Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-01-16
Nebraska Casts Deciding
Ballot For Dry Nation
fle. Other. legislatures worked at fev-
erish speed to be the thirty-siXth.
DistilIers Die Harsl

DtsttIlcFS Dfc HaM
Meanwhile distiliers' cammittee,
through Levy Mayer, chief of their
counsel, announced that In twenty
two states the constitutions require
q referendum vote of citizens in or
der to ratify constitutional amend
ment. Mr.. Mayer to-day named
these states as follows:
South Dakota. Oregon, Nevada,
Montana, Oklahoma. Maine, Mary
land. Michigan. Arkansas, Colorado.
Arizona, New Mexico. California.
Ohio. Nebraska, Washington. North
Dakota, Mississippi. Missouri, Kan
sas, Louisiana and Utah. 81
In California court action has al
ready ben taken to restrain the Gov
ernor from certifying abe action of
the Legislature to Washington. Ev-
cry resource of the distillers, with
1000, 100000 available. will be en-
ployed in the supreme effort to save
their businesses. 1t is said. An i'm
portant meeting of the distillers'
committee will be held at New York
on January %, when 1t is planned to
adopt a detailed program.
Dry leaders assert that the dis
tillers' attack was, foreseen and that
IL iswithout merit.
Washington, Jan. 16.-National
prohibition by constitution amend
ment has been accepted by the Unit
ed States just thirteen months, lack
ing one day. after the joint ,resolu-
ton by Congress was submitted to
the states for ratification.
Country Dry In One Year
Fourteen of the thirty-six states
which have approved the resolution
have certified their action to the
State Department. A question as to
the effective date of the amendment
was raised to-day when news came
that Nebraska, the thirty-sixth state,
had voted ratification, by q state
mcnt OF Senator Sheppard, OF Texas,
author of the resolution, that the
country would go dry one year from
to-day. Other students Of the ques-
tion he'd that ratification would not
be completed until one year from
formal certifcation by the thirty
sixth state.
~ Mississippi Lags in Duty
Possibility of a difference of
months in the calculations of the ef-
fective date was foreseen. Misslssip-
pi, the first state to ratify the amend
ment, has not yet certified Its actiop
to the State Department, although
the affirmative vote of the amend
ment was taken more than year
ago, January 8, 1913.
Prohibition leaders regard the ef-
fective date as matter of small
moment, however, inasmuch as
countrywide prohibition is ordered
July L, by the war measure passed
by Congress to conserve grains. That
measure remains In force until after
rehabilitation of the military forces
Is completed, which many think Will
not be before the constitutional
amendment is operative. #'-.
Will Lose Great Revenues
Enormous revenues derived by the
government from taxes on manufac-
ture and sale of alcoholic drinks will
be cut off by prohibition. 1t is plan
ned to raise $450,000.000 this year
by beverage taxes. In peace times
the amount was less, but still ran
into the hundreds of millions.
Senator Sheppard said to-day he
soon would introduce a bill to make
the amendment effective after con-
sultation with Senate and House
leaders and prohibition organiza-
tions.
A proclamation by the President
and State Department, the Senator
said, was not necessary to make the
amendment effective on January Is,
1920, but one probably would be is
sued as O. formality.
States, Senator Sheppard pointed
out. are expected to enact their own
laws, to supplement the federal stat
ute, to enforce the amendment.
Jefferson City, Mo-, Jan. 16.-The
Missouri Legislature to-day ratified
the federal prohibition amendment
when the House concurred in the
Senate resolution by vote of 154
to 36.