The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-05-13

prohibition temporary thing
: from which public opinion VII
swing away strongly in few year:
or a few decades? viii public ans
official support of the Volstead Law
in the United States fall away 81
that the law becomes dead letter
and bootlegging be tolerated with
out much interference from the po'
lice or from federal officials?
The state of mind of the Amer
lean public will be well shown IL
many of the congressional cleo,
lions this autumn. The wet ana
dry issue is foremost in many oi
the campaigns. Straight out party
issues do not amount to very much
The same old hue and cry about ex-
travagance and taxes voiced by the
"outs" and pointing with pride to &C
complishments by the ms doesn
arouse any transcendent enthusi
asm among the great common PEG
pie so frequently referred to by
campaign orators.
But the question of liquor seems
to remain a very live one with
nearly everybody The interest
or dry in sentiment In the cleo
tons this fall there will be some
effort to organize on the part OF
citizens who believe prohibition a
failure and bad thing, just as the
anti-saloon league and other sim
liar so-called reform organiza-
tions have organized their follow
ers and the dry voters with con-
siderable success.
In the coming elections the bis
tory of the Volstead law will be
revived. Anti-prohibitionis will
recall the charge that the Volstead
law was passed over President Will
sons veto in violation of an agree
ment which had been made with
several opponents of the measure.
When the measure had gone to the
White house, several Pennsylvania,
New York and other congressman
who were opposed tn the Volstead
measure secured promises, so they
said then, that they could go home
in safety, and that there would not
be vote on passage of the meas
ure again if it was vetoed by Mr..
Wilson, until they had a chance to
be present and case their ballots.
Bad Faith Charged.
However, according to certain
anti-drys, when it was found that
there was sufficiently large dry
vote in the house, with the wet"
New York and Pennsylvania mem
bers absent, the bill was called up
for passage over the veto Of the
president, and among those pres
ent and voting the sufficient two
thirds affirmative vote was Sc
cured.
Interest in the matter of prohi-
bition, however, is spreading
the world, partly due TO
the efforts of the agents of the anti
saloon league. England was made
the first objective of this purely
American organization. The first
emissary of any prominence who
was sent to the tight little island
was mobbed when he started his
campaign. and in the excitement
one of his eyes was knocked out.
he took this loss philo-I
seeming to think that it
was we'll lost in his cause, that
there was a revulsion of feeling
toward him personally, and those
who had mobbed him looked upon
him later as a good sport"
This man, judging by the present
did not make much head
way, and was later reported to be
to ameliorate the condi-
ton of the Indian subjects of the
British crown. In the excitement
there of a political nature, how
ever, he has not succeeded in ger-I
ting much publicity, and whatever
ne is engaged in doing now is not
particularly well known here eX-
cept to his immediate friends and
associates in the unfit organiza-
lion for which he works.
For many months past anti-dry
societies have been quietly at work
The first object of
hese organizations has been mere
y to enroll members. One of them
With headquarters in Washington
las declared that it is not seeking
% change any opinions, or prose-
yte in any way-that at present no