The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-08-22
AN oPpoRruNIrY LOST.

IL IL perhaps TOO late TO remedy the
omission, but some member of the
present Legislature has let slip an op-
portunity to win tame and various
other things for himself. and to still
further strengthen Alabama's claim to
leadership In the way of freak legis-
lation- All that was required was to
introduce a bill to limit the length of
women's hat-pins. II would not have
been necessary to put the limit at
four feet, perhaps. though that might
have made II more effective. Possibly
a law making 1t a crime for any wo-
man In Alabama to wear a hat-pin less
than thirteen inches In length would
all all the requirements OF public safe
ty.
A hat-pin. let II be borne in mind, Is
a deadly weapon. 1t has been declared
such by at least one court, and pos
sibiy others. but whether the ques-
ton has ever been judicially settled or
not, 1t has been decided In the great
court Of public opinion. That. as all
know. is among the greatest OF all
earthly tribunals. 1t may sometimes
err. but II Is powerful Just the same
and the man who IL wise in his day
and generation will not dare to go
up against It. or set himself to fight
against it.
This being the fact. why should
not the laws against carrying con-
cealed weapons be made applicable In
this case7 A woman can carry one of
the things concealed in or under her
hat. and when occasion offers she can
deftiy. quickly and silently draw 1t
and infiict what will be painful. and
may be a deadly. wound. AS a mat
ter of fact we have heard Of more
than one case Of death from this cause
OF course some one will want to
know how such law could be en-
forced. but what has that to do with
itY We continually read OF bills in
troduced into legislative bodies with
out a shadow Of common sense be-
hind them. Not only that. but laws are
passed which cannot be enforced and
which in our opinion, are not expected
or intended to be enforced Some OF
are the outcome of envy, spite and
malevolence. and others of Ignorance.
In whatever light we view them, we
are compelled to admit that some laws
enacted by late legislative bodies are
as unwise. absurd and illogical as a
thirteen-inch hat-pln law would be.
and will do as little good.
1t may be possible that fear of what
the women of Alabama might do to
them has had a deterrent effect on
our statesmen. They know that such
law would be highly obnoxious to
that large and influential body of our
citizenship who wear hat-pins, and
that the man responsible for 1t would
never again get office from the peo-
pie; and that. as nll must know, is a
powerful consideration with the av-
erage statesman OF today
And lust imagine the gay old time
that those would have who would un-
dertake to enforce such a law. Imag-
inc a policeman or deputy slipping up
behind each W oman and feeling her hat
to ascertain how many hnt pins she is
wearing. and drawing out sis foot-rule
to take the measure of tac!. The num-
Der OF punctures that would be har-
vested by officers of the law from in
dignant and outraged women would
keep the whole medical fraternity on
the Jump. and even then they couldn't
attend to all the cases. The woman
whose pride had thus been outraged
would quickly show the oficious Of
fetal the length Of hat-pins she wore
by inserting one in his body. Then
he'd probably think 1t was a four
footer. And yet. when we come to
think of it, such a law would not be
more unjust, oppressive and intolerant
than some that have been enacted nor
would its enforcement be moro diff
cult than some others. It would not
be in a class by itself.
But for all this, we insist that some
Alabama statesman has let slip the op-
portunity of his life by failing to in
troduce a thirteen-inch hat-pin bill.