The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-10-18
John B. Knox's Able Argument
 Against Proposed Amendment

original purpose of the amendment was to prevent the storage or keeping oi liquor in the home or anywhere else within the borders of the State. But such storm of protest has been raised against such radical procedure as that It's advocates now say to the people: If you will voluntarily sur l render the constitutional guaran- | tees for the protection of youl right of property and for the protec-
 tection of the sanctity of your home against invasion. we will assure you
 that the present Legislature and that
 no future Legislature will abuse your
 confidence or trample upon your l rights"
 While asking you to surrende. your
 liberties as citizen. including, too, l ono of the most valuable rights of q
 citizen for the protection of the sanc-
 tity of his home, they might as well
 include surrender of the rest of his
 property and accompany 1t with the
 same assurance that the confidence
 thus imposed will not be abused. bu.
 1t will be used only for his good. 1t may be observed in passing. that
 however conscientious these advisors,
 the principal of whom are candidates for office. may be in advising the peo- pie to surrender their liberties or
 their rights of property to the tender
 mercies of the present Legislature or
 some subsequent Legislature, the
 prudent citizen ought not to lose sight of the fact that contingency might
 arise under which these gentlemen now
 making these assurances might not be
 able to make good their promises. and although it has been very correctly | remarked with reference to the office- holder that few die and none resign. I yet we know in the nature of things that even an oficeholder or an office- seeker cannot live forever, and his l executors might not be, so careful or
 so solicitous for the protection of your | interests.
 l Again, these gentlemen say that
 even though you surrender your right
 tion, you will be protected by the in-
 terstate commerce law and by the Fed | eral constitution as to shipments which
 constitute interstate commerce. It
 this be conceded, we might well doubt | the wisdom of advisors who counsel l us to give up all protection under our
 own Constitution and fly to some other
 constitution for the protection of
 rights which we have voluntarily sur- l rendered under our own.
 If you voluntarily surrender the | right to use or keep liquor in your home or elsewhere. such being a de- clared policy ordained by a sovereign State. 1t may be questioned whether Federal Government would feel or be warranted in running counter to 8
 policy which you yourselves have es- | tablished.
 I have always understood, however, that the interstate commerce law only applied for the protection of shipments m md ..v,<l -t,f ped reaches the point of destination.
 and that after 1t comes into the State and into the possession of the con- | signee. it becomes subject to the laws | of the State in common with any other property which the citizen may own, in which event the alleged protec- l tion which these gentlemen now hold | out to the citizen would become a mere | illusive dream.
 But singular to say. we find that the very men who are now seeking to per-
 suade the citizen to surrender all pro-
 tection under his own constitution with l the assurance that he will be protected | under the interstate commerce law and the Federal constitution, are the very l men who have been most active in
 seeking to induce Congress to so
 change the interstate commerce law
 as to prevent absolutely the shipment OA AAuuOE tutO lHc 6tdtc.
 And so 1t is, that while with one hand
 they are beckoning the citizen to sur 1 render his protection under his own constitution, with the assurance that 1 he will be protected in part at least | by the provisions of the interstate commerce law, they are with the other
 hand seeking to strike down this pro- 1 tection by inducing Congress to So
 change the provisions of the said law
 as that the citizen shall be without any protection whateveri
 If this does not disclose the purpose on the part of the leaders and advo-
 cates of this amendment, to prevent the introduction of liquor into this State
 and prevent the storage and keeping of liquor in the home of the citizen or 1 elsewhere, then I confess I am un-
 able to understand human conduct. l It is a settled rule in determining
 the motives of men that we are to
 be guided more by what they do and have done than by the Interpretation
 in emergencies they may attempt to place upon their actions. Judged by
 this test. we are warranted in con-
 cluding that if the purpose of the | framers of this legislation and of the proposed amendment has been and is l to protect the citizen in his right to
 store and keep liquor in his home for personal or family use or for any use, they, to say the least, have been most
 unhappy in the means they have adopt
 ed to accomplish it.
 | W.
 The Right of Search.
 1 The triumphant slogan with which I this movement began was, we have ! driven whiskey out of the saloon. we have driven 1t out of the clubs. and we will now drive it out of the homes of ! the people.
 | Under the Fuller bill now in force, | the right to store liquor at any place other than the home is prohibited. Lest | I do an injustice to this remarkable piece of legislation, I beg to quote | the provision of the law itself: l A. That the keeping of liquors or
 beverages that are prohibited by the | law of the State to be manufactured,
 sold, or otherwise disposed of In any building not used exclusively for dwelling shall be prima facie evidence | intent to sell the same, contrary to 1 law" General Laws. p. GA.
 But, not satisfied with this sweeping | inhibition, the leaders of this move. ment have gone further and have pro- hibited the keeping in any place ex- | cept the home anything that looks, smells or tastes like beer or whiskey. l To sustain this statement, I again ouote from the Fuller bill in ques- | ton:
 "32 1-2. And the fact that the bev- craze in question, as above stated. is of the same color. odor, and general appearance, or same taste, color and ranaral a annaarance as beer, shall con-