The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1932-11-17
PROHIBITION DOOM
SEEN AFTER VOTE
Aroused Electorate of Nation
Rings Death Knell of the
Amendment
BEER BILL SEEN SOON
Repeal Resolution Is Indicated
in Special Session After
March a, 1888

Washington Nov. 14-National
prohibition of the liquor traffic is
doomed.
Its death-knell after nearly four
teen years since final ratification
of the Eighteenth amendment was
sounded at the ballot box by an
aroused and determined electorate.
With anti-prohibition majorities
apparently assured in both branch
es of the Seventy-third congress.
adoption of a repeal resolution for
submission to the states is expect
ed at the special session which
President-Elect Franklin d. Roose-
welt has indicated that he will call
shortly after he takes office on
March 4.
Although a two thirds majority
is required for adoption of this
measure in both the house and
senate, it is believed that the as
sured wet majorities will be rein
forced by enough dry representa-
tives and senators who feel bound
by their party platform to support
a repeal or submission proposal to
insure it's passage. In view OF the
decisive verdict rendered at the
polls veritable stampede of
drys to the wet bandwagon is an
ticipated.
Meanwhile early modification OF
the Volstead prohibition enforce
ment act to legalize real beer is
taken for granted, probably by the
present dry lame duck congress,
which convenes Dec. and con-
tinues in session until March 4.
This probably will be accomplish
ed by a simple amendment increas-
ing from one-half of one percent to
8 or percent the legal alcoholic
content of matted and fermented
beverages.
Notwithstanding the defeat of
attempts to legalize and tax beer
made in the first session of the
Seventy second congress, which adj
journed July 16, the decisiveness
with which the voters registered
their will Tuesday expected to give
the required house and senate ma
jorities.
Because legalized beer has not
only been pledged by the Demo-
cratic platform. and Governor
Roosevelt but also is looked to as a
principal source for government
revenue, little delay or difficulty is
anticipated in bringing a beer bill
to a vote in both branches
Should any unexpected obstruc-
ton arise, the measure would GER
tainly be enacted into law shortly
following the converting of the new
congress, probably early in April.
Such an obstruction might be
the veto of President Hoover. How
ever, he has never taken any pub
lie stand against increasing the
alcoholic content of intoxicating
beverages and it is assumed that if
congress passed a beer bill he
would sign it. A two thirds major
ity in both the house and senate
would be necessary to pass the
bill over the presidents veto and it
is doubtful if such majority
could be obtained in the present
congress. .... .--r. -e. ..-1--
The road to repeal, of course is
much longer and more difficult.
Not only must the repeal resolu-
ton, as finally agreed upon and
drafted, be adopted by two-thirds
vote in both the house and senate
but it must be ratified by three
fourths of the forty-eight states
Since many, if not most, of the
state legislatures will have ad-
journed before the special session
of the new congress has time to
act, a delay of nearly a whole year
would intervene before they con-
vene again. If, as is quite likely,
the repeal proposal will call for
ratification by special state conven-
tions called for that purpose, 1t
would be necessary for the legisla-
lures first to enact the legislation
providing for the representation in
those conventions. In msNy states
this might necessitate another
whole years delay.
Prohibition foes and wet leaders
generally favor the convention rat
ification method, and that is likely
TO be the method adopted.
The vets believe that, despite the
delay, the repeal resolution will
have a better chance of ratification
by conventions in Ohio, Indiana, II
linois, Minnesota and other Middle
West states, which have hitherto
been dry stlongholds, than it would
by legislatures.
To put over the beer bill at the |
approaching short session of con-
gress, the wet strategists count in
wholesale shifts from dry to wet on
the part of Southern senators and
who, though hither-
to dry, ran for reelection upon the
wet Democratic platform which
pledged them not only to prohibi-
ton repeal, but immediate" legal
ization of beer.
For example they claim that
whereas the dry Georgia delega-
ton cast not single vote for beer
when the modification bill was up
last spring, all eleven OF its votes
will be cast for beer whenever 1t
comes to a rollcall in the house.
Similarly, they insist, Texas VIII
cast sixteen votes for beer as
against only three before, and that
such other states as Alabama, Flor-
ida, Mississippi and South Carol
ina will follow suit.