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Show P P ! ? Conflicting Claims Are 1 Made by Lawyers for j Anti - Saloon League and Liquor Interests. Supreme Court Likely to Have Final Word as! to Construction to Be: Be Placed on Dispute.; By ARTHUR M. EVAN'S. (Chicago Tribune Special Service.) WASHINGTON, Xov. 7. Ohio's topsyturvy topsy-turvy returns on the rum issue arc spinning spin-ning the old capital on its well known ear tonight. The wets are singing "The Alcoholic Alco-holic Blues" In a new and jubilant key, while the dries are putting a questioning question-ing note into "Shall We Gather at the River?" Conflicting claims are made on whether the Ohio voters rejected or indorsed the action of the state legislature in ratifying the national prohibition amendment. But the slump of the dries from 73,000 to the good, as set forf.h by the secretary of state at Columbus in the early estimates, tO' a few thousand votes in the whole, with some precincts still to be heard from, has got both sides biting their nails with nervousness. ner-vousness. fc I The Ohio vote is important for this reason: f Around i t revolves the question of whether the permanent drought can he staved off for a year, at least, if not averted. The dries declare that whether Ohio is wet or dry, it will not change the date when nation-wide prohibition goes into effect, while the wets argue that if Ohio has tipped over the celebrated water cart, it may result in retarding national prohibition pro-hibition at least until November, 1921. CONSTITUTION PUT FORTH BY "WET" ATTORNEYS. Here's the situation: Forty-five states have ratified the eighteenth amendment. I Of these fifteen have referendum provisions pro-visions of various types in their constitutions. consti-tutions. The dries point out if ten of these states, on a direct vote, repudiated (Continued on Page 12, Column 5.) eral constitution- The secretary of state Is custodian of the records relating to ratification. The court will look to those records to find when thirty-six states have ratified. The record proves that thirty-eight ratified on January 16, forty on January 1". forty-one by January 21. fortv-two by January 22. forty-four by January 29. and forty-five by February 25. The secretary of state cannot change the record. If so, he would have more power as a ministerial officer than the legislatures and congress. "Even if the supreme court holds that a referendum Is legal, which Is not probable, proba-ble, the wets must win ten states to defeat de-feat the amendment. "The liquor Interests have absolutely no chance In any of the proposed referendum refer-endum states, unless it would be California, Cali-fornia, Missouri and Wisconsin." 01 RESULT 15 MUDDLING DRY ISSUE (Continued From Page One.) the action of their lepislatures, the amendment amend-ment would have only thirty-five ratifying ratify-ing states, or one less than Required. If Ohio haa put in the knockout drops, it leaves nine states to get. Three states. Including Maine, have thrown out the referendum ref-erendum proceedings, which leaves eleven states out of which the wets would need to get nine. The dries say that out of these nine states the weU are without a Chinaman's chance to land more than three, the others being Saharas. The wets retort that a reaction has set in since national prohibition was ratified, and that it is demonstrated In the vote in Ohio, which was the birthplace of the Anti-Saloon Anti-Saloon league, and the constitutional amendment movement. Regardless of heading off prohibition completely, which looks hopeless to the calm observers, the question of postponing it Is the real issue. The wet argument from here takes two angles: ARGUMENTS CONFLICT IN DIRECT MANNER. 1 Ohio was one of the first thlrty-slx ratifying states named in the secretary of state's proclamation. A repudiation by Ohio would make necessary a new proclamation, proc-lamation, and this would become effective one year after its Issuance. Against this the dries set forth that the proclamation is not part of the ratification, that the amendment was put over the minute thirty-six Btates voted for It, and that even if Ohio is dropped out, two other states not nam-pd in the proclamation. Missouri and Wvoming, had also ratified ny January Janu-ary 16, 1919. and would more than take Ohio's place. 2 in states with a referendum, ratification ratifi-cation of the amendment Is not complete until the voters indorse the action of the legislature. Referendum is pending in nine states, exclrding Ohio, and If the question goes to the voters It will not be until the flections of November, 1920. if all nine should reject It. which would be nothing short of n miracle, prohibition has gone up the spout for good. If only one of the nine Indorses ratification. America becomes constitutionally dry hut not until un-til November, 1921, or one year from the election, instead of one year from the ratification by the leglnlntures. Tho referendum action Is pending in California, Colorado. New' Mexico. Oklahoma, Okla-homa, Arkansas. Missouri, Nebraska, Michigan and Washington. SUPREME COURT MAY HAVE LAST SAY-SO. All this lc-ids up to tho United States supremo court. The dries have decided to drop the present Ohio rase It was to restrain the expenditure of public funds for the election, nnd the election has already al-ready been held. Hut they have five other t:itrs Michigan. New Mexico. California, Arknn'wns and Colorado, where esses are pending Hint ran be taken lo tho highest tribunal. Thev will center on tho following follow-ing points, which are of high Interest in the development of governmental ten- denotes : 1 Itntincatlon In not n legislative net n eonti'inp'nted by tho federal constitution constitu-tion rererenduin on acts of a legislature legisla-ture applies only to laws, not to ratifying resolutions, ally more than to rallfvln; appointments by a governor. I Article V of tho federal constitution constitu-tion provide! amendments shall be valid "when ratllled by the legislatures of throe-fourths or the stnles " This In turn, opens the question of whether, In rererendiim states, the legislature legis-lature is actually composed net only or bouse nnd senate, but or n third meni- ,,, 1,,. pub lie. and bow far tile "1 and It "' stntes have depiu teil rrom the original orig-inal theories of representative govern-meat govern-meat Wheeler's Contention. Wayne 11. Whrelor, general counsel of the AntlaeJOOn league, tonight delared the result In OhlO will not afteOt the date when national prohibition baooniw r- fectlve. "The secretary id state's proclamation, be wild, "shows thirty-six states bad ratified bv January It, 19U, it did not include nit the states which had ratified by thai date. Missouri an i v iimt alao ratified the amendment on January 16, Two states cmi ho lost front tho number and tlo re would bo po change In the date when tlie nation goes dry niijk'r the tod- |
