The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-09-21
AFTER THE HoMN.

Did you ever notice the peculiar lam gtage of the Second Section of the pfoposed Constitutional Amendment The address of the "Anti-Saloon League" says. "The amendment has been drawn and approved by the best legal talent in the State. and we have every assurance that 1t will accom- plish the end in view. What end" has the amendment in view? The best le- gal talent does not waste words or use them incautiously in a constitu- tional amendment, The Second Section of the Amendment reads: Nothing in the Constitution of Alabama shall be construed to prevent ths Legislature. under the police power, from designat- ing places where such liquors may not be stored or kept" Such liquors" are alcoholic and malt liquors and other intoxicating beverages" The amend ment says places where such liquors shall not be stored or kept" It gives the power, though the liquor is not in- tended for sale. and kept only for per- sonal use,. Stored or kept do not mean the same thing. Every word in an amendment must be given effect. and words are to be taken In their common or ordinary acceptation. What Is meant by the word kept when the word stored" had already been used in the section?
 Stored" in common acceptation, used in reference to things that are bought and sold. implies the placing of them in large quantities on deposit. as in warehouse or store.' It conveys the thought of "the state of accumulation or preservation for future use--to keep in stock" In this sense, it Is used in Cor. xvi. 2: Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him" Kept" is the participle of the word keep. One of its meanings is to have in use. possession, care or custody" no matter what the purpose of the cus- tody. To keep whiskey means to have 1t "in possession" use or custody. If bottle of whiskey Is in a mans home, 1t is kept" there. The laws already prevent the manufacture or sale or disposition of whiskey or in toxicating beverages at saloons or any other public place. Cry the fanatics, now for the home. The Constitu- ton stands in the way; let us amend it."
 If the amendment be adopted. Brooks Lawrence would rule the Leg islature. The spirit of his new agita- ton is. Some men abuse the right to drink, and. therefore, no one shall drink, even in moderation, anywhere. We will use the power of the State to prevent any man getting a drop of whiskey or keeping it in any way, if we can help it." His organization even boasts a purpose to have Con- gress modify the interstate commerce law so that a citizen of Alabama shall not lawfully get a drink from abroad. Does any sane man doubt that harsh and stringent legislation would strike at keeping any whiskey at home. as an extra session of the Legislature could be called? Such laws would be passed. Fahatlcism, drunk with ex- cess. would run riot in the race to search houses. The reluctance to searches now displayed, would be cast to the winds Sby officers goaded by fear of impeachment and stimulated by love of fees. It is only using the language of sober earnestness to say that the adoption of the amendment as one of incompetence advocates said of its de- feat. would organize hell in Alabama" Already policemen in Birmingham have slaughtered a baby in such foray, though they intended only to arrest or
 
 deputies at Mobile. under a search war rant, ransack a trunk containing wo- mems wear. in spite of their protest and helplessness. Better far that a thousand men should be drunk than that one helpless woman should be mistreated and insulted in the name of the law.
 The amendment Is not needed to deal with the saloon. It Is not intended for the saloon. It is intended to reg ulate the home. It means to sanctify proposed laws which cannot live under the constitution as it is. It seeks to give the pretext for legislation as to what shall not be kept" in the home, and to turn loose officials to invade the sanctity of the home, by searching them for alleged violation of law. It Is a naked and wicked attempt to put in the Constitution of free Alabama, that men who live In it's borders shall not own even their own homes. God pity Alabama. if the amendment is not defeated