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The Commoner
24
VOL. 16, NO. 12
Four Year Campaign to Make
Nation Dry
THE MQUOR' SITUATION IN THE UNITED STATES
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An Indianapolis dispatch to tho
Chlcauo Herald, dated Nov. 18, says:
William Jennings Bryan in this city
tomorrow will begin a four year fight
to make tho United States a totally
dry nation by federal enactment.
Tho Nobraskan will urge tho dem
ocrats of tho country to join him in
a campaign to compel tho next dem
ocratic national convention to in
cludo a plank for national prohibi
tion in its platform. Ho will also
sook a plank favoring federal equal
suffrage.
All of tho political energies of Mr.
Bryan until 1920 will bo devoted to
tho purpose of making the demo
cratic party declare for these two ob
pectivos, which ho considers tho two
big issues of tho day. The Nebraskan
has made known his intentions in
emphatic terms.
"The republican party," he said,
"stands defeated on old issues and
will be looking for new ones on which
to baso the fight of 1920. It my
champion prohibition in the hope oi
winning the west, which already has
declared its position on tho wet and
dry quostion.
Wants Party to Load
"Tho returns of tho recent election
make it easy for tho democratic
party to take the lead on prohibition
and equal suffrage.
"Of tho twenty-three dry states
seventeen went for Wilson, two more
wore close, and in four other states
which ho carried prohibition has
practically been decided. on,
( "Again the President carried
nearly all the states in which women
vote. These two issues are para
mount to tho party. They should
not, and will not be sidetracked."
Cities Against Saloon
Tho election brought the most
sweeping victories for the anti-saloon
causo in the history of the
movement.
Pour, states, containing a popula
tion of 5,400,106 and an area of 326,
112 square miles, equaling more than
one-twelfth of tho area of the United
States, in, a single day went from wot
to dry.
, Of the 2,543 counties in tho United
States, 2,047 were dry before the
election November 7, when 191 more
counties were added, leaving only
355 wot counties in the entire nation.
Tho significant trend of the times
is the turn of big industrial cities
agaiiiBt the saloon. Kansas City,
Grand Rapids, Seattle, Spokane, Ta
coma, all gave decisive dry majori
ties. Dry States Before
Maine, 185 3j Kansas. 1880; No.l
uuKoia, j.aay; uoorgia, 11)07; Okla
homa, 1907; Mississippi, 1908; No.
Carolina, 1908; Tennessee, 1909;
Virginia, 1914; W. Va., 1912; Colo
rado, 1914; Oregon, 1914; Washing,
ton, 1914; Arizona, 1914; Alabama,
1915; Arkansas, 1915; Iowa, 1915;
tdaho, 1915; S. Carolina, 195. The
following states were added Novem
ber 7, 1916: Michigan, Montana, Ne
braska, South Dakota.
Pledged to Prohibition
In addition Florida and Utah
elected legislatures and governors
pledged to immediate statutory pro
hibition. Both of these states will
bein the dry column within the next
four months. This will leave only
eleven states more to adopt state
wide prohibition before three-fourths
(thirty-six) , the number necessary to
ratify tho amendment to the consti
tution, of all tho states In tho union
aro dry. The situation in a number
of these eleven states is us follows:
Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky,
Texas, Now Mexico, Wyoming, and
Delaware aro just ready to drop into
tho dry basket. The chances are
more than even that five of these will
adopt prohibition within tho next
twolvo months namely: Minnesota,
Indiana, Ohio, Now Mexico, and Tex
as. Tho situation in the remaining
states necessary for tho adoption of
prohibition is as follows:
New Hampshire: Unless there is
an affirmative vote in each town for
liconses each two years no licenses
can bo granted. At tho voto in 1916
203 towns voted against license,
twenty-one towns for license. The
majority all over the state against
license was 7,663.
Seventeen Wet Towns in Vermont
Vermont: The same kind of local
option prevails in Vermont as in New
Hampshire. Only seventeen of the
246 towns In the state have saloons
and seven of tho seventeen have in
the aggregate only twelve saloons.
Delaware: Has only 200 saloons
left in tho entire state and state-wide
prohibition is imminent.
Wyoming: The issue is a live one
and statutory prohibition probably
at the coming session of tho legis
lature. California: California reduced the
wot majority of two' years ago of
170,000 down to 45,000 for prohi
bition of tho saloons and all retail
selling of liquor and to 100,000 for
complete prohibition of the liquor
traffic, retail, wholesale, and manu
facturers. Maryland: Maryland is coming to
state-wide prohibition. Seventeen of
her twenty-three counties are dry.
