The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-18

than was the fight over the same bill in the house last week.
 | With the exception of Senators Screws ard Brown, those who spoke confined | their remarks to the bills under discus sion or to the general ideas of prohibition and local option
 | The debate was not featured by in numerable personal references, as was | the debate in the house. It was not acrimonious. 1t was not superstrenuous. No one, unless it was Senator Screws, became nettled or lost his temper. l Seldom was a speaker interrupted by those whose purpose 1t was to disturb or confuse, and in this there was another es- sential difference between the fights in | the respective houses.
 The Speech Makers On the subject there were three speeches which the various factions received with marked approval. Senator Moody opened the debate with an argument for the dis pensary, which many consid cred excellent
 He spoke practically two hours, and legged the acceptance of the dispensary as temperate measure between the ex- tremes. prohibition and open saloon The speech in defense of local option was made by Senator Spragns He spoke an hour. and went into the subject deeply and thoroughly. He expressed himself as believing that the voice of the people was the voice of Gcd, and although he himself favored a dispensary above all other methods of liquor regulation, as a l democrat he would never cease fighting the battle for local option. The speech of the prohibitionists was made late in the afternoon by Senator Crumpton. He spoke two hours. and furnished statistics from several states in n hjc tho< prohibition is necessary for the continued welfare and prosperity of this state. Other local option speakers were Sen ator c. w. Brown, Senator Curry and Senator Screws. Senator Norman and Senator Ffte were others who spoke in defense of prohibition
 Expressions of Moody Some Of the terse remarks of Sen ator Moody in his argument for the dispensary follow:
 The consumption of liquor is on the increase in the United States In 1890 the per capita consumption was 15 gallons per annum. The per capita con- sumption in 1910 was 23 gallons.
 You cannot legislate morals into a man, but you can legislate out of ex- istence those things which produce im- morality
 T could write many dispensary bills, one which would bring about dis pensary little better than bar room But 1 couldn't write a dispensary bill which could produce a dispensary as bad as any bar room. "A quart per day should satisfy a normal appetite.
 ''The dispensary Is the golden mean between two extremes, prohibition and he licensed saloon.
 'Dispensary will give us prohibit ton one day in a week. It's a great thing to have prohibition on Sun days.
 The more exacting you make saloons the more attractive they are; the more attractive the more deadly.
 'The chief function of a saloon is the creation of appetite
 'The success of the dispensary as a temperance proposition depends on the honesty of the dispenser.
 The clamor for saloons comes only from Mobile and Montgomery"
 Expressions of Spraggins
 Some of the thoughts expressed bg Senator Spragins in his argument for local option follow:
 Tn 1907 I believed in local option as a democratic and temperance prop ositoin. Then Senator Moody stood with me. I believe the same thing now.
 T demand that the statements of Brooks Lawrence in reference to the framers of the democratic platform and tn the senate be made good or with drawn.
 If we let prohibition remain on the books another four years the pro- hibitionists would continue to say, Give the laws fair trial
 "A man, after all. whatever the reg ulations. must stand on his own strength and character, and win or lose for himself
 Boys congregate about the blind tiger more than they ever did about the open saloon.
 "No place Is of easier access than a blind tiger.
 T do not presume to know better than the people of Mobile. Jefferson and Montgomery what is best for them Let them determine.
 We will either pass peal option bill with suitable regulations or sub ject ourselves to conditions equally CT horrible as those in Tennessee today" Senator Brown in his argument, de- termining. as he said. to make a clean breast of everything, declared: "A secret Is the poorest of all property. If you keep it, you lose the interest If you tell 1t. you lose the principal The Other Speeches
 
 themselves with arguing for the reten- ton of statewide prohibition. They did not argue in behalf of the Moody sub, stitute, though each assailed the Parks bill. fs
 Senator Curry in defense of the Parks bill. explained that the action of the Montgomery conference. which was made up of men of all political beliefs, was not an action of the democratic party. CT still retain confidence in my fellow man." he said.
 'Put the responsibility where 1t be- longs, on the people of the several coun- ties The Moody bill Is local option 10 certain extent. I believe in making effective the entire proposition or run ming from the fight"
 Mir Crumpton made long and able plea for statewide prohibition. He at tempt ed to prove by volumnous docu- ments intricate figures and quotations from letters written by officials of other states that prohibition Is great bless ing. He argued. tq6y that the doctrine | of local option was never applied else where to the idea of liquor regulation.
 The Governor Will Act
 The bill will now go to the desk of the governor and It is expected that he will | sign 1t tomorrow or Monday. l The Parks bill will not be effective un- l til bill for regulating the traffic either l by dispensary or saloon passes the leg | islature.
 When, this Is accomplished then a pro- bate judge of a. county will be empowered | to call an election in that county when 45 per cent of the qualified voters of that county petition him to that end. | In the election there will be three op- tions: Prohibition, dispenasry or saloon. l Senator Moody's dispensary bill was