The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1936-07-03
NEWSPAPERS OPINIONS
THE STATES AND PROHIBITION


To realize how alcohol is reaping harvest of
youth and of girlhood such neither this nor any
other country has ever known, one need only visit
the restaurants, the cocktail lounges cor perhaps
the dives in cities. To visualize the present
conditions in the states mental image of map
of the country will be helpful Two states still have
constitutional prohibition, Kansas and Oklahoma
Alabama still has statutory prohibition outlawlng
all liquors containing over onehaf of one per cent
of alcohol Three states prohibit all liquors except
beer: Georgia. Mississippi, and Tennessee. Fifteen
states have state monopoly systems These are:
Idaho. Iowa, Maine, Michigan Montana, Oregon,
New Hampshire Ohio, Pennsylvania Utah. Wash
ing. Two OIN--UN shrdnun shrdlnu nun un
ington, Virginia, Vermont Wyoming and West Vir-
ginia Two states have not repealed their old pro-
hibition laws but have passed new legislation per-
hitting county or town units to have local dispen-
saries while the rest of the state is dry. This is
true in North Carolina and North Dakota. Mary
land has combination of the license system and
local dispensaries.
The remaining "a states and the District of Co
lumbia have license systems such as prevailed in
pre-prohibition days.
These facts indicate that the liquor interests are
deeply entrenched and the people appear benumbed
from the calamity they permitted to return upon
them by failing to vote to keep the alcoholic demon
an outlaw. Nevertheless, wet agitation continues
in many states, with here and there evidences that
the people who voted for repeal are becoming
alarmed by the increased number of deaths of in
nocent citizens caused by drinking drivers and by
the Tending of drunken high school girls on the
streets and in night clubs. California citizens are
circulating petitions to place the November bal
lot constitutional amendment permitting local OPP
ton on alcoholic beverages. Alabama citizens re-
Gently defeated efforts of the liquor interests to
permit license system and the opening of state
liquor stores They killed eleven wet bills present
ed to a special session of the legislature. Ken
tuckians have passed local option law in the leg
islature.
The citizens of Massachusetts, were overwhelmed
with the wet propaganda. Seventy-one wet bills
were introduced and fourteen became law. The
vets had advantage here because there was
great industrial population with European back
ground and because the dominant church in the
state failed to support the drys. In Montana Pc
tition has been circulated to permit the sale of
liquor by drinks. Now it is sold only in packages.
The vets driving fox repeal referendum in
July in Oklahoma, of the two constitutionally
dry states at the present time In Mississippi there
was recent contest in which the drys attempted
to outlaw beer while the vets tried to repeal the
state law prohibiting hard liquors. but both failed
This shows check in the wet tide of last year. In
New York, tre vets tried to prohibit bboards ad-
vertising the evils of drink. The w. C. T. U. block
ed this effort In Pennsylvania, the statesupported
safety council has posted great billboards on the
highways reading, Don't drink when you drive.
Don't drive when you drink" South Carolina failed
in an effort to stop liquor advertising. Virginia
citizens failed in their effort to restrict liquor adj
vertising, but petition has been presented to
gress from the state asking that federal law be
enacted against advertising encouraging people to
drink.-Harry E. Woolever in the National Meth
odist Press.