The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-11-28
Voters Have Weighed Question and Will Resent Such PO-
 IiticaI Domination FIGHT WAS BlTTEREST
 EVER SEEN IN ALABAMA A Many Things Have Contributed to Make Voter Doubtful About Voting
 For Change In Organic
By HUGH ". ROBERTS.

amendment to the constitution came to an end yesterday afternoon, and that the scheme for the perpetuation of the Co., mer administration Is beaten beyond re- demption is apparent.
 The landslide against the amendment, predicted on every stump, and by every speaker in defense of the constitution. is about to materialize. From every county the most flattering reports have been received, and while there are sev- eral the vote in which will be close, the amenders cannot claim, with any degree of accuracy, more than a half dozen.
 And it might happen that not a single county will express itself in favor of the amendment.
 The campaign was bitter It was filled to the brim with vituperation. personal abuse, villification and mud-slinging. With the exception of the day of the first car petbagger, Alabama has never before passed through such strenuous and hurtful period Families have been di- vided. Fathers and sons have stood on opposite sides of the fence Brother has argued against brother. Churches have fallen apart and the membership has di-
  which of the other have asked no quar- ter
 And the business interests of Alabama have cried out against the tyranny of those who caused the dawning of such a day--of such an unnecessary day.
 Many Factors Caused Defeat.
 Many factors entered into the defeat of the amendment
 Those men, however, who hesitated and considered will vote against the meas ure not for one reason, but for several.
 They have found that the amendment, with prohibition, the most rigid prohibi- tion guaranteed to Alabama for count less number of years is unnecessary.
 They have found that the amendment puts into the organic law of the state prohibition when prohibition is nothing more nor ness than an experiment in this commonwealth. And the people are aware of the fact that the ideal constitution consists of few principles concerning which there is practically no opposition, and of no experiments concerning which the people are divided. The many earn est prohibitionists who will vote against the amendment would vote for the amend ment had its submission been postponed five yea rs, and had prohibition continued to prove worthy.
 And the thoughtful man was troubled, too. concerning the wording of the amendment He found that the first sec tion does not tend to render the laws more effective, does prevent the manufac- ture of wine for domestic use, and, inas- much as 1t provides for the sale of alco- hol and not whisky, for medicinal pur poses interferes with the practice of medicine
 Fatal Second Section.
 
 rious voter to spend many restless nights.
 lIo saw an effort being made to equip tho legislature with more power than it possesses at the present time. and more than is possessed by any other legisla- ture of any other state of the union.
 He, without trembling. could not imag- inc himself giving any body of men the right to enter his home. When there was doubt as to the outcome Of the fight for the amendment, was there danger that the legislature would exercise the right of entering a private home? There was no doubt but that, with the amend ment existing, the legislature could, If 1t saw f1t exercise the right of home searching, because at the present time liquor is excluded from every other imag- inable place.
 The voter heard Judge Weakley assert that the legislature would not exercise the power when 1t was given But then the Conner legislature passed before the mind of the voter, and he trembied He then reached the conclusion that whereas the legislature might not enter his home when the legislature had the power, he knew that without the power the legis- iature would not enter
 Differences of Opinion.
 And he did not enjoy the spectacle of men of weight differing so essentially on these points.
 This very fact caused him to hesitate before deciding to vote for the amend ment. He was never willing to change the constitution, and his forefathers had changed 1t very seldom before him. And that reluctance was transformed Into de- termination when he realized that he might be voting for measure concern ing which he had little understanding.
 And he heard the leaders of the amend ment differ among themselves. He heard Governor Conner. Judge Weakley and oth- CTS tell that no danger confronts the people. On the other hand. he heard Senator Reese say at Map1esville that had he framed the amendment he would have eliminated all possible danger from the homes of the people. And he heard Governor Conner, Judge Wealxley and the Rev Brooks Lawrence affirm that the issue is one of morals. On the other hand, he heard Congressman Hobson de- clare the issue not one Of morals. but one essentially of politics.
 And he heard Hobson say, too-and he always had confidence in Hobson-that the wording of the amendment Is unfor- tunate in both sections. and that inas- much as prohibition In Alabama Is simp- ly an experiment, the submission of the amendment was premature by five years
 
 And the voter who was making up his mind drowned when he considered the pol itics that the amendment contains.
 He saw in the first place the state ad- ministration discredited its treasury empty and its executive head intolerant of criticism, pacing from section to sec ton, crying out in its defense.
 And he saw that secret cabal in Mont gomery at which the amendment was matched He heard Brooks Lawrence urge that the submission of the measure be postponed until the general election in the fall of 1910. He heard his argu- ment that the postponement will prevent the charge that It's submission was the result of conspiracy against those voters who, taken by surprise, had not paid their poll taxes. And he heard the majority oyerrule the minister from Ohio with the argument that unless the amend ment is submitted at the present time those who will pay their taxes in 1910 will vote 1t to death.
 And the voter immediately afterward heard three of the amendment leaders, Weakley, Mallory and Seed-announce their candidates for the gubernatorial nomination And he saw the bidding for favor in the church of God, at which Seed with his s10Oo defeated Weakley with his $750