The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-08-26
WILL NOT STOP DRYS' TROUBLE. Prohibition Amendment
 Has No Penalty. DRASTIC POLICE PROVISION Discussion Caused Mild Sensation.
 Yesterday. \ lawyers Criticise Main Bfu of Extra sessien--Absence of Penalties wln Play Prominent Part
 Tn Movement to Defeat.
DRASTIC POLICE PROVISION

Prominent lawyers. after careful reading of the proposed amendment to the Gonstttution. made the important discovery yesterday that IT the amend ment were adopted 1t could not Tor ever" stop the manufacture, sale and keeping for sale of alcoholic and malt liquors" And instead of. putting an end to agitation there would still be left ample room for the State to swing back and forth between wet" and "dry."
 The amendment as written in the Dill of the Legislature submitting 1t to vote of the people in November. does provide that the manufacture. sale and keeping for saie of the liquors mentioned shall be prohibited. But IS there a penalty attached? the lawyers ask.
 It will be recalled that the, Consti- tuition of 1901 prohibited the riding on free passes by certain officials But there was no penalty provided in the organic law if the officers did accept free passes. Nor was there pro- vision which demanded that every Leg is1ture should enact laws for the pro- hibition of the free pass evil.
 The discussion of the prohibition amendment caused mild sensation on the streets of the city yesterday. And the wonder was if the prohibition lead- CTS were guilty of an oversight or real ly drew the amendment purposely In the fashion as 1t appears on the jour, nals of the Legislature.
 q was surprised to read the language of the proposed amendment" said prominent lawyer of Montgomery yes terday. "There Is absolutely no pen- alty in the clauses. True, the first sec tion declares that liquors shall be for ever prohibited from manufacture. sale. etc, but there is nothing therein man datory on all succeeding Legislatures to enact prohibition laws. All pro. hjb,torv sections of the. Constitution. if they have force, contain penalty pro-
 "I do not see how 1t can be said that the amendment If adopted, would TOT. ever stop agitation. It cannot do Y or itself, and the people can cnange tneat a.sat as often as if the amendmenl were never in the Constitution.
 The chief argument of the legislators who favored submission of the prohib- ition amendment was that n would stop agitation. that if would foreyer settle the liquor problem" in Alabama. The prohibitionists passed law after law with good majorities and had but little fight on any of them. With all these In the Code, the main argument for adopting the amenoment was. therefore, to put an end to agitation.
 The announcement of Montgomery 1awyers that the amendment itself could not prevent the prohibition Ques- tion from again bobbing up in Alabama politics win have an important bearing on the campaign that Is now on: For statutory prohibition has been elimfn- ated from the issue. The issue will swing around the proposition Whether nrohibition in the Constitution will nelp enforce the law any more than the drastic statutes that have just heen enacted" Also. much of the anti amendment campaign will take the form of an attack on Section of the amendment which said to contain the most police power that was ever be- slowed upon & Legislature.
 Section 2 of the proposed amendment reads as follows: Nothing in the Con- stitution of Alabama shall be construed 1o nrevent the Legislature under police mower from designating places where such Nuuors may not be stored or kept"
 amendment will open the avenue for any radical Legislature passing laws which Iegalize the arbitrary searcn or any mans residence.
 For" added one lawyer, "there is absolutely no limitation in the section as to the power conferred. If, in season of fanaticism, any Legislature should decide to take offense at whis-
  law could be passed under this amend ment which would directly prevent the storage of any of the prohibited 1i- ouors for any purpose whatever In ones residence. The owner may wish to keen it for serving on social occa- sions to guests but in his evening of entertainment he could be legally raid ed by bluecoats, the liquors seized and the host. with guests. all put in the Jail" hIbitionists have gone too far with this second section. It is believed that the chances for carrying the amendment have been greatly lessened by not ex- ceptinR the dwelling from the prohibit tory laws that may be passed by sub Reouent Legislatures. In other words ifhey are going farther with the Con- Istitution than they dared go with the IEtatutes. Though the prohibitionists with the power and zeal of the Govern Sor behind them, had a decided majority of the Legislature with them, they dared not make the laws apply to wines, liquors, etc., when served in or 6inary social intercourses in places Iused exclusively for dwelling pur- poses"
 It was the opinion of lawyers. too that the registration books are going Ito be opened on the Friday and Satur- day preceding the Monday of the elect Ion on the amendment. It seems that lthe bill submitting the amendment to the people uses the word general cleo ,tion," probably for the purpose of ex- cluding none of the hundreds of young men who have become of age since the last opportunity of registration as we'll as the great number of men who have qualified under the two-year residence rule since the last general registration in 1908.