The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1918-02-01

MIGHTY GOD FOR OUR CIVIL AND
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY, AND TAKEN
INTO OUR SERIOUS CONSIDERA.
TON THE BEST MEANS OF ES-
TABLISHING A GOOD CONSTITU'
TON IN THIS STATE FOR THE
SURE FOUNDATION AND MORE
PERMANENT SECURITY THERE
OF, DECLARE e CART. IV.) THAT
THE PEOPLE OF THIS STATE
HAVE THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE
RIGHT OF REGULATING THE IN
TERNAL GOVERNMENT AND Pc
LICE THEREOF AS A FREE SOVER-
EIGN AND INDEPENDENT STATE"
The people of this State have the
sole and exclu hye right of regulating
the internal government and police
thereof. They claim no right to reg
ulate the affairs of other States or the
affairs Of the United States, but they
reserve to the people the exclusive
right to regulate their own internal
affairs That 10 what they fought
Great Britain for, because she tried
to deprive them of that right and I'M
dertook to regulate their affairs in
Maryland by acts passed three thou
sand miles away-no further than
Oregon or California Is from us today.
II we don't know what that means,
gentlemen, it Is time we learned. Our
Ancestors knew what it meant; some
Of my own people in these very halls
helped to frame the Constitution, and
l do not want to see the people of
Maryland throw it away.
do not want to see them throw
away the right to control the ques-
ton. DO NOT CARE HOW MUCH
YOU BELIEVE IN PROHIBITION,
THE RIGHT TO SAY WHETHER WE
SHALL HAVE 1T OR SHALL NOT
HAVE 1T SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN
AWAY FROM THE PEOPLE OF
MARYLAND.
TELL YOU, WHEN 1T IS PUT
IN THE CONSTITUTION OF THE
UNITED STATES 1T IS TAKEN
AWAY AND PRACTICALLY TAKEN
AWAY FOREVER.
1t is a far more serious question
with us than 1t is with any other
country under the Sill. The Parlia-
ment Of Great Britain may adopt pro-
hibition and NJ harm be done because
it can change it when 1t sees fit. The
Republic of France may do likewise, or
Italy, or any other country. 1t was not
until the United States of America e
tered the family of nations that his
tory furnished record of any coun-
try, except that Of the Modes and Per-
slams, whose laws were unalterable,
and that Is what happens practically
here.
A friend of mine said to me, eff it
don't work right we can repeal the
amendment" Well, can you? Let
Us look at 1t as practical men. Did
you ever hear Of any one of the var
ious amendments that have been
adopted to the Constitution Of the
United States ever having been re-
pealed? Does that mean because they
were all satisfactory to the people who
were affected by themi
Gentlemen, may l not speak with
perfect candor, hoping that l may not
offend any mans party prejudice. I
want to give you an illustration Of
that thing Under the influence Of
the passions of the Civil War and the
natural fury following upon the as
sassination of Abraham Lincoln, than
which no greater calamity ever af-
fiicted a great people, the madmen at
Washington enacted into law and
dragged through the State legisla-
lures, contrary to their judgment, the
Fifteenth Amendment to the Consti-
tuition by which two millions Of men
Just out of slavery were given the
political power in the Southern States.
There is not one intelligent man
out of one hundred in the world today
who does not recognize that that was
q dreadful wrong and dreadful mis-
take, and would not like to see it
remedied. but have you seen any sign
of its being remedied?
AND YET THE REPRESENTA-
TIVES OF THOSE SAME STATES
ARE GOING TO FORCE UPON THE
POPLE OF OTHER PARTS OF THIS
UNION AN A 4ENDMENT AND LAW
JUST AS HATEFUL TO MANY OF
THEM AS THE FIFTEENTHA AMEND
MENT WAS TO THE PEOPLE OF
ALABAMA. AND IF THEY THINK
THEY CAN DO THAT AND SUFFER
NO PUNISHMENT IN THE FUTURE
FOR 1T, THEY MAKE A DREADFUL
MISTAKE, IN MY JUDGMENT.
The people of those States will
never forgive them. Why should
they? You may have made up your
mind on the subject of prohibition
and you may think that your constit-
uents will Justify you for having voted
for it. They will until they under
stand what you have done.
Until they understand that you have
caused them to do this wrong to other
people in other States and aroused en-
mites for the people of this State and
especially for the people of the South
ern States. 1t might die out in a CEN
fury, but 1t can do our people nothing
but harm.
Those are some of the reasons why
we oppose the enactment of this
amendment and that is why say when
you put 1t in the Constitution of the
United States 1t Is there forever, be-
cause a Constitutional Amendment,
unless 1t happens to deal with some
thing with reference to which there
Is a unanimity of opinion throughout
the Union. can not be repealed, prac-
tioally can not be repealed, because II
lies in the power of comparatively
small number Of people living in those
small States to veto any repeal. It
can only be repealed by the addition
of another Constitutional Amendment
and that requires ratification Of three
fourths Of the States and onefourth
OF those States having population Of
only FIVE or six millions can veto the
wish Of those States having a popula-