The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1930-04-01

VEL mlINE0O TUnuElO IENl NL0LNl uL0AVNA
AND MAKES HIMSELF RIDICULOUS.
Among the wet witnesses before the House Judiciary
Committee at Washington in connection with the repeas
ers and modification bills now pending, was Breklnrldgs
Long former assistant secretary of the Treasury Mr..
Long is reported to have sad my chief objection to
the Eighteenth Amendment is that 1t assumes that any
temporary majority of the people irrespective OF their
power has the right to change the Constitution IN ac-
cordance with their prejudices."
This is fair sample of the wild, extravagant, and
fantastic statements of the wet advocates before the
Committee
The Eighteenth Amendment doesn't anything
the kind written into the Constitution by the
only means provided for amending the Constitution Its
advocates weren't granted any special privileges Mr..
Long, however lot when he tries to put over
the utterly ridiculous proposition that the Eighteenth
Amendment written into the Constitution by a
temporary majority irrespective of their power lin ae-
cordance with their prejudces." cause which must
resort to such gross Misrepresentation certainly is in
sorry plight.
What the facts?
Before national prohibition became operative rs per
cent of all the municipalities and villages, well as 85
per cent of all the counties in the United States were
already under prohibition Sixty-eght per cent of the
nations population and 95 per cent of the land
under prohibition by state enactment Before we had
national prohibition 66 Of the So members of the United
States Senate 70 per cent of the members of the
House of Representatives at the National Capital
representing states and districts already under prohib
ton
Moreover, contrary to all precedent, limitation or
seven years put upon the time within which the
Eighteenth Amendment might be ratified The time
actually required for first hirtysX states to raty was
one year and twenty eight days
If the vets had been able to control either House in
only thirteen State Legislatures out Of fortyeight they
could have prevented the ratification of the Eighteenth
Amendment. They unable to muster this small
number. As matter of fact only three of the ninety
six branches of State Legislatures have voted against
the amendment The total State Senate and House vote
for the Eighteenth Amendment 5079 total Senate
and House vote against the amendment, 1865
The Eighteenth Amendment the first to be sub
mitted by Congress in which the Senate elected by
the direct vote of the people
The Eighteenth Amendment submitted by two
thirds vote of Congress and ratified by an so per
cent majority in forty-sx State Legislatures
The official majority for the adoption and ratification
of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Federal Constu
ton is unparalleled in the history of the Republic The
first eleven amendments to the Constitution rati
fed by the bare threefourths majority required When
it to the twelfth amendment and had seventeen
states but four of those failed to ratfy Five states
failed to ratify the fifteenth amendment Six did not
ratify the sixteenth amendment Twelve states did not
ratify the seventeenth amendment and ten states have
not ratified the nineteenth amendment. In the of
the Eighteenth Amendment however, of the 48 States Is
ratified
The aggregate majority for the original Constitution
in all the state ratification conventions about two to
The aggregate majority for ratification Of the
Eighteenth Amendment in all the State Legislatures
more than four to