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

that l represent 59,O00 people in this
 commonwealth of Alabama. Each of
 us represents that many citizens. We
 should be careful how we vote, for
 much depends upon the issue"
 A dramatic scene developed during MT. Norman's address, when he referred
 to the past election, and to the excel
 lent race which Lieutenant Walter D. ISeed had run on a prohibition ticket. The gallery took up spontaneous ap- Iplause, completely drowning an inter- jection of Senator c. ". Brown on this phase of the question
 | Senator Norman seemed to catch the remark, however, for he replied: T don't blame the gentleman for attempt ing to defend his position He spoke for an hour on this floor, and I leave it to this body to judge whether or
 not he ever reached the subject under
 consideration.
 The address of Senator Norman was
 along strongly religious line. He
 hotly resented whatever insinuations had been made against the church. and against the Anti-Saloon league of Ala
 maba. He paid a glowing tribute to
 the women and men of the state, whom he characterized fine citizen
 ship as ever lived in any age" The
 speaker plead for unity of spirit in
 all things, but he volunteered the pre- diction that no amount of rebuffs
 would ever stop the religious organiza-
 tions from combating all forms of whisky.
 Senator Norman said that "old ap- petite was back of the whole activity. l But we must wean the calf"
 The speaker closed by paying a glow ling tribute to the states prosperity and
 progress during the statewide regime.
 He ended with the assertion-getting
 back to the question: There is no comparison between the saloon and the
 dispensary. If Senator Moody can so
 amend his bill as to prohibit all money making in operation of the establish lfnent, I'm with him.
 T will always choose the least evil
 But I'm first. last and all the time
 statewider. We have no cause for go-
 ing back to the saloon"
 | Senator Norman stated, however, that | the first liquor measure introduced, the one by Representative Smith of Mont
 gomery. was the nearest prohibition | liquor measure that could be written. He referred to the fact that the tenn peranee committee had not kicked" on
 the measure and stated that the men
 who objected were the vekeepers.' | Senator Curry of Chiffon county ad- | dressed himself to Senator Normans | remarks.
 "The senator said the Montgomery conference was not identified with the democratic party. The conference was participated in by people of all shades of opinion and they came from all parts of the state. They stood firmly out on a platform of conviction and they so | ordered" Senator Curry said that he could not | support the local option bill, because" | he said, '1t does not measureup to my opinion of the local option blanks" Regarding the parks bill MT. Curry stated that the responsibility under it ,,I ha ind
 ties.
 I'm willing to leave the matter with those counties I have never seen the time when the people could not be trusted. The responsibility rests upon them and I, for one, am not willing to take this burden off their shoulders to place it upon my own. They know what they want better than do.' Senator Curry stated that the ref erences made in speeches to the ac- tivity of the women in the prohibition fights of the commonwealth but showed that the counties could the better look after themselves. "The women were the people who gave us prohibition" he said, "and they will do it again"
 Local Option Oratory Senator w. C. Crumpton of Coving ton county paid a fine tribute to the | local optionist oratory of the day. If we were to award the palm for ora tory" he said. we would undoubtedly give it to them. And because of tha. | I would hesitate to speak upon this
 subject If I did not know that thrice
 armed Is he whose cause Is just" | Senator Crumpton defended the pro- hibition laws of the Conner adminis
 tration. He went into an explanation | of the causes leading up to writing | the state wide statutes.
 ] Those who have tried to inject into l this question references to clinch con- | trol of the state have failed to dis | criminate between a moral law and a religious law. Authorities on law now | h old and have always held that moral | laws are at the back of civil laws. Be- cause of this this moral proh ibitory law ought to be kept on the statutes" The speaker cited instances where in- divdual rights have to give way to pub | lie laws, drawing from his illustrations | the inference that all individual rights
 should at this time yield to the enact
 ment of such statutes as would protect l the citizens of the state.
 Addressing himself to the argument that
 prohibition dees not prohibit, MT. Crump-
 ton said that he had never pretended that | it did. He cited numerous instances to show that many of the laws now on the statutes do not prohibit. "We have a. law against profanity" he said, ''yet all of us know that the law is not enforced. | There Is no one in this legislature, how ever, who would repeal that law The speaker read several extracts from ] O report of Governor Stubbs of Kansas | on the liquor situation in that state. Ten dency of the extracts was to show tha. | that state has greatly benefited by the prohibitory laws. Similar reference was | made to the state of Maine MT. Crump- 1 ton then read from government and state reports on the condition in Alabama. He
 quoted from a record compiled by Judge | N. B. Feagin of Birmingham showing the
 number of homicides in that city, and the
 numbers of incarceTations for crime, using
 the liquor year of 1907 as compared with
 the prohibition year of 1908. The record was shown to be advantageous to the prohibition year.
 1 The speaker derided the idea of 'regu- | lations that regulate" He read from a letter written by ex-Governor Handley of | Indiana to him few days ago. The let | ter urged the senator to endeavor to
 maintain statewide prohibition on the
 statutes, ending with the assertion that | the next best thing to prohibition that
 does not prohibit is "the better enforce
 ment of the prohibitory laws
 When you tell me that prohibition
 does not prohibit" cried Senator Crump- ton, ''I hurl back at you that regulations do not regulate
 | The speaker closed by earnestly urging that the senate maintain the present laws OH the statutes. He was warmly ap- l~~to ,1aI fIo aNI o9 |,