.
 Shakespeare makes Mark Antony