The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1915-04-13
LIQUOR LAWS KEEP
HIGH COURT BUSY
TEST CASES IN ALABAMA DEVEL-
OP LEGAL TANGLES FOR THE
STATES SUPREME COURT.
.INJUNCTIONS, SUITS GALORE
Express Company Under Order of
Different Courts to Deliver and
Not Deliver Shipments. Whiskey
Advertisements Destroyed.

Advertisements Destroyed.
MONTGOMERY, Ala.-Alabama S
supreme court will have plenty Of
liquor law decisions to study out
when the members of that body go
into session again.
Alabama's state wide prohibition
law goes into effect one minute after
II o'clock on the night of June 80,
but the regulation and enforcement
laws already are in force.
The law which has been the source
of the greatest number of test cases
is the benson anti-liquor advertising
measure. Governor Henderson did
not sign the bill. 1t lay on his desk
seven days. Under the Alabama code
seven days is sufficient to automati-
cally change a bill into a law. 1t
became effective Immediately.
Then began the cutting of maya
ines and papers carrying liquor adj
vertisements, and the painting over
of billboards. A Montgomery morn
ing paper continued to carry whiskey
ads with the intention of instituting a
test case. Attorney General W. L..
Martin applied for and was granted
a temporary injunction restraining
the paper from carrying ads. Evil
dence was heard on the matter and
last Friday Chancellor Chapman
granted a permanent injunction.
Mobile Paper Hit.
Two weeks ago Judge Saffold Ber-
ney, of Mobile, granted temporary
injunction against an afternoon pa
per of Mobile. Both cases will see
the supreme court.
The latest Of the many features of
the benson anti-Hquor advertising
laws came to light in Montgomery.
Sheriff Waller of Mont emery coun-
ty succeeded in having all Billboard
signs painted out, and had even
squelched book beer posters. Only
one thing remained-electric signs
advertising saloons and liquor. The
Sheriff went to the attorney general
for an opinion, then promptly order
ed every sign, electric or otherwise,
which had to do with advertising a
barroom torn down. The attorney
general ruled that under the law the
signs had to go.
The only signs now displayed are
at the wholesale establishments, for
section 3279 of the revised statutes
of the United States requires that a
rectifier of spirits, a registered dis
tillery or a wholesale liquor dealer
shall, under the internal revenue reg
ulations, display a sign showing such
designation in letters not less than
three inches high.
Another Legal Tangle.
Another law which regulates ship
ping of liquor is the Bonner liquor
shipping regulation law. 1t was
signed by the governor, After the
legislature had passed the statewide
prohibition bill over his veto he said
that inasmuch as Alabama apparent
ly wanted prohibition he would do all
in his power to make it real.
The Bonner law has landed in a
muddle of legal discord. Chancellor
Chapman has granted an injunction,
at the behest of the attorney general,
restraining the Southern Express
company from accepting shipments
of liquor in excess of the Bonner law
rules from GA outside wholesalers
Judge CASTOR Gunter, in the city
court of equity here, held that the
Bonner law was unconstitutional, as
it interfered with Interstate com
merce. He stated that he would is
sue orders compelling the Southern
Express company to accept the ship
ments. But the attorney general got
busy and Chancellor Chapman's tenn
porary injunction was read.
So far as shipping liquor is con-
cerned there is nothing doing in Ala
bama. Injunctions, opinions, rulings
and appeals are as plentiful as
though Montgomery boosted of fed
eral league ball team.