The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1933-10-20
AMENDMENT TO BE REPEALED BY
FORTY PER CENT. OF VOTERS


national repeal campaign has been pre-
viously mentioned by this newspaper, this
being the fact that in spite of a three to
one wet vote in the 80 States which have
cast their ballots in repeal elections, the
18th Amendment will be voted out of the
Constitution by an impressive minority vote
of the qualified electors of the country.
In the SO States that have acted on re-
peal a total vote of 15,034,570 has been
cast, according to figures announced by
the Associated Press. The total vote for
President in the same States in the last
national election was 28,765, 1894. The dry
vote cast in these States was 3,729,600,
and the wet vote was t1,304,970
The last mentioned figures, on super
fetal examination, look like a staggering
victory for the vets, but when one reflects
that the vets failed to get 17,460,424
votes of qualified voters in the 80 States,
it is clear that the brewers and distillers
must have been mistaken all along in
claiming that all the citizens of the coun-
try except a little handful of fanatical
prohibitionistS, were at a white heat OF
wet fervor and were paving the earth for
an opportunity to yank the hateful Amend
ment out of the Constitution.
The vote so far does not indicate that
the country is boiling over with anti
amendment indignation. In the 80 States
that have voted, 13,730,824 qualified
voters were not indignant enough to go to
the polls. That is just little short of one
half of the total number of voters in those
States, and is nearly two and one-haf mil
lion more than the total wet vote. In other
words, the wet vote so far is around forty
per cent. of the total qualified voters OF
the 33 States; and the Amendment will be
removed from the Constitution by little
more than a third of the voters of the
country, if that proportion holds good, as
it probably will, for the remainder of the
referendum.
Of course The Times-News does not con-
tend that more than thirteen million voters
who remained away from the polls in 80
States are all dry. Nobody knows how
IldLy dIS uIy VI llON Ildlly are "Cl' III
thing we are pointing out is that the peo-
pie are not voting in these repeal elections
and that as method for ascertaining the
actual sentiment of the country the refer
endum is failure.
We believe that it is failure because
the convention system was foisted on the
country by the vets, temporarily in COR
troll of politics in the country; and that il
the matter had been decided as all other
constitutional amendments proposed have
been, by the vote of the State legislatures,
an expression much more representative of
the views of all the voters would have been
secured. The vets were determined to jam
the repeal program through, while they
had control of the political machinery; to
force the issue without giving the people
much time to consider it and to take ad-
vantage of economic disruption and gea-
eral discomfort, pressing the argument OF
legaized liquor for revenue and taking
advantage of every break which the times
had given them. That, no doubt, is gooC
policy when the only consideration. is win
ming victory, but the victory of the brew
ers and distillers will be dearly bought anC
the people of the United States will pa,
dlGSs st-,A ,,.a