El Nuevo mexicano., 1917-02-08

AMUNd DKIS Al III
RESOLUTION PASSED;
GIVE THEIR REASONS
POSSIBILITY OF GIVING AWAY
BOOZE FATAL DEFECT, BARTH
AND cALIscH BELIEVE; 9TH.
ERS HOLD STEP IN RIGHT Dl.
REcTIoN HAS BEEN TAKEN
Chief Justice Richard n. Hanna, OF
the state supreme court, N of the
most prominent supporters Of the sub.
mission movement, today said:
"The resolution passed yesterday aft
ernoon Is not as strong as we wanted,
but it Is a big step In advance. II will
eliminate the open saloon, which Is the
great evil of the liquor traffic. From
personal observation, believe the
measure represents the best that
could have been secured at this time"
The dry" resolution passed yester-
day, afternoon by both houses of the
Legislature is satisfactory to the Sub.
mission Federation of New Mexico and
the Anti.Ssloon League. as stated by
DR.. Randolph Cook, president, and
Rev. R. u. Farley, secretary of both
organizations, last week. It also is
satisfactory to many of the submits
sion supporters here who have been
assisting Mr.. Farley in his submission
efforts since the present legislative
session opened. They believe it a big
step in the direction Of a bone dry
state.
There are others among the pro-
hibition forces, however. who hold
that such an amendment as that pro-
posed by the resolution will not really
prohibit. Senator Isaac Barth, of AL
buquerque, who has been an active
prohibitionist for years, is one of
these. In the senate yesterday after
noon, in voting against the resolution,
he declared it represented an "uncon-
stitutional surrender" to the liquor in
terests, and said that it provided
simply for "a change in the manner
of distributing liquor" Senator
Barth's contention is that so long as
the amendment does not prohibit the
gift of liquor within the state, pro-
lviding only that it shall not be i'm
ported for gift, as we'll as sale and
barter, all stocks of liquor within the
state at the time the amendment goes
into effect can be given away in sa-
looms and cafes and elsewhere with
out violating the law. Under the
Raines law, in New York, he said,
saloons and cafes sold rubber. sand
wiches and gave liquor with them,
and the same could be done in New
Mexico under the proposed amend
ment, he asserted. The former Arizona
law, he said involved a similar question
and was declared unconstitutional on
the ground that it permitted citizens
of Arizona certain privileges that were
not enjoyed by citizens of other states.
Senator Albert Calisch, Democrat,
OF Quay county, one of the four sena-
tors who voted against the resolu-
ton yesterday, today said:
sowing to the general interest TAX
en- in the question of submission, I
feel that | should make an explana-
tion of the negative vote | cast at yes
terday's session of the senate. Some
two weeks ago at a Democratic eau
Gus, l voiced my sentiments and ex-
pressly stated that I had been pledg-
ed by the Quay county Democratic
convention and the Democratic state
convention to vote for the submission
of the question of statewide prohibit
ion, whenever a resolution enabling
the electorate to vote for or against
prohibition was offered in 1917. The
senate committee substitute for Sem
ate Joint Resolutions 2 and 3 is not,
in my opinion, a prohibitive measure
in any sense, and my vote was in full
accord with a conviction that l would
be best serving the people of New
Mexico by opposing the resolution,
rather than by giving my consent, to
1t, simply because 1t was the best to
be had at the present time. The pas
sage of the resolution now enables
the people Of New Mexico to vote for
or against its alleged prohibitive pro-
visions, but to me it seems ill.advised
to set in motion the expensive cleo
tion machinery Of the state to vote on
a measure which will not eliminate
the saloon, but which will merely
point to another way for the sale Of
alcoholic and malt liquors as bever.
ages, and which will add nothing to
any victory the prohibitory question
may have gained in the past"
After declaring that he believed the
resolution represented a step in the
right direction, Senator Dunlavy, the
Of one of the "bone dry reso-
introduced in the senate, In
voting in favor of the committee sub
yesterday afternoon said he
was convinced the state legislature of
1919 would be forced to pass a real
prohibitory amendment"
stated that he had promised
his constituents that he would NOT