The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1930-11-01

q corresponding landslide of sentiment
against prohibition are vain. The drys not
only retained the overwhelming dry ma
jority OF the present senate, but in some
respects strengthened their position. Dry
candidates Tor the senate were defeated in
Massachusetts and Ohio, but these losses
were more than Offset by the election of
dry senator's from Pennsylvania and
Maine Better friends of prohibition were
also elected 10 the senate from the states
OF South Carolina. Iowa and Colorado. In
Delaware, the home Of the multimillion-
aire group that Is largely financing the OPP
position TO prohibition, Senator Hastings
won by q clear-cut victory over a wet OPP
ponent. In Montana, New Hampshire,
Pennsylvania, Wyoming and Iowa the SEN
ator elected defeated wet opponent.
Crediting the vets with all the known
vets and doubtfuls in the next congress,
their maximum strength would still be less
than one-third Of the total membership of
the house. Any resolution for the repeal
of the Eighteenth Amendment would re-
quire a two-thirds vote for its passage.
The Democratic party in the south is
Overwhelmingly dry. and the Democrats
elected from that section are almost with
out exception dry. In the north and west
the Democratic party more generally es-
poused the wet cause. There was a marked
port the Democratic candidates without
regard to the question Of prohibition. This
was probably due to three reasons: First,
that the Republican landslide of 1923 re-
suited in n disproportionate division of
party strength in the present congress-
Second, there was also q disproportonate
division of wet and dry strength, since in
that election in several districts normally
wet drys were elected and it was to be ex-
a..
ton these districts would shift back to the
vets But the vets did not succeed in the
present election in retaking all such dis
tricts. An Illustration is in the second dis
trict Of Virginia, where a dry Republican
defeated wet former member of the
house who attempted to return to that
body. Third, the recent economic depres-
sion also gave rise to a strong inclination
on the part of the electorate to vote pro-
test against the administration in power.
These factors were undoubtedly the most
important causes contributing to the DEM
ocratic success. rs the Democrats won very
generally regardless Of whether they were
wet or dry. This is shown by the fact that
il places where both candidates for the
senate were CRY the Democrats won, as, for
example. in Oklahoma West Virginia,
South Dakota, Kentucky and Kansas. On
the other hand. in states where both can
uldateS were wet. the Democrats also won,
as, for example, in the gubernatorial cleo
lions in New York and Maryland while in
Ohio. at the same time, a dry Democratic
governor was elected along with wet
Democratic senator The Democrats also
won over two-thirds of the gubernatorial
contests irrespective of the wet and dry
issue.
Great stress has been placed upon the
result of the three referendumS relating
to prohibition in the recent election
There is little new in this. The vets Sc
lected for the holding of these referenda
the places where the liquor interests were
last entrenched and which no one ever
claimed to be dry in sentiment. Rhode
Island was one of the two states that
never ratified the Eighteenth Amend
ment. Illinois has had similar straw votes
since the adoption of the amendment, and
the vets got plurality each time. On
November T. 1922, there was referendum
upon legalizing 4 per cent beer in which
the wet proposal received a plurality of
553 1911 On November g. 1926, there was
referendum on legalizing beverages non
Intoxicating in fact, which received a plu-
rality of 284 039
The present referendum in Illinois SUBJ
mitted three questions, the first being the
repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment; the
second, the amendment of the Volstead
act to permit each state to define liquors
Notwithstanding in fact; and third the