The Chapel Hill weekly., 1958-04-24
A Vicious Alliance

=
The 18Th (Prohibition) Amendment 70
the Constitution Of the United States
was submitted 70 the States Dy Con-
gress December Is. 1917 After il mad
been approved BY Sc states. mississippi
being the first, January &, 1918, and
Nebraska the 36th, January l6. 1919
il became effective January is, 1920.
The Amendment read Is follows
After one year from the ratification
Of this article the u&nufactur sale, or
transportation u intoxicating liquors
within. the importation thereof into, OF
the expectation thereof from the Unit
ed States and FL territory subject Y
the jurisdiction thereof for beverage
purposes is hereby prohibited. The
Congress and the several States shal
have concurrent power 70 enforce this
article by appropriate legislation 8
The enforcement law commonly
known as the V@sstead Act was re-
turned to Congress by President Wood
row Wilson with MS veto message o.
tober 27 1919, and Immediately passed
both houses over the veto.
The enforcement Of the law proved
to be impossible. Smuggling and the
Illicit manufacture of liquor were prac-
ticed successfully on large scale be-
cause of the widespread public opinion
hostile to prohibition The campaign
for the repeal of the 1ok Amendment
came 70 q victorious end in 1899 when
the ratification Of the 2lst (repeal)
Amendment was proclaimed by Presi-
dent Franklin D. Roosevelt
The real strength Of the repeal move
ment was not in people who wanted
prohibition overihrown 50 that they
would be free ~ drink whenever and
whatever they wanted Il was in q
highly respected company Of men and
women, leaders in government and poli
tics, in business, in education, in law
and medicine and other professions,
who saw the bad consequences Of ma
tional prohibition.
/ have recited this record because,
although national prohibition began
only 36 years ago and repe4i came only
Is years ago, there has sprung up a
new generation % whom these events
are no more familiar than ancient his
tory. Indeed, they are probably less ia
miliar No doubt there are today mil
lions Of high school and college stu
dents, and graduates who could come
nearer u answering questions about
the Greeks and the Romans Of 20 cen
turies ago than about the bitter, all alb
sorbing controversy Of the 1920s.
Everybody who has given the sub
ject any serious thought knows that
there is no perfect solution Of the liquor
problem The best solution that can be
devised is bound 10 be a compromise, a
choice Of evils. When national prohibi-
tion had been in force little while, or
was supposed to be in force, a growing
number Of good citizens, themselves no
crayers Of liquor, became convinced
that it was doing more harm than good.
For example, Nicholas Murray But
Ter, president Of Columbia University,
said in public address IN Boston in
April 1878
'T'he 18th Amendment must come
out Of the Constitution because it does
not belong there. 1t affronts and dis.
figures it. 1t contradicts every prin.
ciple upon which the Constitution rests
and the difficulties, the embarrass-
ments, the shocking scenes reported
daily from every part Of the land are
the natural and neesssary result of the
inner contradiction between the ConstL
tuition as it was and the 18th Amend
ment added TO it in 1919.
I'VE talk Of law enforcement. You
cannot enforce conflicting laws-some
thing must give way; and, when 1t II
the 18th Amendment and the legisla