The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-02-14
WISHES OF THE PEOPLE PREVAIL;
a. ENABIING ACT IL PASSED

The final passage by the general assembly of
the enabling act amended. bur not yitated, is
signal victory fer the people Of the State whose
wishes have prevailed despite tho potential In
nuence Of the whiskey lobby and strong hold OF
the liquor interests upon the Virginia senate
The citizens OF Virginia will at last be given
permission to vote on the question Of whether
orrnot the manufacture and sale of ardent spirits
shall be continued In this State and, unless We
greatly mistake the trend and force Of public
sentiment they viii at the polls on the fourth
Tuesday IN September next vote the licensed
saloon out of the Commonwealth.
The passage Of The enabling act Is great
victory for the people The temperance forces
OF the State through the Anti-Saloon league
have been pleading for years for permission TO
exercise their right citizens and vote on the
question Of Statewide prohibition Not until
now have they been able TO induce the senate 10
concur with the house in giving the people this
permission.
The enabling act. as finally passed. is not
Just what the temperance people want. 1t is
not the bill as originally prepared and intro
at the instance of the Anti,saoon league. 1t is,
however. the best and most satisfactory measure
along these lines that could possibly have been
gotten through the present general assembly.
Indeed the dry members almost risked the de-
feat Of the entire proposition rather than
sent to accept the numerous obnoxious provisions
engrafted on the original bill by the senate. The
al wthir
are repugnant to the Antisaloon league and
other temperance people, but was accepted in the
spirit Of compromise rather than have the whole
: measure defeated.
The bill is satisfactory In naming that the
election Is to he held the fourth Tuesday In
September next and also TO vote directly for or
against Statewide prohibition. If prohibition
carries at the polls. as have no sort of doubt
that 1T will do. it will 10 into effect November l.
1916 This date is a compromise and even
division between the time fixed by the original
bill and the amendments first adopted by the
senate The legislative committee Of the Anti
Saloon league in its report at the State con-
tvention held here declared that Virginia would
bewithont thelicensed saloon by July ], 1916, at
tho latest. This assurance and promise to the
people viii. we think, be kept with the exception
that II will be delayed four months longer than
the legislative committee calculated
The temper of the general assembly in deal
ing with this measure has been commendable
The drys have won a great victory in securing
f. direct ballot THE question TT Statewide pro-
hibition. This provided in the bill as it
passed the house, but the senate with practically
no opposition passed ali amendment recon-
1nended by its committee on privileges and
elections. substituting for local option" in the
place OF against Statewide prohibition" In the
ballot At this time the drys in the senate in
their very earnest spirit of meeting their op-
ponents as far as possible in order to secure a
reasonable act, under which the election might
be held agreed to change. But the opponents
or the bill insisted upon loading 1t down with
other amendments which were exceedingly OBJ
noxiops, and the drys finally decided that they
would not agree To accept the bill with this
change of form Of ballot and along with the
other Objectionable amendments and in this
position they were confirmed by letters and
kilograms from various sections Of the State pro
testing against the amended form Of ballot as
unfair The greatest fight therefore in securing
the adoption Of the report Of the committee of
conference was on This question OF the form of
ballot
The electorate qualified for participation in this
special election Is eminently fair and just It
embraces all persons who qualified 10 vote
in the election Of November last and such others
IS qualified before the 9th day of December by
paying their poll Citizens who had the
right to vote last November. will have a right
70 vote IN this special election next September,
even though their poll taxes this year may not
nave been paid, and all persons who have quail
fed to vote In the election 10 be held on the
second Tuesday IN June Of this year
When the enabling act came before the senate
there was much said about the amendment of
the senate committee exempting wine and its
hyprodnots from the operation OF this Law pro
7ssfaaa such wine and by-produets are shipped out