New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-09-18
100000 Vote
I'm 9 Weeks ON
Dry Act Repeal !.
Referendum Being Conduct
ed IN New York by the
National Liberal Alliance
Shows Big Wet Feeling
Count 2 Weeks Behind
% 30 Favor Light Wines
and Beer, Against 1878
Voting for Enforcement

IN nine weeks something moro than
100000 persons voted in q referendum
On prohibition, the questions or restor-
iy.g light wines and beer and the blue
laws. The referendum is being con-
Quoted by the National Liberal
Alliance, Of which F. C. Harley IS
national chairman and which has
Offices at Is Whitehall Street and at
$50 West Forty-ninth Street.
Tabulators are two weeks behind
with counting the ballots cast in boxes
left in stores in various parts of Man
haitian, Brooklyn and the Bronx, but
results SO far show that the voting has
been nearly all wet" The results
tabulated are:
Favoring a liberal construction of
the national prohibition act, with the
open and unrestricted sale of light
wines and beer. 93,720.
Against a liberal construction and
against light wines and beer, 1878.
Favoring strict enforcement of blue
laws, ESQ.,
oting on all the questions continues,
the boxes being opened each week, re-
sealed, and placed back in prominent
places.
Ballot Open to All
Blue law advocates, prohibitionists
and all interested in the subject from
any angle are invited to ballot in the
referendum and the results are to be
made the basis of memorial to Con-
gress, asking restoration of personal
rights to drink light wines and beer
unrestrictedly.
Chairman Harley said he was con-
fdent "the sentiment of the nation as
registered by millions OF persons would
be recorded in the monster memorial
which it is planned to present to Con-
gress at the regular session..
Voting Attains Big Proportions
The movement was started in the
middle of July, when large number
of former service men were employed
to distribute the ballots and boxes in
stores and stands in many neighbor
hoods.
The movement attained instant pop
ularity and numerous requests reached
headquarters for ballots and boxes. The
ballots are the size of q large blank
check, with the questions printed plain
ly and squares left blank for "for"
or against" vote. Each voter is re-
qnired to register his full name, occu
patton, Congressional district and pres
ent Representative in Congress.
The referendum proved so popular
after short time that the Alliance
was compelled to enlarge its quarters
and open branch Office uptown. The
voting is still going on all over the
City. Chairman Harley said:
'We began to get behind in our
count more than month ago, and the
figures l have given out to-day repre-
sents the tabulation of ballots cast
oaly up to September 3. Recently we
have been working day and night
forces A large number of the voters
or Congressional district. These have
to be filled out in the ballots by our
owr clerks after verifcation of the ad-
dresses. We have made two classifca-
tons of the completed ballots, one
alpha and the other by Congress-
ional districts.
$50 Favor Blue Laws
Eve have nearly 100000 ballots al
ready checked up and arranged alpha
betically in packages of 500 Before
being arranged by Congressional dis
tricts and assembled for the memoria
to be presented to Congress | shall
submit these ballots for examination to
committee of citizens which we de-
sire to represent all elements partici
pating in the voting. That means that
not only the liberal sentiment will be
represented on the committee, but also
the non-liberal sentiment.
sWe have the names and addresses of
$50 men and women who are on record
as favoring strict enforcement of blue
laws. | want to see on our checking !
up committee man who feels as those
$50 do We will welcome the bluest
of the blue to our headquarters and he
will be given every facility to check up
each of the quarter million ballots we
expect to have. I am not afraid of
these blue noses. I am sorry for them. /,
was Mayor of the city OF Astoria,
Oregon. for several years, and the first
avowed wet candidate for Governor
OF Oregon, and | have met many bigots, !
salaried and unsalaried"