Arizona republican., 1918-01-29
A Long Settled Principle

A writer in the North American Review, Fabian Franklin, fears that have lost oun heads over prohibition" He is speaking of the proposed prohi- bition amendment to the constitution of the United States which if ratified by enough state legislatures will be the first instance of the imposing upon the people of state the will of the other states in a matter affecting the ordinary daily life of the people of the state" Mir. Franklin fears that the legislatures will not give sufficient consideration to the principle involved, apart from the merits and advantages of prohibition Such consideration, he says, not given by congress before passed resolution hitting the amendment to the legislatures.
 But the principle had been already and most forciby discussed. It throughy threshed out be- fore the civil war and that gave bloody decision that the people of sufficient majority of the states had the right in matter affecting all the states to Impose their will upon even unwilling states. So, principle raised in connection with the proposed policy of national prohibition The only thing be considered by congress was whether the people Of the states should be allowed through their legsla- lures say whether they believed that prohibition was good policy.
 It is one thing, says this writer, to engraft an amendment upon the constitution of United States and another, place an amendment in a state con- ttitution. The latter amendment, in states if found unsatisfactory can be repealed easily
 statute may be aside by majority of the voters An amendment the constitution of the United States may be kept imposed upon the whole nation by thirteen of the smallest states That true but then amendments to the national constitution be made only with the greatest difficulty, and by such pre- ponderance of sentiment at step, that it must be accomplished with the greatest deliberaton
 Another point put forth by the writer is that no great city has yet adopted prohibition that under the amendment prohibition would be imposed upon urban and metropolitan communities by the will of the people living under dissmilar conditions It is true that great cities have expressed themselves favor of prohibition, though two of the most important cities of Texas though not large cities, have recently done so Los Angeles has lately adopted measure of prohibition, though the objection may be raised and sustained that the majority sentiment in Los Angeles is not urban and metropolitan. considerable part of the area of Los Angeles it is true is suburban and rural, and very considerable part of the popu- laton of the city is made of retired ruralists from Iowa and the middlewest who brought rural notions with them and cling tenaciously to them.
 But with regard to prohibition there be dissimar conditions because there are none with respect to the liquor traffic. effect is the same everywhere only with varying degrees and it is all ways bad It is opy more strongly entrenched in urban and metropolitan communities where crime is always more closely associated and confederated. mere the uaIIlc can De suppressed only outside influence and it is the of influence that the proposed amendment makes possible.
 More than all, the amendment affords the states which want prohibition self protection against the states which do not want it. We will suppose that every state in the union without large city should adopt prohibition and every the union with large city should reject it. There would really be no prohibition in the states adjacent latter an
 illicit traffic in liquor would continue with only slight Interruptions.
 It has been taunt thrown out by the advocates of the liquor traffic that prohibition does not pro- hibit" Well-meanng temperance people have op- posed local option and statewide prohibition because they believed that such sporadic prohibition would only provoke the crime of illicit traffic There Is truth in the taunt of the liquor advocates Prohi- bition has not absolutely prohibited in any state when liquor obtanabe in a neighboring state But it is proposed that liquor shall not be ob- lainable anywhere in the United States and then prohibition will prohibit.