Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-08-20
HQSkm Letter
PROHIBITION ISSUE STILL ALIVE
By z
!. HASKiN

men prominent in public life who have
had the courage or the hardihood to
take that standard he was running
| against an avowed dry candidate. Or
the other hand, the drys point out tina,
there were other issues involved in the
Missouri contest and scout the idea
that any significance is 10 be attached
to the result insofar as prohibition is
concerned. Thus the fires Of argu-
ment are famed and the unprecedented
if there are any such where this
question is raised-may take their
choice of sides.
How Tests May Be Made
There are several ways of bringing
about test votes when il is decided that
the time has come to put members of
congress on record again. One such is
to tack on a rider to the soldiers bo-
nus bill providing for the manufacture
and sale of light wines and beer under
a tax sufficiently high to raise the
funds necessary to pay the bonus.
Such a move is TO be expected from
the vets, but support will be urged on
the grounds that the soldiers are en-
titled to the bonus, that the only thing
that stands in the way of this recogni-
ton of their services is a lack of
money, and that this little scheme will
not only produce enough funds to meet
this demand but will provide a surplus
for other government needs.
This proposal may not &c, by, but it
will cause senator's and representatives
to do some heavy thinking before they
make up their minds which way to vote
OIL it. 1t may be said to be loaded with
several kinds of political dynamite.
Another way of bringing the prohi-
bition issue to the fore again is in con
nection with the ship subsidy bill. 1t
is well known that government ships
now being operated have bars and ca
ter to the thirsty when they are out
side the three-mile limit of the United
States, as do the passenger vessels of
other nations. Whether this is a vio-
lation of the Volstead law has not
been definitely determined as yet, but
it is a source of much concern to the
drys. The vets cite it as evidence
that there is a growing sentiment
against prohibition, or the enforce
ment act, at least. Otherwise, they
say. government officials would not
permit such a thing.
Various amendments can be pro-
posed to the subsidy measure that will
precipitate the issue. One might stip-
ulate that no subsidy should be paid
to a company which bars or permitted
the sale of intoxicants on the vessels
which it operates. Another might en-
body a change in the Volstead law so
that 1t would not apply to United
States ships when they are outside the
three-mile limit, and would thus legal
ize unquestionably what is now being
done. Still another might simply pro-
vide for the repeal of the enforcement
act.
The last, whether proposed as a rid
to the subsidy or any other bill, or
as a distinct measure, is the
one way of return to prc-prohibition
No n now contemplates seri-
ously an attempt to repeal or revoke
the eighteenth amendment. To accom-
plish this would require another con
amendment and when it is
that only three states refused
to ratify the eighteenth amendment it
Ia apparent that it would be impossible
to secur the votes of Aree-fourths of
states to a new az endment that