Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-01-16
PROHIBITION WINS;
NATION DRY IN YEAR
War Prohibition First Ends Rum
Sales July l Next; Needed
State Votes Today.

States of the thlrty-sIx necessary have
now ratified the prohibition amendment
to the United States Constitution. The
Legislatures of five States ratified the
amendment yesterday-Iowa, Oregon, New
Hampshire, Colorado, and Utah.
Under tho Constitution the amendment
"shal be valid, to all intcnts and pur-
poses. as part of this Constitution, when
ratified by the Legislatures of three
fourths Of the States or by conventions
in three-fourths thereof, as the one or
the other mode of ratification may be
porposcd by Congress" In the case OF
the prohibition amendment now being
voted on by the Legislatures Congress
provided that the amendment should be
submitted to the State Legislatures for
ratification.
OF the forty-eight States, thirty-iivc
have now ratified the amendment, with
IN one State of the required three-iourths.
1t is expected that the thirty-sixth State
will ratify to-day.
NATION DRY AFTER JULY l.
Under tho terms of the amendment IT.
self. nationwide prohibition goes INTO
effect one wear after ratification of the
amendment. One year from today viii
bc Ian. rs. 1920. and it is the contention
nl anfl@N1lpoll iFdittG dt Aft'lA
headouarters here that the terms Of the
amendment. regardless of any intervening
agencies nationwide prohibition will be-
come effective not later than Jan. l6,
1920
Congress, by appropriate legislation,
has already decided that wartime national
prohibition should become effective July |.
1919. SO that In actual practice national
prohibition becomes effective SIX months
before IL could become effective under the
national prohibition amendment. Under
the wartime prohibition legislation, after
IL becomes elective, July /, 1910 the
nation must remain dry until peace Is
signed and the armies dcmobllzed. the
President hy proclamation to fix the
date for such rehabilitation.
CLAIM ALL STATES BUT THREE.
Prohibition leaders here predicted some
months ago that the constitutional
amendment would have ,Jcen ratified
by the required thIrty-six States be
tween Jan. Is and 20 Of thus year. 1t
was asserted NJ national headquarters
Of the Anti-Saloon League Of America
tonight that before another week rolled
around forty-four States would have
ratified the amendment. All States ex-
ccpt New York, New Jersey, and Rhode
Island are claimed as favoring the amend
nent, Some Anti-Saloon League leaders
are now even counting upon New York
and New Jersey.
The Fifteenth Amendment to the
I Federal Constitution, which provided
that suffrage should not be abridged for
race or color, WAS proposed 10 the state
Legislatures in 1869 Ii was declared
in a proclamation of the secretary OF
State dated March 80, 1870, 10 have been
ratified by the Legislatures Of twenty
nine of the then thirty-seyen States
LEADERS SURE or PROHIBITION.
Prohibition leaders here asserted last
| night that they were not worried by at
| tempts 10 throw obstacles IN the way OF
| ratification Of the amendment III the
States where liquor leaders are con-
/ tending that the amendment must be
approved by referendum 10 the people
| oi the State On this point the ANTI
! Saloon League issued this statement j:
Congress has chosen the State Legis-
| latures as the bodies to ratify the led
| eral prohibition amendment. \ State
/ referendum, therefore, would be illegal
ard void
! This statement was authorized by
/ Wayne b Wheeler general counsel Of
/ the league, in connection with the re-
| ported movement of distilleIs TO insti-
! tute injunction proceedings looking TO
| the securing Of State referendums.
| The resolution submitting TO the
/ States the National Prohibition Amend
| ment to the constitution was passed by
/ Congress December Is, 1917 The reso-
! luton was adopted by the Senate August
! /, 1917, by q vote of 65 10 20. and was
j passed BY the House of Representatives,
with slight amendments, December IL,
| 1917, BY vote of 2S2 to l2S, the Senate
the following day voting to concur in
| the House amendments
TEXT OF THE RESOLUTION.
The resolution as finally adopted fol
| lows
Sixty-fifth Congress OF the United
States of America, at the second session,
begun and held at the City of Washington
on Monday, the third day of December,
one thousand nine hundred and seven
teen:
JOINT aE>oIU,IoN.
Proposing an amendment to the Consti-
tuition of the United States.
Resolved, by the Senate and House of
REPRESENTATIVES of the United States Of
America in Congress assembled, two
thirds of each house concuTTing therein, J
that the following annendm ent to the Con-
stitution be, and hereby Is, proposed to
the Senate, TO become valid as a part of
the Constitution when ratified by the
Legislatures OF the several States as
provided by the Constitution:
ARTICLE -.
Section l. After one year from the
ratification Of this article the manu-
facture, sale. or transportation OF in
toxicating liquors within the importa-
ticn thereof into or the expectation there
of from the United States and all terri
tory subject to the jurisdiction thereof
for beverage purposes is hereby pro-
hibited
Section .. The Congress and the
several States shall have concurrent
power to enforce this article by appro-
pirate legislation.
Section 3 This article shall be
imperative unless it shall have been
ratified as an amendment to the Con-
stitution by the Legislatures Of the several
States, as provided by the Constitution,
within seven years from the date Of the
submission hereof to the States by the
Congress.
Champ Clark,
Speaker of the House Of Representatives