The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-26
WEAKLEY SCORES
 ANTI-AMENDISTS
Wants Settled Form of Gov-
 ment of Liquor Traffic
DEFENDS PRESENT LAWS
Addresses Crowd at Anniston-Whit- son and Acker Also Make Brief Speeches-County organiza-
 ton Is Formed.


 Anniston. September 5.-(Special)-Fol- lowing the address of F. s. Moody and S. J. Bowie on Friday against the pro- posed prohibition amendment to the con- stitution of the state, the friends of this proposed amendment met in the same loom in the Calhoun county courthouse here today at noon, and Judge Samuel D. Weakley spoke for three hours in what was considered an able defense of the prohibition laws. an argument for the adoption of the amendment and an attack on the political records of those opposing lis views.
 Stating that the object of the proposed amendment was to give a settled form of government of the liquor traffic, he was loudly applauded when he said. "Recog- nizing the efficacy of the present laws, the opponents of prohibition have ceased the cry that prohibition will not prohibit, and have changed their complaint to, You have carried this thing too far If they think the Fuller and Carmichael bill too drastic, they have only them selves 10 thank for in their violation of the previous laws they brought these more drastic provisions upon themselves. But if after trial we find these laws too harsh, they can be modified; if they are too weak, they will be frightened up
 He quoted from a copy of the North port Breeze of 1881 strong resolution terming prohibition as the only effective means of regulating the liquor traffic, and showed that the name of F. S. Moody was the first one signed to this resolution. He further charged that neither Moody, Thomas nor Spragins expressed a knowl- edge of the alleged flaws in the proposed amendment at the time it was passed by the senate.
 Whitson Is Sarcastic.
 The address of Carson C. Whitson was full of sarcasm. He referred to John B. Knox and J. J. Willett as the Damon and Pythias of the Montgomery conven- tion, provoking a great deal of fun by references to their long existing estrange- ment Both, he said, claim that they are not in politics, and he referred to MT. Knoxs recent candidacy and to MT Will letts speech at Tammany Hall where, he said, My opponent probably imbibed his anti-prohibition sentiments"
 Acker Makes Brief Speech.
 w. P. Acker made only a few re- marks. He said that the statement made in the platform of the Montgomery con vention that those delegates stood for pro- ,,l +I, f1,at crawled into the woodchucks hole When ordered to come out, the poecat claimed to be a woodchuck. You may be-" re- piled the other animal, but you don't look like one nor smell like ons."
 The greater part of the time was oc- cupied by Judge Weakley, who began his address by undertaking to eliminate Governor Conner. from the campaign by stating that his approval added nothing to the proposed amendment and was with out significance. He said that the senti- ment of the state would result in a ma jority of -5O,O0O for prohibition proper, and that if the proposed amendment had been coerced through the legislature, it was as a result of the coercion of local constitH ents upon their representatives, who were afraid to go against the will of the peo- pie.
 Weakley Criticises o'Neal.
 Judge Weakley dwelt at length on his campaign in North Alabama and his de- bates with Senator Spragins and Emmet O'Neal. He said that he would consider this campaign a success if he had done nothing else than to make Senator Sprag- ins admit that he favored prohibition for 49 fiftieths of the people of Ala bama, referring to the latter's remark that he considered prohibition good tbinp for tba pnuntrv Daonla He said that he had begged MT. O'Neal to follow him over the state and said that when they met again he would expose MT. O'Neal's record as Palmer and Buckner democrat, comparing him to the runaway horse who broke up the family carriage so it could never be used again, while he said he was a plain old family horse who would stand hitched. 'I am not as elo- quent as MT. ONeal," he said, but am more steady and dependable. I have never scratched a ticket nor run after strange gods
 Replying to the attack by Leon McCord that he had robbed the old soldiers by accepting $50, GOO for his services in fram- ing the prohibition laws, he said that he would accept John Knox, P. G. Bow man and Jesse Stallings to pass on that case and give to the Presbyterian church at Florence all that they considered in excess of his merits.
 Weakley Interviewed.
 Judge Weakley stated this afternoon that he will in a few days prepare let ter which will explain all the abstruse features about the Fuller and Carmichael laws, and the amendment, and amply meet the arguments that have been made against these measures. Giving a history of Section of the amendment, which, he said is now the sole point of attack, he said that it was meant to meet the di- vided opinion of the supreme court hold ing the Birmingham and Besserner stor- age ordinances unconstitutional. He said this question will again come before the supreme court, and he hopes for a differ. ent ruling.
 The amendment he said. was based on the eleventh amendment to the constitution of the United States, and concerning the proposed injunction features of the law he said this has twice been upheld by the federal supreme court. If Mir. Knox con- siders the constitution such sacred doc- ument, why has he favored a biennial ses- sion amendment and why did MT. O'Neal favor the proposed income tax to the federal constitution? The difference be- tween the Alabama amendment and the Ohio amendment, he said, is that the latter state merely prohibits the licensing of the traffic, and then practically licenses 1t under a tax system, while Alabama