The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-11-01
Friends of Prohibition Think Psychological Moment
 Has Come for Action
SOUTH TO DECIDE
 FATE OF MEASURE
With Ten States Dry and Sixteen States "Near Dry" Hobson Amend ment Advocates Are Get
 ting Ready for Fray

straws blown into Washington daily. showing the direction of the wind, politi- cal prognosticators predict . fierce storm soon in Congress over the Hobson prohIpi- ton amendment. with dim rainbow shin ing over the dry element Up to this time neither the 'drys'' nor the "wets" have been overly keen to risk the uiti- mate issue. but now 1t appears that the 'drys" will force it. in belief that the psychological hour at last has dawned. Within a short time several things have happened to hearten the prohibitionists, among them being the enlistment of West Virginia and Virginia under the cold water banner. Further than this, the Maryland diocesan convention of the Protestant Episcopal church on October 29 adopted a resolution in favor of na- tional prohibition. Thus, when a great body of such conservatism comes. con- spicuously out into the open, friends of prohibition look with hope to other great endorsements.
 Finally, Speaker Clark, without express ing his individual views on the prin- clple, has said openly to friends that he believed national prohibition would come in either the present or the next Con gress." And on affairs congressional Clark is regarded as the seventh son of a seventh son in the accuracy of his predictions
 How States Line Up Of the 4S states of the union. 10 are entirely "dry' and 16 are near dry" and of the dry 10 virtually all are south ern states, the list reading: Georgia. Kansas. Maine, Mississippi, North Caro- lina, North Dakota. Oklahoma, Tennes- see, Virginia and West Virginia. Also, among the near-dry states are Alabama, Arkanq1e South Carolina and Texas.
 So, with the south in control of Con gress and the dry element in control of the major portion of the Youth. the prohibitionist leaders see great hope of putting through their amendment. In the committee on rules will be fought the first skrmish. and an analysis of the personnel may be interesting Seven are democrats. three are republicans and one is progressive. Of the seven demo- crats, five hail from the south as does one or the republican members From the dry states come HardwiclS of Georgia Pou of North Carolina and Garrett of tennessee, all democrats and Campbell of Kansas, republican. Chairman Henry of Texas and James c. Cantrill of Ken lucky represent near-dry commonwealths. while NJ. Clyde Kelly, progre ssive. al- though hailing from Pennsylvania is one of the most ardent prohibtionists on this moist sphere. 5 Thus, at the outset five Of the il man. bers might seem to be committed to pro- hibition, and the accession of even one man from near-dry state would give the prohlbitionists a majority in the com mlttee and enable them either to report or suppress a rule to call up the reso lution for the amendment, according to which they might consider the more strategic move. But, whether all the men trf1y pathy with the sentiment of their com monwealths Is an open question. Pressure From Both Sides As has been said before. to breathe the word Hobby in Washington renders one liable to the inquisition of the Senate committee on rules, so 1t simply may be said that a tremendous amount of influ- ence has been, Is being and will be ex. erted on both sides before the question is decided. At one cent apiece the num- ter Of signatures to protests against na- tonal prohibition almost would preclude the necessity for the war tax, if con- trlbuted to the national excheouer Al the same rate, petitioners in It's favor would pay the interest on the national debt Personal freedom is the rallying cry of the nti-prohibitionists, to which the drys retort that the supreme court ,f
 
 liquor interests have no vested rights whatever and live through national suf- france. only.
 That the administration will continue to decline to be drawn into the fight seems an assured fact. "It is a local question President Wilson has said, and on this utterance he is expected to stand pat. Still, this view may be used by members from prohibition states to ex- pia'n their votes against national prohibi- tion' In case they feel they safely may defy the dry influence fin their homes. On the other hand. moro than one man rom wet state may be counted in the dry column when. the question is brought to a vote. !
 Just because Congress is not in session It IS not to be thought that either the vets or drys are idle. Au contraire. thev are busy laying up trouble for many har- ried legislators who feel they will be polit- ically damned, no matter which way they vote-as, indeed will be the case