New-York tribune., 1922-10-22

10 GhoSe OF Mr. An0arecus haS 6ct Aehsa
the facts In the following letter:
October %, 1899.
1 Dear Sir: am glad to have ycur
frank letter about our poll, ~ 1t gives
me an opportunity to write you frank
reply. In a nutshell, your criticism II
that SO many people declare they did
not get our ballots 1t casts doubt
ON tho whole poll. note that many
pastors at the Sunday morning services
ask those who received our ballots "a
raise their hands. Some hands are
raised, and on the basis Of this count
conclusions are drawn that are. to say
the least. rather hasty.
Now, what are the faetsf In the
frat place, our poll never aimed or
claimed to reach everybody. It was .
straw vote; Of tremendous size, it is
true. but only a straw. We sent out
io,oeo.eeo ballots, which means that
I ss,ooe.e coo people were omitted, as the
population OF the United States is 1867
eao,eao. In other words. more than
nine people out OF ten were left out,
SO ii 10 nothing strange at all that you
should find many, many people who did
not receive ballots. Then, too, these
church tests were mostly taken In Sep
semher, two or three months after the
ballots were mailed. Yet every one in
church Is expected to remember in a
moment whether he received one. If
he Is in doubt and hesitates few Sec
onds the test is over.
/ We began mailing The ballots in June
to the telephone subscribers, and you
know very we'll how many advertising
circulars and pieces of printed matter
are in the mail every day Of people
whose names are in the phone book
and ara thrown in the wastebasket
with hardly a glance. Ask them two
or three months later If they received
some certain piece of printed matter
and they will honestly say that they
did not, because they have no recollec-
tion of 1t. Take all these facts to-
gether and I think you will see clearly
why so many people say they did not
receive the ballots. A few towns re-
port they received no ballots at all, no
doubt due to the fact that we did not
have their phone directories.
fear very much that these tests
are inspired largely by certain people
who would rather discredit our poll
than try to learn anything from it.
That Ia poor policy from any view
point. and many. good prohibitionists
take the much saner view that we have
done the dry cause great service by
revealing the shift in public sentiment
and showing where the next effort
should be directed. feel sure tina,
II you could have seen the actual bal.
lots flooding in by hundreds Of thou.
sands from all parts of the country
you would consider 1t seriously anc
feel that 1t meant som nething.d You may
not like the result, but is it not bette,
to look facts in the face, especially II
they are disagreeable or alarming, and
ask seriously If they may not be true
and try to find way to meet them?
Our poll was conducted with the
most rigid impartiality, and the ques.
tions were framed to fit the attitude
Of the extreme drys, the extreme vets
and those who took the middle ground
for modification. Nothing could be
more fair and impartial. The reason
for taking the poll may be found
every day in the animated discussion
Of this question wherever people meet
The public discussion forced it upor
us; we did not originate it.
The remarkable fact about the pol
is that the "damp" tendency of the
vote appeared in the very first 10000
replies and held steadily right through
the complete 100000 returns. Ever
the state returns from all parts Of the
Union, while varying to a certain ex
tent, rs might be expected, showed .
similarity that was very striking. In
stead of brushing all this aside, do yor
not think it would be wiser to asl
seriously If we have not revealed some
thing Of Importance and significance
II the voters are showing the tendenc,
J indicated by the poll, ia it not serv
] ice to the defenders of the dry caus,
to inform them of it? If the feelin,
toward prohibition is changing, wha
has caused the change and what shoul,
! be done to remedy ity
My own Interpretation Of the vote i,
our poll is that it expresses popula,
, disgust at the satnrnaiia of bootleg
; ging and graft that has become ma
tional scandal, and which has led grea
, numbers Of the common people to los,
, confidence In prohibition as admins
, tered In this country, and caused then
, TO vote for something which they thin]
can be enforced. You and may no
/ indorse their views, but when we loo]
at the sad state Of things reported i,
, every days papers VIC should at less
!, Hnd their verdict ineligible. I woul,
, suggest that If the drys do not wis]
, their cause wrecked within few wear
by tnis growing dissatisfaction the,
should take hold OF the situation an,
see that it Is corrected.
EDITOR "THE LITERARY DIGEST /.
. The OH A-Ja- xyn