The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-01-31
D|ST|LLERS WILL
START A FIGHT
To Attack Ratification In
States Having Referen-
dunn Laws
PEOPLE A PART OF
LAW-MAKING BODY
No Proclamation BY Secretary of
State Until the People Have Voted
on Ratification In % states-New
Party Suggested.

NEW YORK, Jan. 3l.--For the first
time since they began talking about
fighting the ratification of the federal
prohibition amendment, the liquor men
announced definite program yester-
day. The announcement came from
the executive committee of the Dis
tillers' association of America, whose
headquarters are III Chicago The
executive committee came to New York
on Monday and began on Tuesday a.
series of meetings in the Hotel st. Reg
| is, which will extend over several DAYS
The statement was prepared for the
committee by Levy Mayer of Chicago,
| its general counsel, and signed by Sam
uel Woolner, jr., president of the Dis
/ tillers association, and by George r..
| Dieterie, its secretary.
| According to the statement the dis,
| tillers viii begin their fight by invok-
/ ing the referendum in fourteen states
! whose legislatures ratified the amend
ment without giving the people OF
| those states the chance to say whether
or not they wished to vote upon it, as
/ they are entitled to do under the con
situations of those states. The states in
question are Arkansas. California Col
orado. Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Nilsson
ri, Nebraska. Nevada. New Mexico,
Ohio, Oregon, and Utah. The state
ment reads:
1.-THE constitutions of many of the
states contain a referendum provision
which expressly provides that no action
of the legislatures is effective until the
| lapse of ninety days after the adjourn
ment of the legislatures. If during those
ninety days j or q per cent of the vot-
ers petition for a referendum, the ac-
ton of the legislatures must be sub
mitted to vote of the people. Until
the people have voted i'll these states
the action of the legislatures does not
take effect, and is neither final nor
binding ON the state whose Legislature
may have begun the ratification of the
prohibition amendment
''Of the forty-two states whose leg
islatures have acted, there are twenty
two that contain in their constitutions
the referendum provision. OF these
twenty-five states, the legislatures OF
fourteen are still in session. and until
these legislatures have adjourned the
ninety days within which to petition
for referendum have not begun TO run
Immediate steps win be taken 10 have
the referendum invoked in all of these
fourteen states and probably in others
Cntil the people in these fourteen states
have had an opportunity at a general
election or special election called fol-
that purpose to vote upon the ame~d
ment, the amendment lacks ratifieai ON
i Upon this question the opinion of cmi
nent lawyers is unanimous.
Il The people in these fourteen states
under their constitutional referendum
| rights, are a part of the lawmakiny
: body. Until they have voted upon tn,
! proposition there has been and can bt
no legislative action. If the fourteen
: states can be deducted from the forty
two whose legislatures have acted
4 the total number of ratifying state
will be but twenty-eight, or eight les
than the required three fourths.
after many years of agitation tn
referendum has been incorporated int
the constitutions of these differen
states. This referendum is now fun
damental right of the people. 1t
intended that the people shall avail o
this fundamental right, and that the
shall vote upon the question whethe
inherent state powers and privilege
and individual liberty shall be ds
stroyed Until the referendum has bee
exercised in the states TO which W
have referred there can be no bindin
proclamation Ey the secretary of stat
or any other federal authority that til
amendment has been adopted
Under date of Jan. % and on the st;
tionery of the committee on the llbrar
of the house of representatives, {
which he is chairman, RepresentatiN
James l.. Slayden of the San Antoni
Texas, district, who has sat as
member of ten successive congresse
wrote to Mr. Woods that he hoped Il
association opposed to national pr
hibition would win. its attack on Il
legality of the amendments. but he fea
i ed it wonld not. Congressman Slavde
said he was under sthe impression tina
if that revolutionary amendment
ever to be done away with, it can on
be through long campaign of clue
ton and in order to conduct such
campaign effectively it must be back
with unusual political power aud saga
1 ity'
iii Congressman Slayden SAYS he believ
that such an educational campaign e;
lee best directed by the organization
a new political party There ougat'
be, the letter continues, "a poltic
organization in this country to dsfel
personal liberty and to try to swing t
government back to the original coy
nants between the colonies as writ
into the constitution of tile Unit
States There are millions of persons
this country who resent an invasion
their personal rights, and it has I
Cured to me that they might be orga
lied into a compact cooperating DO
for the defense of these rights and j
the defense Of the original eonsti
: u Iiona1 rights fgthe states.