Payette enterprise. (Payette, Canyon Co., Idaho) 1909-1935, 1916-11-30
.B0RAH TO OPEN
FIGHT FOR "DRYS"
IDAHO SENATOR ANNOUNCES
THAT HE WILL INTRODUCE
BILL PROVIDING FOR cONSTI.
TUT'oNAL AMENDMENT AT
SHORT SESSION.

4 congress In senator william Il. Bora
of Idaho. Under his leadership 8
J, fight is to be made at the coming
t short session to put through a reso
. luton submitting to the states To-
! ratification prohibition amendmen
to the federal constitution.
:, Coupled with the fight which Sen
, ator Borah intends to lead will be q
: separate, and yet related contest, con
: Quoted under the leadership of Sena
i tor Wesley l.. Jones of Washington
to force prohibition upon the District
of Columbia. The latter is renewal
of fight made at the last session
OF congress and abandoned.
There has never been well organ
lied fight in congress to submit a
/ prohibition amendment to the states,
though many prohibition resolutions
have been proposed, only to be for
of general support. Senator Borah,
in announcing his purpose to make
real fight for a prohibition amend
ment, makes it plain that he is go-
/ ing into the contest to win, and if
he is outgeneraled or outvoted at
\ the short session, he promises to
bob up again in the new congress,
keeping prohibition to the forefront
until a vote is had If a record vote
can be secured, Senator Borah is con-
fident of getting enough votes to
pass the resolution.
Make Fight in the Dark.
The great obstacle to be overcome,
in getting a prohibition amendment
through congress, is in getting the
proposition to vote. Most of the
opponents of prohibition are afraid
to go on record, and they necessari-
ly make their fight in the dark. 1t
was in the dark that the prohibit
ton resolution, along with the equal
suffrage resolution, was sidetracked
at the last session, and the same
tactics will be resorted to to kill
off the resolution which Senator |
Borah intends to champion.
''The time to push the prohibition !
fight is how. Sentiment throughout
the country is rapidly turning to the
prohibition cause; that was evidenced
not only in the recent elections, but !
is reflected in the fact that 23 states
are now dry and two more, Utah
and Florida, promise to go dry as
soon as their legislatures meet. With
one-half the country dry already, and
prohibition sentiment strong in the
wet states, it is time the
national government took some no.
ice .of public sentiment.
Not Party Issue.
Prohibition" the senator added,
lis not party question; it should
lot and will not be made a party is
sue, notwithstanding the announce
nent of great leader of the party
IN power has given indication of
lesire to make his party the party
If prohibition Prohibition is coming
national prohibition is coming, but
t is coming not because any party
approves it, but because of the steady
Ind growing demand on the part of
he people to wipe out the liquor
Evil. And while l say that no party
will force prohibition, 1 can with
'qual safety say that neither party ,
will go on record as opposing prohi-
,ition."
Senator Borah, as stated, believes 7
nat If congress can be brought face
o face with the prohibition issue,
md can be forced to go on record,
hat both senate and house will, by
he necessary two-thirds majority,
ass the resolution submitting the
to the state. He is not
ooled into believing that wo-thirds
the senate or two-thirds the mem
ership of the house believe in pro-
ibition, but with records of the past
efore him, he feels confident that
OF one-third the membership of eth
n record as opposing the national S
rohibition amendment t,
In Danger in Committee. c
The fight for the prohibition S
nendment-the real fights going l.
} be to bring the issue to vote, ;,
nd the surest way of preventing a
ote is by suppressing the resolution
the judiciary committee, where 81
ozens of such resolutions now lie s.
Tried. Senator Borah is a member ii
the judiciary committee of the Sc
nate, and in the recent session, as ty
the preceding congress, he voted de
report the resolution to the sem So
e, but both times the opposition at
as strong enough to prevent fav- be
able action. ex
If the committee refuses to reopen pa
-.