Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1914-07-03
BUSINESS MEN FOUR
TO ONE AGAINST It
Vote on Prohibition by Portland Cham.
ber Of Commerce Interesting From
Political Standpoint.
NO SENTIMENT IN THIS
= JUST COLD BUSINESS
If Prohibition Wins This Fall 1t viii
Have to Be Done Outside of
the Larger Cities.

I More than four to one against was
the vote of business men of Portland
| expressed in the straw ballot of the
members of the Portland chamber of
commerce, which was canvassed We'd
nesday morning by the board of trus-
tees of that body.
A total of 5S5 votes was east, out of
membership of $50. Four ballots
were blank, Ill were in favor of state
wide prohibition and 470 against state
wide prohibition. The vote was held
at the request Of members of the
chamber themselves, VINO desired to
ascertain the attitude of the repre-
sentative business men of the city as
a whole on the subject.
1t plaintly was announced yester-
day that this vote does not represent
any official position taken by the
chamber as body, but is simply a
canvass of the individual opinions of
the business men who make up the
organization.
The Portland chamber of commerce
is only one of half a dozen or more
prominent chambers in tine United
States in which straw ballots recently
have been taken on the prohibition
question, although the results in other
cities have been announced as the of.
fetal attitude and definite resolutions
Of protest against prohibition have been
adopted.
me movement in Portland was start
ed Immediately following the action of
the San Francisco chamber of com
merce The referendum vote in the
San Francisco body was llS7 to Al
against prohibition and the chamber
issued and published resolutions broad
cast, strongly urging the defeat of the
proposed California prohibition amend
ment in the November elections.
Similar resolutions, wOrded even more
definitely and strongly, were adopted
, and sent out by the Los Angeles cham
| Der Of commerce. In these resolutions
it was maintained that the enactmen
of the California prohibition amend
ment would amount to the confiscatioI
of an industry in which several hun
dred millions of dollars are invested.
II points out that the state for year
has Systematically and directly en-
couaged the people to plant grapes ant
make wine and to develop tle viticul
ture industry to the fullest possible ex
, tent, and that now there are 10000 peo
/, pie and $4,000 acres of land involved
in the industry, which represented al
/, income in the state last year of $26,
, 10000. Other commercial bodies il
California contemplate similar action
urging the defeat of the prohibition
amendment in that state.
Prior to the action of the Portlan,
, chamber of commerce members, tn
Milwaukee chamber of commerce adopt
ed resolutions urging the defeat of tn
proposed federal prohibition bill. ]
similar resolution was adopted Official
, ly by the chamber of commerce of 81
!, Paul, MINI.
j Many protests were sent the Port
c land chamber when it was found tina
the straw ballot was to be taken, url
y ing that the plan be abandoned. FC
i that reason it was decided better {
make the action represent the ind
G vidual opinion of the members instea
s. of the official attitude of the orgai
A. izAtiOu