The Medina sentinel. [volume] (Medina, Ohio) 1888-1961, 1914-10-16
WET AMENDMENT
/. IS A HOODOO
Cannot Stand Up Under the
Light Of Publicity.
LIQUOR MEN IN THE DUMPS

Opinions OF Attorneys cause Even
Conservative Liberals to Declare
They Will Vote Against 'the So
Called Home Rule Amendment.
Columbus, O.-The Ohio liquor. men
are looking on their home rule amend
ment as a hoodoo that is working
overtime, and their great fear now ia
not only that it will be defeated, for
that seems evident, but that 1t will be
a big factor in the adoption Of the
prohibition amendment.
The wet amendment never had
many admirers. From the beginning
it was looked upon with distrNst. The
vets had the hopes that the people
would not carefully scrutindze 1t, and
that in the heat Of . great political
campaign the white light would not be
turned upon Its defects.
They said 1t would destroy the
county option law, and that under It
the legislature could not enact any
prohibitory laws. They did not say
even that oftener than they could help.
They affirmed It to be q home rule
measure, although the words Home
Rule" are not found in 1t.
Then the big judges and lawyers
began to examine the amendment
and an explosion followed. These legal
lights were not connected with the
Anti-Saloon league, and had never
acted as counsel for 1t or any other
temperance organization. These men,
learned in the law, said this home
rule amendment Is about IS decep-
tive a piece of work as has ever been
constructed.
They said 1t would not only destroy
county option and prohibit the legis-
lature from enacting any further tenn
perance laws, but that 1t would de-
stroy the Sunday closing law, the law
prohibiting the sale Of liquor to
minors and drunkards, and that 1t
would make permanently wet all
townships in which are no incorpo-
rated towns. Other lawyers pointed
cut that 1t is an attack on the initia-
tive and referendum, and that II
adopted the people as well as the gen.
eral assembly would be prohibited
from enacting prohibitory laws. Some
Of the judges who took this position
are W. J. Davis, former Judge OF the
supreme court; Judge Killetts, now
on the federal court bench at Toledo;
Judge Henry, for seven years on the
circuit bench In Cleveland; Judges
Wildman and Hurin, for many years
on the circuit bench; Judge Bambach
of Brown county; Judge Broderick,
Union county; Judge PEBBLES, Meigs
county; Judge Anderson, Youngs-
town, and a large number Of prosecut-
Ing attorneys.
That stirred up a hornets nest It
was the kind Of publicity the liquor
men did not want their home rule
amendment TO have. The hoodoo was
working and thOy set about to check
ITS ravages. They bought page in
many Of the big papers Of the state,
and not q few smaller ones, which
cost thousands Of dollars, and they
filled this space with opinions Of law.
yers who said the home rule amend
ment is only half as bad as painted,
and that It would only destroy county
option and tie up the people and til
legislature so they can not enact any
prohibitory laws.
Then the vets smiled and said,
Nov we have settled the matter and
the hoodoo amendment will quit CIV
ing us 80 much trouble"
But reports from over the state are
H. the effect that the publicity given
the home rule amendment through this
advertising has set the hoodoo working
harder than ever. The storm Of opposi-
tion to the amendment has broken
out afresh. Somebody has discovered,
and backed his discovery with the
proofs, that half the attorneys whose
opinions the liquor men bought space
for are accustomed to appear as paid
attorneys Of the liquor dealers, while
the explanations of the others failed
to satisfactorily explain.
other lawyers are bobbing up all
over the state and are declaring that
the home rule amendment will repeal
about all the good temperance laws
Ohio now has, and are proving their
case.
But this is not all. An army Of con-
servative voters who do not know
anything about the points of law in
volved are having their attention at
tracted to the amendment, and now
they are saying that they will be
hanged II they are going to vote for
Q constitutional amendment when the
big lawyers can not agree as to what
1t says. They say anything that goes
into the constitution should be easily
understood. Anyhow, why should the
county option law be repealed? Forty
counties have tried 1t for six years,
and they like 1t 90 we'll the vets can
not vote them wet. II they do not want
the saloon, why force them to have It'll
The vets ere loading the mails with
literature claiming the opinions oi
the judges 90 published by the d=ys
we're based on . garbled COPY Of the
brewers amendment. This, the dryf
assert, IL not true, and claim that the