The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-06-07
Big Mass Meeting Is
 Held. CHARACTERIZE THE
 SHERIFF AS A JOKE Law and Order People 0ut of Patience With Officers. say They Have Preached and Pleaded without Success and win Now See That the Law
 is Enforced.

DeCi2ttnB that the Soou cheA1ShS4 VI Mont tgomery and the county had waited patiently for more than five months for the enforcement of the prohibition law and that In this period the pro- lhibition statute had been fiagrantly violated, the speakers wno addressed . mass meeting yesterday afternoon in the Auditorium. passed strong res oiutions to interfere and see to the enforcement themselves. At the end of the speaking q collection was taken up, amounting to several hundred doi- lars. for the purpise of carrying on the fight" against anarchy and law violations in general.
 Those who expected sensations at the meeting were disappointed. There was nothing specific to reveal the ex- act course of action to be pursued by the Law and order League of Mont gomery There were numerous ref erences to the gathering of evidence and the presumption is that the money collected is to be employed in the prosecution of those alleged violators of the prohibition law, who were ar rested In wholesale fashion last week, and to procure evidence in the future.
 The auditorium was nearly filled. de- spite the extreme heat of the after noon. The meeting had been called for 8 o'clock in order to allow other fixed meetings to take place throughout the city. But there was plenty of life in the assemblage of citizens and gener- ous applause. at times bursting into Snuffied hurrahs of approval. punctuated Ikhe words of the speakers.
 ssTRe sheriff . Joke.r
 Without the use Of harsh terms tor Iof opprobrium, nearly every one of the IOrators shot straight at the officers or khe law, not only in the city, but in E4he county. They laid much of the iblame for the alleged iawiessness at the door Of the shsFin .2f Montsomsry ncterized chat offlciai as a joke when tt comes to enforcing the pronibition law Others attacked mildly th Q Mayor; some the Chief of Police, and All went after the policemen and sfef- ifrs deputies. for not getting hold of the blind tigers.
 Law and Order League. presided over Che meeting, and M. M. Sweat was secretary and treasurer. The Torrey choir sang song after song. prepara- tory to the speaking program.
 Tn opening the gathering. Mir. Miles said that it's purpose was not born of a fanaticar idea, was not conceived out of malice or i'll will against any man. but for the purpose of preserving the law He told of how the States were lasuaranteed their autonomy by the pConstitution, how the Constitution of the United States itself was ordained by God Almighty, and that the laws of the Legislatures when passed, were sacred. To that extent they represent. ed the wishes of the people and every violation thereof added danger to the commonwealth.
 It was said by the speaker that not All laws are prohibitory; indeed there is probably no law on the books that is not violated at times. But 1t had come to him and was well-knowp throughout Montgomery, that the pro- hibition law is being openly trampied under foot.
 to speak of the political influences that were behind the prohibition violations; ali knew too well what is "swervinR the officers of the law from doing their duty" and that the liquor traffic In Montgomery '1s dominating every in- terest." This has prevailed for the past i've months. the speaker declared. and the patience of the law-loving citizens had been worn threadbare. i The time had arrived for stringent measures to be taken.
 Tt has been openly boasted by the sellers of liquor In this city" said MT. Miles, "that they were we'll pleased with prohibition, That is just fitted them because they were enabled to sell Xhiskey as before and are saving the iicense" And conditions were repre- scented as growing worse. It was told how the Torrey revival running through a month. had been without effect so far as stopping the violations of the prohibition law.
 Have Preached In Vain.
 We have preached. we have pleaded and we have prayed and we have done everything during the last i've months" added the speaker. and now we are about to adopt means to make 1t en- tertaining for somebody"
 Continued applause from all parts of the house greeted the following de- termined statements of MT. Miles:
 If were Mayor of this city would enforce the law.
 If I were a Police Commissioner of this city, I would enforce the law.
 "If I were chief of Police of Mont gomery, would enforce the law.
 If I were Sheriff of this county, I would enforce the law, or make 1t so hot for some of them that they would hunt other and more congeniaI parts"
 The sentences were spoken with well-calculated emphasis and earnest ness by Mir. Miles and at times there were subdued yells from the big audi ence.
 And then he went on:
 eff were a preacher would preach enforcement of the law from the pull pit; if I were running newspaper in this city I would speak out for en- forcement of the law and write edito- rials in it's favor; if were a banker, or a butcher, would be for enforcing the law"
 Getting down to the business end of tha meeting, Mir. Miles referred to the efforts of the courts to prejudice inc evidence, which detectives procure in attempting to convict violators of the prohibition law" This was dep- recated by the speaker. and fin refer ring to the rumor that "he was q crank" he expressed the hope that tbere would be more cranks in Mont gomery.
 The next speaker was Rev. H. NJ. EdmondE, who spoke on Church and Prohibition. :" His address was brief but full of feeling. He opened by saying that the saloon men who per sisted in selling liquor in violation of the law were human and for that rea-