Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 289, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 December 1917 — PROHIBITION ANALYZED [ARTICLE]

PROHIBITION ANALYZED

SHUMAKER GIVES FIGURES—SEES ONLY “DRY” VICTORY. E. S. Shumaker, superintendent of the Indiana Anti-Saloon League, has made the following analysis of the recent vote in the congress on prohibition : “A careful study of the vote in the United States house of representatives on the Sheppard-Webb prohibition amendment is certainly interesting. “Twenty-four states cast a solid vote »in favor of submitting the amendment. These states were: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North, Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming. The total number of votes cast by these states for the submission of the amendment were ninety-two, and of these Indiana cast the largest number of any—thirteen. One member from each of six of these states was absent, namely, from Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Washington and West V i r g i n i a. ~ : “Seven states, to-wit, lowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma and South Carolina, cast more than three-fourths of their vote for the amendment, tor a total of sixty-one votes, with only twelve recorded in the negative. Of this group one representative from North Carolina was absent. “Three states cast at least twothirds of their votes for the amendment—lllinois, Kentucky and Oregon. These states cast twenty-six for the amendment, while eleven were cast against it “Further, the states of Ohio and Wisconsin cast each a majority vote for the resolution, there being eighteen votes in favor of it and thirteen opposed. “These four groups of states— T twenty-four voting solidly for the' amendment, seven more than threefourths, three two-thirds and two a majority—make a total of thirty-six states, or just enough to insure its adoption as a part of the Constitution of the United States. “But this is not all. Seven more states, namely, Alabama (already ‘dry’), California, Louislna, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Texas (about to go ‘dry’) and Vermont, cast half of their votes for the amendment,, one-half against it, or a vote of 47 to 47. “Three states cast two-thirds of their votes against submitting the amendment. These states were Maryland, New York and Rhode Island. Their votes stood 16 for, 34 against. “One states, New Jersey, voted 8 to 2 against the amendment, while two of its congressman were absent. “Only one state, Connecticut, voted solidly against submitting prohibition, its five congressman lining up with the liquor interests. “The vote by geographical areas is also an interesting study. “New England’s six states —Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut—ffiroke even, fourteen votes being recorded in favor of the measure to fourteen against it. “The five eastern states, comprising New York, New Jersey, Deleware, Maryland and Pennsylvania, cast fifty-eight votes against the resolution to thirty-six cast in its favorThis is the only section of the country, that voted against submitting nation-wide prohibition. “The middle states, east of the Mississippi river—Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota—registered sixty-six votes for the amendment to twentyfour against the same. “The fifteen southern states, comprising Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri, cast 112 votes for the amendment to twenty-seven, against it. “The western states of/lowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Washington, 1 Oregon, California and Colorado, sixteen in all, cast fifty-two votes for the bill to eight against—a proportion of six and one-half to one. “An analysis of the vote by ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ states is also quite illumi nating. 0 “The twenty-one ‘wet’ states, namely, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin Wyoming, yielded 129 votes for a dry nation to 117 against it. “The twenty-seven ‘dry’ states, namely Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, lowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hempshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota,'Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia, showed the way to tha wart states