Show UNITED STATES WILL NOW HOW TRY experiment OF prohibition astonishing action of an individualistic people with a strong sense of personal liberty Is brought about by lessons of the great war additional legislation planned to enforce new law will braell W contest ratification details the united states of america has entered upon the tremendous social experiment peri ment of national prohibition of the manufacture sale and use of alcoholic drinks there will be abundant time to give the experiment a fair test since the prohibition is by constitutional tion alame amendment adment to all appearances this mandate inundate by the american people Il against the use of alcohol Js Is intended to be absolute and final we have written it into organic law into ina nag rin cliartt in the form of the eight eighteenth amendment to the constitution of the united states the experiment Is a tremendous departure from previous tendencies of the american people we are an individualistic vi pe pie with a strong sense of personal liberty yet here we lieve set out oat to regulate pe onal habit not hy by statute but by constitutions amendment and the manner of the pas ini of this constitutional amendment Is quite ns as remarkable a as the amendment itself action on the seventeen previous amendments to the constitution hns ins taken between nine months and forty three months an average of about two years the resolution providing for this eighteenth amendment was passed by congress december 17 1917 ou january 10 16 1919 its ratification by the states Is accomplished what has brought about this ratify tation cation so bulc quickly ly obviously the national prohibition party has had practically nothing to do with its accomplishment ment the answer evidently is that the war has brought it about aboul prohibition Is both an economic question and a moral question the war set the american people to looking at prohibition from both viewpoints we got accustomed to the thought that grain was better eaten as food than swallowed as liquor inasmuch as we were told that food would win the ident ot of the united states and president of the senate I 1 certify that this joint resolution originated in the senate JAMES M BAKER secretary the amendment was passed by the senate on august 1 1917 and passed by the house on december 17 ot of the same year it was passed b by y the senate with the house amendments on december 18 the vote in the senate was co 65 to 20 and in the housea house to ratification by the states the next nest step was ratification of this amendment by the states through their legislatures this ledfor cal affirmative firma tive action by thirty six states within seven years mississippi was the first state to ratify both senate ami house taking action january 8 three other southern states followed in january virginia kentucky south catalina Cai Cat olina clina cheh came north dakota other states followed in the order named nebraska being the thirty sixth and comp completing complesi leti n g the ratification maryland alary land west virginia Alon montana tana california texas wa washington wahington hington diwa delaware indiano Ina Ind iano lalla south dakota arkansas massachusetts illinois arizona north carolina georgia kansas louisiana alabama florida iowa michigan colorado ohio oregon oklahoma new hampshire idaho utah tennessee nebraska maine while the amendment under its provisions does net nat become effective until one year from the date of its ratification fi it seems likely that the country will become permanently dry july I 1 next this Is the date on which the A A IDA tow t 0 TA C I 1 M OkLA MOVA arizon ARt ZON J 7 TEXAS CI C map showing in white first 36 states ratifying eighteenth amendment war we saw what the enforced sobriety of military service did physically mentally laen tally and morally for young lien cien who had indulged in liquor in peace times some of our allies got into the war in a a hurry because they had to belgium and france to save their lives great britain to save its national honor america took its time a long time and gradually worked itself up to the determination to fight doubtless much consideration of prohibition was a part of this slow process so that when the opportunity came the states of the union went over the top just about as the american marines and doughboys dough boys did in the argonne text of amendment F following ol lowing is the full text of the prohibition hibi tion amendment on which state legislatures are voting JOINT resolution PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THE constitution OF TUE THE UNITED STATES resolved by the senate and house ot of representatives of the united states of america in congress ass assembled m two thirds of each house concurring therein that the following follow ln amendment to the constitution be and hereby Is proposed to the states to become valid as a part of tile the constitution when ratified by the legislatures of the several states as provided by tile constitution section 1 after one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors within the importation thereof into or er the exportation thereof from tile hie united santes and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is here tty prohibited section 2 the congress and the several states have concurrent power to enforce this article by ap etc ate legislation section 3 this article shall be inoperative unless it shall ha hane e been ratified an ai nn dment to the constitution ution by the legislatures of the sevira tal states us its provided in the conati alon within seven years from the late of the submission loa hereof to the tates tales by the congress CHAMP CLARK speaker of the louse uw of representatives THOMAS L vice pren special wartime war time prohibition recently enacted by congress goes into effect that law prevents the manufacture and sale of intoxicants for beverage purposes and remains in force until the demobilization of the nations war armies Is completed doubtless that emergency wartime war time measure will be effective over the several months that will elapse after julya until the constitutional