The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1920-06-11
Prohibition Has
Come to Stay

4
last Monday gave out its long-expect.
ed decision upon the anti-prohibitior
nullifiers' contention against the
eighteenth amendment and the Vol.
stead law enacted by Congress under
Its provisions. King Alcohol as q
beverage concomitant must retire
from business. His votaries have been
hanging to a slim thread of hope
! since the country went "dry" that the
Volstead act might in some way be
annulled, and that each State under
! its reserved rights or sovereignty be
permitted to decide for itself how
much alcohol might be used in any
beverage just short of the intoxicat-
ing limit, but the Supreme Court sus-
tains the Volstead act as well with
in the authority of the Congress, and
that the manufacture and sale of any
beverage containing more than one
half of one per cent of alcohol is a
violation of the eighteenth amend
ment. As to the contention of the
alcoholic votaries that the ratifica-
ton of the eighteenth amendment by
the Legislature of any State might by
a referendum from its ratification be
annulled by reversal vote of the
people. The decision clearly sets
forth the manner provided by the
Constitution how it may be amended
by the ratification of any amend
ment submitted by Congress by the
Legislatures of three-fourths of the
States. From this action Of a Legis-
lature there is no appeal by referen-
dunn or otherwise to the people Of the
State, The action Of the Legislature
is final.
And now what will our thirsty al
coholic votaries do? The eighteenth
amendment and the Volstead act are
the law of the whole country, so de-
clared by the highest judicial author
ity Of our government. Will they
loyalty submit to the law and its en-
forcemcnt? To say Eyes" is to con-
tradict a strong stubborn and insist
ent element in human nature. They
will insist that the Vostead act he
repealed or so amended as to elimi-
nate the one-half of one per cent
clause and permit the manufacture
and sale Of light wines and beer Of
two and half per cent or more O.
alcohol To do this they must elect
Congress that is in favor of amend
ing the Volstead law, for while Cen
gress cannot change any provision Of
the eighteenth or any other amend
ment of the Constitution, it can re-
peal or amend it's own acts. That Is
what the "wets" mean by bringing out
cas. ssGlss ol EO5ed to the ,enforce-
ment of the Volstead law. That is
what Judge Sam Priests candidacy
for the Democratic nomination for
United States Senator means. Ii
they can elect enough Senators and
Representatives to Congress to amend
the law to suit them they will have
won victory over prohibition.
1t may be that majority of the
people of the United States are not
prohibitionists as an abstract theory
or conviction, but they are opposed to
the licensed saloon, which has been
such corrupting AID demoralizing in
fluence in politics in the past, such
an enticing trap to tempt and lead our
boys and young men down to de-
bauchery, disgrace and crime, an in
stitution out of which flow all sorts
of evil and not single good thing,
and so to rid the country of this
banefhl traffic in liquor they favor
prohibition as the best and only eff
fective remedy The eighteenth
amendment without a law on the
strict lines of the Volstead law would
not and could not do this. Any law
that would define Misunderstanding
liquors as light wines and two-and-a-
half per cent beer, and permit their
manufacture and sale would as sure
ly revive the licensed saloon, with all
its evils, as two and two make four.
We have no fear that the "wets" can
ever elect a Congress that will do
their bidding, but as eternal vigil
ance is the price of liberty, you good
fathers and mothers of. the land,
watch and pray and see to it that no
candidate who appeals to your suf-
frage on a "wet" platform is ever
elected to any high and responsible
public position.