THE FIRST STEP

Stratford Evening Post, Volume II, Issue 177, 22 February 1933, Page 5

THE FIRST STEP

PROHIBITION REPEAL j CONGRESS APPROVES UNEXPECTED SUDDENNESS -7-7 -fFinal Decision by State Press Association. —Copyright. Washington, Feb. 20.—With the vastly important first step, namely, Congressional approval of the proposal to repeal the 18th Amendment accomplished at this session with a: suddenness generally unexpected by even the strongest proponents Of the wet cause, Americt to-day elites upon | another crucial - s'.age of the pro- ; hibition experiment, that is, action by the State on repeal and j the selection of methods of reinI troduction of the liquor traffic. The path of the complete reversal of the greatest of modern sumptuary and social measures is beset by many peculiar difficulties. The Blaine amendment provideg j for a step in constitutional action 1 hitherto untried, namely, ratification |by ■ State constitutional conventions I and not by the Legislatures,; as was j the 18th Amendment. There is complete confusion concerning the procedure. . " It is feared that if the States—j Wyoming is among the first to have already called the specified convention—are allowed to proceed their 48 diverse ways of carrying out the specific provision, the process of obi taining the requisite 3G ratifications might consume as much as four years. With their constitutionality questionable in ultimate interpretation by the United States Supreme Court, it is felt that a Federal statute specifying every detail in the creation of the procedure of the State conventions is essential. Efforts will be made to obtain such legislation, but it may be delayed until a special session of Congress.

Possibility of Delay There is aISG no concealing the fact that the dry forces will be back again on their oldest and best commanded ground when the Blaine amendment goes to the Stater, for ap- r proval. , Unless serious deterioration, has occurred within the State dry organisations—and this is strongly denied by such outstanding prohibition figures as Bishop Gannett and the superintendent of the Anti-Saloon Mr. Mcßride, who claim that 50 per cent, of the States, still approve prohibition —the Blaine amendment may meet unexpected resistance in various strategic centres such as Texas, Kansas, Carolina and others, possibly delaying if not seriously endangering ratification.

It has long been claimed that the Dry organisations found it comparatively easy manipulate political control of the State Legislatures whifih approved the ISth Amendment. Provision for especially-chosen State Constitutional Conventions contained in the Blaine proposal is specifically to forestall similar manipulations, Whether it will be successful remains to be seen.

Even if the Blaine Amendment is approved by the States, the liquor question in the United States will hardly be altogether settled. It will really only then be ready for ultimate settlement, and since- individual States under the new amendment will have the right to regulate or prohibit the liquor traffic according to their own desires there is a strong possibility of much serious conflict between State laws. vi Although many States, led notably by New York, have already invited rheir most distinguished jurists and public men to propose systems for control and regulation of the liquor traffic, there is bound to be much working at cross purposes. The two principal benefits which are expected to flow from the resumption of aii eradication of lawless elements and authorised liquor business, namely, the resumption of Governmental revenues, may not altogether be realised, in that liquor running between wet, and dry, or between even wet States where the regulation is dissimilar, will allow continuation to a serious degree of bootlegging, liquor racketing and iarge-scale ( gang control.

Final Vote in Congress Congress to-day put the repeal of prohibition amendment up to the States, when the House of Representatives mustered the two-thirds vote required to approve the resolution already approved by the Senate. The voting was 289 to 121, or 16 more than the necessary two-thirds. The Prcsideut-elect, Mr. F. D. Roosevelt, expressed gratification at the adoption of the prohibition repeal resolution, and added: "I hope this session will also enact the beer legislation- now before the Senate."