bone dry net act now adopted becomes effective additional dry legislation during the year following ratification congress and the several states will be called upon to pass legislation to enforce the amendment and to provide penalties for violations it Is probable a large force of agents under the direction of the commissioner of internal revenue will have to be appointed to enforce the law each state will have to provide machinery for the file enforcement of the law in adal addition to the machinery provided by the federal government it Is likely this additional legislation will be pushed through as fast ns as tile the days can call push it in some parts of the country at least they purpose to take lake full advantage of their victory for example in illinois a forecast of the anti saloon league Is this in addition to the search and seizure net act an act rigidly restricting the handling of liquor for or medicinal manufacturing fac turing sacramental and scientific purposes legislation covering doctors prescriptions which must be issued by a bona fide physician in writing dated diagnosing the illness and tile the purpose of its use all railroad records of liquor shipments must be kept drastic legislation regulating sale by druggists with heavy penalty for violation the drys s presumably will not confine abc mpr fin their eff efforts 6 arts to enforcing the law they will doubtless take the question 1 lito into politics of all kinds and rake it an issue they announce for iti lui otance tance in chicago that they will nak ak all candidates for mayor to declare themselves on the strict enforcement of ury dry legislation ahey will make it an issue in the spring campaign and will oppose any aldermanic alderman lc candidate who does not toe the mark will the wets contest will alie the wets contest the lega legality I 1 I 1 ty oi ot I 1 the whole proceeding from the baart they may january 14 in san arnn cisco a court order was secured temporarily pora rily restraining gov william D stephens from signing the ratification of the amendment it was indicated that sim similar ilar action might be taken in certain other states it was said at the office of the california grape growers association that such action Is possible in 12 other states the states according to the association are arkansas colorado maine nevada new mexico oklahoma oregon utah washington missouri and nebraska in these states it was said all legislative actions can be under the law referred to the people and that in many of them the people have CO 60 days in which to take a referendum anti saloon league the dry side of this legal proposition Is thus set forth by the antl anti sa loon league article V of the federal constitution provides that the legislature or a state convention Is the only body which can ratify an amendment to the constitution congress Is given the power to say which one shall have the authority congress had chosen the state legislatures as the bodies to ratify tile the federal prohibition amendment A state referendum therefore would be illegal and void anti saloon league of america has probably had more to do with bringing about prohibition then any other one agency it was founded in 1805 and Is nonpartisan and nonace tarlan its purpose Is the extermination of the beverage liquor traffic it is a coalition of the anti saloon le league ague ot of the district of columbia the he anti saloon league of ohio and 45 other national state and local temperance bodies it has branches in au all states st ates it Is expected to have an ketive part in providing legislation for the enforcement of prohibition ovder the eighteenth amendment it Is possible that the wets may also attack the legality of the action of congress by some the view Is held that the amendment ivas was not property submitted to the states by congress that it was adopted by two thirds of a quorum present and voting whereas according to the constitution it should have been adopted by two thirds of all members elected it if the resolution submitting the amendment were to be declared unconstitutional it would lead to much questioning for virtually all of the amendments to the constitution have been adopted by a two thirds vote of the members present rather than a two thirds vote of all members elected to congress amendments of the past the first national prohibition amendment was proposed by senator H 11 NV V blair of new hampshire as early as 1870 1876 it provided for the prohibition of the manufacture sale importation and exportation of distilled liquor for beverage purposes ile he introduced such a bill nine times between 1876 and 1800 1806 in 1880 he changed it to include all alcohol liquors senator john D works of califor nia introduced into the senate in 1914 1014 a bill providing for the prohibition of spirl tous liquors excluding wines and beers it received no support from the national prohibition advocates december 19 10 1913 1013 congressman hobson of alabama introduced the famous hobson II resolution the original resolution placed the enforcement of the law in the hands of the national government but it was so amended as to divide the responsibility between the state and federal governments ern ments in order to secure the support of certain advocates of oc states rights the original resolution was amended eight times by hobson himself and was finally voted on december 22 1914 receiving re celvin votes being necessary to carry through the house it never came to a vote lu in the senate when does prohibition prohibit senator morris sheppard of texas author of the amendment holds that national prohibition will go into effect 1 I 1 I 1 eipl I 1 0 24 0 a tl senator morris sheppard january 10 1020 1920 certification and announcement no of ratification being merely a matter ot of form it Is needless to say that the wets do not accept this view and that effort to delay the formal proceedings will be made preliminary to contesting the legality of the ratification at any rate it Is formally announced that such a contest will be made it Is likely that the wets rely more on oil the referendum proposition than on the question of w |