Perth Amboy evening news., 1919-10-23
A CHALLENGE

ward l. Edwards, Democratic candidate for governor, made a
solemn promise that if elected governor of New Jersey he
would use all the legal powers he could command to prevent
this state going dry"
We challenge Mr.. Edwards to tell the people of New Jer-
sy what legal powers he thinks he will possess as governor to
fulfill this promise.
Surely if he is sincere he must believe he will have some
powers as governor to make good this solemn promise. And if
he believes he will have such powers he certainly must have
some idea of the nature of those powers.
We challenge Mr.. Edwards to tell the people how he pro-
poses to proceed in this most important matter.
There is no doubt that a great many people in New Jersey
are deeply interested in the question. But those who have
given it much consideration are convinced that prohibition is
now wholly in the hands of the federal authorities.
Mr.. Edwards, if he is sincere in the promise he has made,
must know of some way by which the state can overcome the
federal law and the federal Constitution.
Section 2 of Article VI of the Constitution of the United
States reads as follows:
'This constitution, and the laws of the United
States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and
all treaties made, or which shall be made under the
authority of the United States, shall be the supreme
law of the land; and the judges in every state shall
be bound thereby, anything In the constitution or
laws of any state to the contrary Notwithstanding"
On January 16 prohibition will become a part of the Con
sttution of the United States.
We challenge Mr.. Edwards to tell the people of New
Jersey how he proposes to proceed to keep New Jersey "wet"
We challenge Mr.. Edwards to tell The people of New Jer-
sey what legal powers he will possess as governor to nullify
the Constitution of the United States in reference to prohibit
ton as far as New Jersey is concerned.
Merely going about the state saying he will do all in his
power to prevent the state going dry does not get anywhere
The American people are intelligent. They are loyal to
the Constitution. Furthermore, they can reason things out for
themselves.
To merely say that all the legal power one possesses as
governor will be used to nulHfy the Constitution is not enough,
when anyone who gives the matter any thought at all knows
that all the poyer that the governor Of any state possesses to
nulify the Constitution of the United States is no power at ALL
When a candidate for governor, therefore, goes up and
down the state proclaimng that he will keep New Jersey wet
in spite of the Constitution of the United States he is merely
shouting bunk unless he can show that his noise is something
more than hot air.
Hundreds Of good, honest, American citizens, who oppose
strict prohibition would gladly vote for Mr.. Edwards if they
could be convinced that he possessed any power whatever as
governor to counter-act the prohibition that is settling over
the land.
But these men are loyal Americans. AS much as they are
opposed to prohibition they abhor deception, fraud, false pre-
tense still more, They realize that the Constitution of the
United States is the supreme law Of the land and they realize
that if this nation is to live there must be the utmost respect
for it.
MI. Edwards is too vague in his statement as to keeping
the state "wet." He leaves the man who can think for him
self entirely in the dark,
We challenge Mr.. Edwards to become more specific.
If Mr.. Edwards is not blunlng he surely must have formu-
later some program of procedure for keeping the state wet
after the constitutional amendment goes into effect, should he
be elected governor.
We challenge Mr.. Edwards to state openly and clearly to
the people just what his tentative program is.
We challenge Mr.. Edwards to say just what his first step
will be after he becomes governor, should he be elected, to null
lily the Constitution of'the United States as pertaining to pro-
hibHion, as far as New Jersey is concerned.
The people have had enough of generalities. They have.