The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-10-18

ment to the Consultation reads as fol- lows: Section l. The manufacture. sale and keeping for sale of alcoholic and
 malt liquors and other intoxicating beverages shall be forever prohibited in this. State. but alcohol may be sold for medical, scientific and mechanical purposes, and wine for governmental
 purposes, under such regulations as
 the Legislature may have prescribed
 or may hereafter prescribe"
 | Under the above section neither wine nor alcohol can be manufactured
 for any purpose in the State. There
 is. however, provision in the section
 which authorizes the sale of alcohol
 for medical. scientific and mechanical purposes, and wine for governmental urally arises, how can. the sale vf al-
 cohol and wine for the purposes above
 named be had If the State prohibits their manufacture? Before they can be sold. they must necessarily pc
 manufactured. The right to sell is
 absolutely nullified by denying the
 right to manufacture. It may be arr sued that the right to sell alcohol and
 wine for the purposes named In the section refers to wine and alcohol
 manufactured in some other State and
 brought into this State under the In-
 terstate Commerce laws. The section contains no such reference. While l
 shall, in another part of this article, discuss sales under the Interstate
 Law. I insist that 1t Is proper to hold that the proposed amendment relates to the manufacture and sale of liquors lxxttf n interstate .aws If the framers of the amend- ment intended that the authority to sell alcohol and wine for the pur- poses named therein has reference to
 wine and alcohol manufactured out or
 the State and shipped here nnder the Interstate Commerce Laws, the mean ing would have been much clearer mad language to that effect been used Construing the amendment, then, to refer to their manufacture and sale in this State, if 1t should be adopted neither wine nor alcohol can be man. ufactured in the State for the pur- poses named in the amendment, 'and
 as a matter of course. they cannot be sold if their manufacture is prohibit- ed. How, then. will 1t be possible to obtain alcohol for medical. scientific or
 mechanical purposes. or wine for sac- ramental purposes?
 Viewed either from a medical, scien- tific, moral or religious standpoint
 the provisions of the amendment with reference to the use of alcohol ana
 wine for the purposes named in 1t are inherently bad. This Is especially true when viewed from a moral and relig- ious standpoint as to the provisions relating to the sale of wine for sac-
 ramental purposes. In granting the
 right to sell wine for sacramental purposes, and then denying 1t by pro- hibiring its manufacture, the amend
 ment destroys the right of the Church
 to use wine for sacramental purposes.
 This being true, those ministers ana church members who believe that
 wine should be used in the observ-
 ance of the Lords Supper cannot af- ford to support measure with a pro- vision that strikes at the very founda- tion of their religious belief.
 Concede, however, that wine, if the amendment Is adopted. may In some
 manner be sold for sacramental pur- poses. The amendment expressly pro- yides that such sales must be under such regulations as the Legislature has already prescribed or may here after prescribe. Under Section 3 or | the present Constitution the right or the citizen to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience IS fully recognized and protected. AS long as this section remains intact no one will have the hardihood to argue that the right of Christian believers | to the use of wine for sacramental purposes can be even impeded, much | less denied, by any law passed by the Legislature. If, however, the amend ment is adopted, the sale of wine TOT : sacramental purposes can only take place under such regulations as the Legislature has already prescribed or may hereafter prescribe. In other words. the whole matter Is left in the hands of the Legislature. IT they
 should fail to make any regulations, or if they should enact laws Wnlch would, in effect, make 1t practically | impossible to obtain wine for sacra-
 mental purposes, the right or the churches to observe the ordinance in-
 stituted by our Savior the night be- | fore His crucifixion would be denied to them by the State. But 1t may be said that no Legislature will ever do such a thing. My answer Is, that the Fuller act, which Is sought to De nerpetuated by the adoption of the Amendment, in effect prevents the sale of wine for sacramentai purposes In this State. Supporters of the amend ment concede that the only way to obtain wine for sacramental purposes | Is from the druggists. Section S2 or l the Fuller act provides that "the keep ing of prohibited liquors in any build l inr not used exclusively for dwell ling shall be prima facie evidence that lthe same are kept to be sold or oth- erwisa disposed of, or delivered or fur- r,shad contrary to law, except as to bona fide wholesale and retail drug sists s, llinR s'concr as speciii"d Tn | Section 22 of this act, and who snail ] have filed with the Probate Judge | declaration in accordance With saln section" It will be observed that Tn | the above provision no exception 's made as to the selling of wine for sacramental purposes. Section 22 l-2 | of the act provides that upon the trial of A complaint, warrant or indictment in which any person. firm, associa-
 tfon or corporation Is charged with having sold or offered for sale spirit
 uous or malt liquors, or prohibited H.
 quors and beverages, or with oecom- ing a retail dealer in hquorss 1t snaH
 be competent to prove that the party
 charged has for the place and period
 of time involved paid 6 retail dealers
 snecial limited States internal reve-
 nue tax. and the fact of the payment
 of such revenue tax shall be deemed
 to be. and constitute, prima facie eVi-
 dence that the party paying the same
 had sold, or offered for sale, the H.
 ouors for which, or for the privilege
 of selling which. said special tax had
 been paid. Said section, however, con-
 tains a provisions that the rule of evi-
 dence above referred to shall not ap-