The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-01-12
LETTERS TO EDITOR
he Pending Prohibition Amendment

The Pending Prohibition Amendment To the Editor of The Age-Herald:
 Anent your interview with MT. Foruey Johnson in today's, issue, let me say for myself and others.
 l. We favor this amendment to the constitution because we believe the traf- fc in intoxicating beverages, all pos- onous beverages, is in itself wrong and ought to be forbidden by every civil jur- isdiction, municipal, local, county, state, nation and international so far and so fast as international jurisdictions shall form. So our first and main reason for supporting it is it's own patent merits as a policy of law. We will have much to say along this line.
 2 We favor this amendment because 1t is the first and the only one ever of fored the American people which ex- pressly provides that it shall not take away the Jurisdiction of the several states; but that the Jurisdiction of the state shall remain concurrent with that of the nation. It therefore expressly provides for the recognition and perpet- uaton of states rights in the regime which it is intended to introduce. It takes away no power from the state to put into effect any right in law or equity or sound political policy; but it gives to the nation the privilege of doing within its own Jurisdiction what the state can now do in it's. All this cry about state 8 rights is pure camouflage
 5. We favor the adoption of this amend ment because ours is government of concurrent and overlapping jurisdictions. the same persons and interests being at one and the same time subjects of the nation the state and the subdivisions Of the state, and for this reason we ought to have honlogenety of policy and law, congruity CT functioning, and similarity of vital ends in the several jurisdictions involved, which this amendment Is de- signed to bring about between the state and the nation. This country can no more remain half wet and half dry, than it could half slave and half free; and just as the amendment of the constitution was necessary to put an end to the ills of the ante-hellum state of divided siti zenship in the slavery matter, so this amendment is needed to put an end to this divided estate of the country in the organized institution of the saloon. The future of Americanism is vitally con nected With the effechng of homogeneity and oongrrity of citizenship among it's people.
 4. We favor this amendment because 1t is in keering with the way the Amer. lean states are accustomed to deal with each other in such matters Our country is one where the majority of the states have taken unto themselves the right to regulate the minority. Talk about forc- ing an amendment to the constitution on minority of the states by a two- thirds majnnty. Why, the whole constitution was forced on such minority, several of the colonies never having adopted it at all. That Is what every constitution means. anC what it's amendment is for. It means that we are going to have com munlty of life; and democracy means that majority of the people, or states are endowed with the authority to say what sort of community life we shall have. in this case whether wet or dry There is going to be an opportunity to educate some of our people in the mean. ing and method of operating our Amer lean life in this campaign, and judging by the interview of Mir. Johnson, there IS great need of some such education even in men of high places.
 am in favor of all kinds of prohibi ton; that 1t ought to be the attitude to ward traffic in intoxicating and poison ous beverages in every Jurisdiction O. government. and I hope to see the day when nation shall by an effective in ternational law be forbidden to fore, such traffic on another nation, as Eng land did opium on China. by interna ticnal prohibition. If this war shall d. | nothing more than depose King Alcohol | Who IS more potently behind the Raise than appears at first sight, it will brins emancipation long needed to the littl and weak nations of the earth and hell ! to bring in the regime of self-det afrfiina ton 'o them. We are ready fos the har tie. camouflage and all. and we vii sfv| reason for the hope that Is In us 3f ou people and the world.
 A. J. DICKiK SON
 Birmingham, January Il. 1917.