Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-12-19
'WET" AND "DRY" STATES
Present Alignment Gives Prohibition
Amendment Edge on
Victory

THE Congress OF the United States has
l. sanctioned the prohibition amendment TO
the Constitution. the House this week Joining
Its formal action TO that of the Senate. taken
In August The States are now to decide on
the issue which has agtated this country for
nearly century. Optimistic prophets of
national prohibition like William J. Bryan
forecast a bone-dry land before the expira-
tion Of the seven years given in the House
bill sfor the sovereign commonwealth TO
ratify the duly and legally made proposition
for the constitutional amendment.
How will the States line up in the final
grand drive on the vets? Frances Z. Will
lard. John j. Cough, Francis Murphy. Neal
Dow, Bob Burdette never had CLOSE at
hand the fruition of their temperance sowing
as have the present leaders of the movement
Twenty-Five States. according to available
STATISTICS are now bone dry, by virtue of the
Kenyon-Webb law and the Reed amendment
to the last Congress postoffce bill These
are Maine Virginia, West Virginia, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia. Alabama.
Mississippi, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, Nebras-
ka. Arkansas. Tennessee. Kansas. Oklahoma.
North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Colo
rado, Arizona, Idaho. Washington, Oregon.
New Mexico.
Thirty-six States out of the forty-eight
must accept the national prohibition amend
ment to make It part of the basic law of
can keep the amendment out of the Constitu-
ton. Taking for granted that the present
alignment of dry States will stand solidly for
the amendment, this means the drys must
win eleven States consent to pass the amend.
ment. Wetness, either unlimited or vari.
ously restricted, Is now legal In twenty-three
States. and to nullify the congressional pro-
posal for a prohibition amendment the vets
must dominate in thirteen more States. the
drys thus having the edge. In one sense, on
their opponents. However. some OF the wet
States are liquid only by narrow margin.
such as Ohio. In a number local option by
community units Is prevalent. such as Con-
California, Florida, Massachusetts, New
York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin, and in
several of these the popular sentiment is
them the dry forces will have a terrain
especially adapted for giving successful bat
tie to the foe.
The final step in national prohibition has
been taken. The Constitution on the question
of amendments (Article W provides two
thirds vote of both houses of Congress may
propose amendments. Amendments also may
be proposed by convention called by Con-
gress on the application OF two-thirds of the
State Legislatures-a method long out of use.
Amendments proposed In either wise become
valid when ratified by the Legislatures OF
three-fourths of the States or by conven-
tions held in three-fourths OF them-the lat
ter also a method abandoned in practice.
Maine was the first prohibition State,
through Neal Dow's law. In 1886. Massachu-
setts, Rhode Island and Vermont followed,
but later backslid. The modern prohibition
movement began in the early nineties In the
Middle West Kansas the first to go dry,
followed by the Dakotas and Iowa, which
fell off the wagon for time but again have
front seats. Later the center Of prohibition
activity shifted to the South, where the gin
problem intensified the negro question. From
1907 to 1915, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi
North Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, Ar
kansas and South Carolina broke of rela-
tions with rum.
Prohibition In the dry States was not
absolute until this year. when more than
score of States were made virtually bone
dry by the Kenyon-Webb act, affirmed con-
stitutional by the Supreme Court. and the
Reed amendment, which prohibited the ship
ment of liquor into any territory where
its manufacture or sale was banned thus
applying to interstate commerce policing
powers of the Federal Government to
strengthen state prohibition laws. J.B.