San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1924-03-23
RADIO BALLOT
IS WET BY A
BIG MAJORITY
Chicago Station Takes Ref
erendum Among Its
49,, Listeners In.
ALL STATES VOTE
Credited With Significance
as Votes Come From
the Homes.
ALL STATES VOTE

lndt the prepOnuerdnce OIL SfHtlueht
in this country is increasingly in favor
of modification of the Volstead act is
demonstrated beyond a doubt by the
telegraphic referendum recently con-
Quoted by the Zenith dgewater Beach
Hotel broadcastng station WJAZ,
Chicago. Unless the great majority
of radio receiving instruments are III
the homes of the wet" element TO the
exclusive of the "dry" forces-and no
one contends that possession of ra-
dio outfit is the prerogative of the
r,odificationist-the referendum is a
fair and impartial expression of pub
lie opinion.
The voting was conducted in man.
rer that would preclude the proba-
bility of padding" Shortly before
the 24-hour period for voting began
code word was broadcasted by sta
ton WJAZ. The conditions of tn?
contest required that the code word
be included in each telegram sent at
age cost Of each telegram was 20 cents.
This cost would make padding" too
expensive. Only kilograms were
counted.
OF a total of 46,66S kilograms re-
ceived from every state in the Union,
and the District of Columbia. during
the 24-hour period from 10 o'clock
Saturday night, March to 10 O'Clock
Sunday night. March o. there we:e
"a. 1S5 from men and women who IA
vored modification and Il, 4s3 who IA
yored continuance of the law in its
present drastic form.
West Virginia Only Dry.
West Virginia was tho only state
in the Union in which the "drys'
outnumbered the "wets." Fifty-six
were in favor of the Volstead act and
four were opposed to it. In the other
states the wet" clement led by a
vote of 2 or 3 to /. In Texas. for
instance. the vote was 123 to IS.
Kansas furnished. the greatest sur
prise. The Sunflower State, long re-
garded as the ultima thule of prohi-
bition, was. to put il politely, ex-
ceedingly damp. In fact, with its vote
of POI in favor of modification 10 III
against modification, it may be de-
duced that the sentiment now in Kan
sas in favor of modification is as
great as it is in Texas.
Three states in the Union were rep
resented by one vote each. These were
Arizona, Nevada and Utah. In each
instance the vote was in the wet"
column.
Since the contest was conducted
from Chicago. the response from that
city was naturally great, for owners
of smaller and less expensive receiv-
ing sets were able to become acquainted
with the conditions and rules of the
cop-est as they were broadcasted from
the powerful radio sending stations.
Hence, the vote credited to Chicago
was isolated from that of other sec
tions of Illinois. In Chicago, the
vote was IA, 440 to 1872 in favor of
modification. and in the state OF IL
linois outside of Chicago the vote was
c710 TO 1923 in favor of modification.
In other states, the total vote cast, it
appears from an analysis of the re-
turns. was controlled by two factors,
namely. distance from the broadcast
ing station and population density.
Prizes Bring Big Response.
The extraordinarily large ballot
extraordinary in view of the fact that
each voter was compelled to send 4
telegram at his own expense-was
mad. possible by the fact that the
voting was conducted in conjunction
with a contest in which valuable
prizes were given, the priZe-winners
btlES seltCttu ny uAaNlhs Nun thS
oallots.
On the evening of the opening of
the contest, four speakers. two of
whom ware prominent "wets" and
two of whom we're well known "drys,"
broadcasted their views on the Ques-
ton. On Sunday afternoon and even
ing, the speakers again debated. Those
who represented the "wets" were
Clarence s. Darrow, attorney, author
and lecturer. and c. A. Windle, editor
of the "Iconoclast." Those who spoke |
against modification were o. G..
Christgau. editor of "The American
ISSUE" and John W. Langley. lectur.
err, organizer and superintendent OF
the Chicago Anti-Saloon League
That on the whole this referendum
is a true reflection of public opinion,
one is led to believe by the conditions |
under which the balloting was con-
Quoted. A radio receiving set is pri- |
nnarily an adjunct of the hearth |
stone. 1t is in the isolated dwelling |
of the farmer or ranchman. in the |
bungalow of the city or town dwell |
er. and in the mansions of the rich. |
But radio receiving sets will not ne |
found on street corners or in the |
dives of the underworld.
Votes Carefully Counted.
The votes in the referendum were
counted under supervision of both I
dry" and "wet" advocates and all |
votes on which a question was. raised |
by either side were thrown out. The
yote-in Chicago and by states was as
follows: