The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1921-01-28
Foreign Advertising Representative
THE AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION
A Year OF Prohibition.

The New York Herald puDllSneu
Sunday an Illuminating account
with facts and figures of our first
year of national prohibition. While
the record is not all that the friends
of prohibition could wish, neverthe-
less it is perhaps quite as good in
the situation as might have been
expected by close thinkers.
In the opinion of the New York
Herald, however, the opponents OF
the Government in this fight against
national prohibition are certain to
be beaten in the end. The Govern
ment, with it's boundless resources,
will compel obedience to its laws.
Defying the law of State is one
thing; defying the law of the Ma
tional Government is quite another.
''The mills of the gods grind slowly,
but grind exceeding fine," and so
grind the mills of the National Gov
eminent.
So long as national prohibition is
imbedded in the organic law of the
land, just so long will America be
"dry" except as her laws are broken
and defied by her citizens. And
law-breaking in the long run is a
bad business for anyone, especially
bad if the law be a United States
law
The only way by which America
can again become legally "wet" is
through an amendment to the Con-
stitution of the United States null
lifying the Eighteenth Amendment,
which declared for national prohi-
bition. And what does it mean to
get through Constitutional amend
ment? 1t means that bill setting
forth the proposed amendment must
be introduced in Congress and pas
sed by two-thirds of both houses.
This is the first step; the second is
much more difficult. 1t requires the
ratification of the measure by three
quarters of The States of the Union.
Failing OF such ratification, the
The trainers of this Government
were most wise in making it difficult
in the extreme to alter or amend our
National Constitution. In view of
this very difficult process, the Won
der is that the "dry" amendment
was ever put through. But now
that We have it, now that it is struc-
turally part of the Constitution Of
the United States, now that the wo-
men of the nation have the ballot
and must be reckoned with by State
Legislature and by Congress, there
is no chance whatever that America
will so completely reverse herself on
the liquor question within the span
of generation, if ever, as to put
through no t her Constitutional
amendment that will make this
country wet"
To be sure, the Volstead act may
be amended by Congress, but any
amendment, says the Supreme
Court in effect, must hold true to
the spirit and intent of the Elgh-
teenth Amendment.
Considered apart from this Phase
of the matter, however, and solely
on the record of the first year of ma
tional prohibition, the New York
Herald inclines to the belief that in
the situation with the application
of a law so drastic and so revolun-
tionary, the Government has by no
means made failure of it's colossal
undertaking. Indeed, with no tried
men in the work of enforcing prohi-
bition the wonder is, in calm,
straight thinking, that the Govern
ment did as we'll as it did with many
of its men unfaithful to the conf
dence placed in them and without
the aid and cooperation of the
States of the Union in the work of
on fay iYc II To-