The Pascagoula chronicle. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1905-1920, 1919-01-18
NATION SOON TO
| Be bone DRY
Only One More State Needed to Ratlfy
Prohibition Amendment to
| Constitution.

Washington, Jan. 15.-Legislatures
Of 35 states-one less than the re-
quired three-fourth-have ratified the
prohibition constitutional amendment.
Several state assemblies now in ses-
sion are expected to take action to-
morrow with probable race between
Nebraska, Missouri and Minnesota as
to which will be the thirty-sixth on the
list.
Ratification was completed to-day
by the legislatures Of five states
Iowa, Colorado, Oregon, New Hamp-
shire and Utah-making total OF
twelve in two days. OF the 35 states
that have taken action, only fourteen
have certified their action to the fed
eral state department They are Vir-
ginia, Kentucky, North Dakota, South
Carolina, Maryland, South Dakota,
Texas, Montana, Delaware, Massa-
chusetts, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana
and Michigan.
The amendment, under its provisions,
becomes effective one year from the
date of the final ratification. Addition
al legislation by congress is necessary
to make it operative and ground work
for this already has been laid. This
legislation will prescribe penalties for
violations of the amendment and de-
termine how and by what agencies the
law shah be enforced.
II ratification is completed this
month many officials here believe the
country will become permanently
"dry" next July /, the date on which
the special wartime prohibition recent
ly enacted by congress goes into effect.
This law prevents the manufacture
and sale of intoxicants for beverage
purposes and remains in force until
the rehabilitation of the NATIONS war
armies is completed.
Court action to prevent the amend
ment becoming operative already has
been started in California, where an
order Temporarily restraining Governor
Stephens from singing ratification of
the amendment has been obtained. It
has been intfmated that similar action
inay ue lah -. a. v,nSr os4..e-,i a wtil....
it is said, state laws require tLss fed
eral constitutional amendments must
be submitted to referendum.
The prohibition amendment resolu-
tion passed by congress provides that
ratification shall be by "the legisla-
lures of the several states as provided
by the constitution"
The resolution follows:
Resolved by the senate and the
house of representatives of the United
States of America, in congress as
sembled (two-thirds of each house
concurring therein,) that the following
amendment to the constitution be. and
hereby is, proposed to the state, to be-
come valid as a part of the constitution
when ratified by the legislatures of the
several states as provided by the con-
stitution
Article
Section l. After one year from
the ratification of this article the man.
ufacture, sale, or transportation of in
toxicating liquors within, the import
atiCn thereof into, or the expectation
thereof from the United States and
all territory subject to the jurisdiction
thereof for beverage purposes is here
by prohibited.
Section 2 The congress and the
several states shall have concurrent
power to enforce this article by ap-
legislation.
Section 8. This article shall be in
operative unless it shall have been rati-
fed as an amendment to the constitu-
ton by the legislatures of the several
states, as provided in the constitution,
within seven years from the date of
the submission hereof to the states by
The resolution was passed by the
senate 65 to 20. on August 1, 1917. and
by the house. 2S2 to 12S on December
II, 1917. Mississippi was the first
state to ratify the amendment, its leg
islature acting on January S. 1918.