The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-12
|DRY AMENDMENT IS DOOMED UNLESS THE SENTIMENT CHANGES Prohibition Advocate Eager l to Postpone Vote Until
 After Fall Elections CANNOT POSSIBLY
 MUSTER TWO-THIRDS States Rights Will be Bulwark Con
 fronting Advocates of National
 Prohibition and woman's Suffrage
nx C. E. STEWART

Washington, May 1l-tSpecial 1--The
 advocates of the Hobson resolution re-
 ported by the House Judiciary commit
 tee asking that a constitutional amend
 ment for nation wide prohibition be sub
 mitted to the state legislatures, are be-
 ing aueried, Now you've got 1t, what
 are you going to do with it?''
 The paradoxical situation has arisen in i the House. where the leaders of the na- 1 tion-wide prohibition movement in that
 body are disposed to delay vote on the
 question, and those who are opposed to
 the amendment are ready, now that the
 question Is fully up to them, to settle it. l The prohibition leaders are genuinely alarmed over the situation. While they
 have never been sanguine, or entertained
 the belief that they would be able to mus ter enough votes to adopt the resolution two-thirds of the House being required to pass resolution offering an amend ! ment to the constltution-they have be- leved all the time that they would have d substantial majority. Then if they could force a record vote and obtain q majority on that record vote. they felt that this fact alone would become @ great factor all over the country and have its influence in congressional elec- tons, resulting in the election of House that would adopt the resolution.
 May Not Get Majority
 But test of the sentiment of the House disclosed the fact that 1t Is very doubtful if they can even muster a ma- jorty. Certainly there is no hope of ttna two-fhir7is: Prohitstionfsts 4of sane standing in Congress. men who have sosi- ducted fights for statewide prohibition in their own states. declare that they will not support the Hobson resolution on the ground of states rights, and be- cause they believe that nation wide prohi- ibtion Is impractical.
 Elated for awhile over the victory in getting the resolution reported by the judiciary committee, Captain Hobson. de- tecting the danger of a disastrous defeat of the proposed amendment on the floor of the House, hastily left Washington for Ohio, to consult with P. A. Baker, the moving spirit of the Anti-Saloon league and the movement for nation-wide prohi- bition. Captain Hobson has wired back to friends in Washington to postpone a vote If possible until after the fall elee- tions.
 On the other hand. members of Con gress who believe with President Wilson that the question of prohibition Is purely g local one. and believe in the right of every community to decide this question for themselves now that they realize that sooner or later they must face this question in the House, are disposed to force the issue and get rid of it as soon as possible. Of course, there are u num- Der of congressman, and no inconsider- able number, too. who would be glad if they were never forced 10 come out in the open on this problem. There are num- bers of members of the House of Rep resentatives who realize that no matter how they vote on the question-for or against the resolution--that vote will mean their elimination from their chosen field of activity Members who have close districts and who have hard fights in the primaries to obtain the nomination of their party in many instances face cer- tain defeat in the next election they en-
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