Evening star., 1931-12-31
DRY REPEAL VOTED
IN F|NLAND'S POLL
Vets Pile Up Huge Lead
in Capital and 88 Rural
Districts.
Ry the Associated Press.


HELSINGFORS, Finland, December
3l.-With 81 per cent of the local votes
counted in the prohibition referendum,
HelsingforS has gone so surprisingly
and overwhelmingly wet that this after
Moons editions of nti-prohibition news
papers talked about national front"
against the dry laws
At pm. the returns showed that out
of 132,730 votes, or ST per cent of the
entire city electorate, 81 per cent voted
for repeal of the prohibition laws.
A Reuters dispatch said that the vote
in S8 rural constituencies showed 1888
for repeal, 1883 for maintenance of
the present law, and 905 for modiflca-
ton, giving the vets majority Of So
1870 in those districts.
Women Favor Repeal.
What surprised observers most was
the fact that so per cent Of the repeal
votes in Helsingfors were cast by women
Continuance of the present laws was
supported by 1870 voters, or 17.2 per
cent Only 656 ballots were cast for
modification to permit light wines and
beer
The vote in the capital does not de-
termine the national outcome, but sup
porters of repeal were confident that
their large vote here was an indication
of how the rest of the Finnish cities
would go, and their prediction was that
the prohibition laws are doomed.
Government officials apparently
thought so, for T M. Kivimaki, minister
of Justice, began drafting bill for gov
ernment administration of trade in al
coholic beverages
His plan, it was understood, provides
that there shall be no private business
in alcoholic potableS, but that every
department of the business shall be
handled by the government. Each
citizen would be entitled to ration
card fixing the amount he Is permitted
to purchase.
Check Helsingfors First.
Whether a government owned stock
company would be established or
whether concessions would be let 10
private individuals for dispenSation Of
liquor was still undetermined.
Curious crowds watched the bulletins
posted by the newspapers. Election Off
cials decided to check the vote here be-
fore beginning the count in other sec
tions of the country.
Political observers expressed the be-
lief that should even only 40 per cent
of the voters favor abolition of the law
the government would argue that pro-
hibition is no longer enforceable.
The question of balancing the Coun-
try's budget played an important part
in the minds Of many voters, even
though it was an outside issue. Ragnar
Furuhjelm, chairman of the Parliament
Finance Committee declared the 1882
budget safely balanced, but said the
problem for 1888 would become increas-
ingly difficult.
Revenue Anticipated.
Many, therefore, believe" he said,
that the state should have the revenue,
in an excise tax, that the smugglerS
now get by purveying liquor Illegally
I estimate that some $780, 900 year
could be realized in due time from a
liquor excise. Many thinking Firms
share my opinion that this source Of
revenue should not be overlooked
Selma Anttila, noted settlement
worker and ardent prohibitionist, de-
clared, however that the budget would
be injured rather than benefited by
the abolition of prohibition
THE experience of Sweden" she said,
Shows that bootleggers underbid the
state with cheaper Smuggled liquor.
Hence a great part of the revenue would
not be forthcoming"