The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1919-02-26

1912, Eugene w. Chain, Arizona,
and Aaron 8. Watkins, Ohio, 208,923
votes.
1916, ]. Frank Hanley, Indiana. ard
DR.. Ira Landrith, Tennessee, 214,34O
votes.
The National Prohibition party,
curiously enough, has been rather op-
posed to prohibition BY constitutional
amendment. In the last Year book
(1916) we read:
although the Prohibition party
may be said to be committed by plat
form declaration to the adoption Of q
national prohibition amendment, when
placed in power, the program of the
party has never contemplated agita-
ton for a nonpartisan amendment to
be enforced by administrations not IA
vOrable to prohibition. The
general opinion seems to favor admit
ting the desirabilfty Of the amendment
as the end to be accomplished, ut the
same time emphasizing it's impracti-
cabflfty as 4 method. and denying it's
necessity rs condition precedent to
securing national prohibition. .
The odds are so Overwhelmingly
against the ratification Of an amend
ment that they cannot possibly be
overcome through any reasonable ex-
penditure Of time, money and effort so
long as the liquor traffic exists to fight
for its hfe."
The National Prohibition party Is
certainly right about the apparent
odds against the adoption by congress
of a constitutional amendment and
its ratification by the states. There
have been 1857 amendments to the
Constitution proposed and 1S Of them
have been passed. Herein lies the mar.
vel Of the ratification of the eighteenth
amendment in about thirteen months
1t has been figured that the chances
against the passing of an amendment
are 10 to 1. The case is put thus:
The chances against ratification are
2 to in the house of representatives
and 2 to 1. in the senate, and. there
fore 4 to 1 in congress. That is
Should the measure pass either house
by unanimous vote, the one-third op
position in the other house woult
block it in congress as whole; il
other words, the resolution must b,
supported on the two chances in eacl
house, while if the opposition scores
on it's one chance in either house, tn
measure fails. The chances in tn
state legislatures are to 1 agains
the resolution; hence, in the congress
and the legislatures combined tn,
chances are 10 to 1 against passage
In other words, the measure nigh
pass both houses Of congress unani
mously, and be defeated as a whole b,
the one chance in the states. 1t nigh
pass either house of congress and al
Of the legislatures unanimously, an
be defeated by the one chance in tn
other house Of congress.
st. John Makes Stir.
John P. St. John was the first PIT
hibition party candidate to make
| real stir in the political world. Wha
he did in the campaign of 1884 wa
long remembered. st. John was Dor
in Indiana and in the Civil war wa
lieutenant-colonel of the One Hundre
and Forty-third regiment, Illinois vo
unteers. He was twice elected 60,
ernor of Kansas on the Republica
ticket and was defeated for re-ele'
ton to this Office in 1882 by anti-prt
hibition Republicans, who thought hi
too warm a friend of the temperate
cause.
Frances E. Willard and a deleg,
ton of women presented an enormou
petition to the Republican nation,
convention, urging consideration fl
the prohibition forces. The story {
that time was that the petition wa
not only laid on the table but throw