The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-19
WALLACE URGES VOTE
 BY THE PEOPLE DIRECT

i To the Editor of The Age-Herald:
 1 Last fall, when it became apparent i that Congress would submit to the legis- 1 lature of the various states for ratifica- tion or rejection the proposed prohibition amendment to the federal constitution, | likewise on the 18th day of last Decem- Der, the day the resolution to this effect passed the house. I published statements urging and insisting that the state demo- cratic executive committee, in a state- wide primary, submit the amendment to vote of the democrats of Alabama The democratic party is in undisputed power in this state. Alabama has only one vote and every democrat is entitled to an equal voice in directing the Ala
 bama legislature as to whether the vote of this state should be recorded for or against the amendment.
 The legislature has ignored that pro- vision in the state constitution which requires reappontment of the repre- sentation in the legislature after each
 federal census The population of the
 state has materially shifted in the last F years. For instance, LoWndes county
 with maximum of 300 votes, has three representatives in the legislature, while Covington, with 90G0 votes, has only one
 and one-thrd representatives in that
 body. Likewise Dallas, with 1900 votes,
 has four members of the legislature
 while Jefferson, with 1s,000 votes, has
 only eight. Numerous other striking contrasts exist.
 Prior to the time there was a primary election law upon the statute books the state democratic executive committee or dered and conducted primary elections and established a precedent under the terms of the Whitson resolution, which was adopted by the state democratic executive committee in 1906, or not only ! nominating two United States senators l in democratic primary, but of also nom 1 mating two alternate United States sen- ators and binding the democratic mem l bers of the legislature to cast their votes 1 in accordance with the result as ascer- tained at the ballot box, and also bound
 the democratic candidates for governor l to appoint as United States senators
 the alternates nominated in the event
 of vacancy.
 1 While the primary election law will not
 permit the printing of flor" against
 the amendment on the official ballot to i be used in such primary, the state com l mittee could easily provide for a sep-
 arate ballot with such words printed ] thereon. They could also reappoint the election officers appointed by the coun- ] ty officials to hold the primary for the
 purpose of holding the election on the amendment. The vote for and against
 the amendment could be returned to the county chairman for tabulation, who in | turn would forward the vote from his county to the chairman of the state dem l ocratic executive committee, who, after i tabulating the vote in all the counties.
 could declare the result and the legis- | lature could be directed to cast Ala bama's vote in accordance herewith. ! The will of the democrats of Alabama | could be ascertained and not suppressed by adoption of the simple, fair and just method which I have outlined. Dissatis- faction and discord will inevitably prevail among the rank and file of the members
 of the democratic party unless they are permitted to vote on this amendment,