Kentucky: Of the 120 counties in
Kentucky 106 are dry and 80.5 per
cent of the population resides in dry
territory. State-wide prohibition is
imminent.
The above makes thirty-seven
states, or one morethan the necessary
three-fourths, but in addition it
should be borne in mind that to bring
about national prohibition it is not
necessary that the individual states
shall have adopted tho dry law, but
only that the legislatures should be
dry, which will open the doors to at
least two more states namely: Mis
souri ana Nevada.
There is a strong movement against
the saloon in Nevada, and sentiment
is rapidly rising, so that it is prob
able that the legislature of Nevada
would ratify a prohibition amend
ment to tho national constitution
The legislature of Missouri is elected
bv counties, which minimizes tho
power of St. Louis. In consequence
the legislature is overwhelmingly dry
and would ratify the national amend
ment. And last but by no means improb
able are the legislatures of Illinois
and Louisiana. Thero is more than a
fighting chance in each one of these
states.
There is probabljTno more graphic
illustration of the erowMi nf oqm
nient against the liquor interests than
ui cue supposedly impregnable
stronghold of liquordom in Pennsyl
vania. Five years ago 60,000 of her
People lived in no-license territory
Today there are more than 1,000,000
and while in 1911 there were only
700 square miles of dry territory to
day there are 12,800.
Then there were only two counties
White Dry Territory; Black Wet.
dry. Now there are eleven. It is
stated that of the 1,700 saloons in
Philadelphia 200 aro on .the market.
One broker advertises that ho has
100 for sale.
RESULTS OP THE WET AND DRY
FIGHT EST 1010
From tho Chicago Herald.'
Michigan voted dry by over 75,000.
Grand Rapids voted dry by over
3,000. Detroit, with over 800,000
population, voted even.
Montana Twenty thousand
against saloon. Every city in state
except Butte voted dry.
South Dakota Dry by 25,000.
Every city voted dry.
Nebraska Majority against'Saloon
over 29,000.
Utah elected legislature and gov
ernor pledged to immediate enact
ment of state-wide prohibition.
Florida elected legislature pledged
to immediate enactment of state
wide prohibition.
Indiana One of the most smash
ing victories in the day's contests.
Ten wet congressmen retired and dry
elected to replace them. Dry gov
ernor elected by strong majority.
Arkansas Wets tried to weaken
prohibitory law, but vote was more
tnan two to ono against-them.
Washington Seattle, which voted
wet two years ago by 15,000, voted
dry by 20,000.
Oregon Wets attempted to. weak
en law; defeated by over 90,000.
Bono dry amendment passed.
Saloons Wiped Out by Election Nov. 7
Alaska '. . . ... . , . . . , , , t 450
Micntean .'.' 3,286
Montana i atu
Nebraska ...... 825
south Dakota 203
Maryland ...!!'.'.! 165
Total - 6,528
Brewers Put Out of Business -
Michigan .79
Nebraska .' i
Montana ' ' 1 a
South Dakota t 3
Total 114
DEMOCRACY ND PROHIBITION
The next national campaign is
likely to bev foutrht nut nn ,
hlbition question. That is ns nrtnin
as any future event can be predicted.
.ie aoiiocratlc party sliould not
allow its tx-uhi onnonents to steal
the issue. They should advocate na
tional prohibition not only because
of political expediency but because it
is right. Also, we must advocate na
tional woman's suffrage. So. Denver
(Col.) Eye and Bulletin.
BRYAN AND THE WEST
A few wee'-j t go it became neces
sary for The Tribune to inform its
readers that William J. Bryan was in
the campaign heart and soul for
Woodrow Wilson. The big dailies
they read said nothing about this.
Republicans were telling the old
friends and adherents of Mr. Bryan in
Parke county that he was not sup
porting Wilson, and as we have said
it became necessary for us to reprint
orte of Mr. Bryan's speeches and at
the same time tell of his old time
activity in the campaign.
It will be recalled that we said Mr.
Bryan was ovorywhere in the great
west making speeches night and day
for Wilson. Beyond a few days in
Michigan and one day in Ohio ho was
not east of the Mississippi. He was
wanted in several middle western
states, but he preferred to do his part
of the work in the west.
He did that work and he did it
well. How well he did it may be
known from the election returns. The
President did not make a tour of the
west: It was not necessary. The
great Commoner was out there, out
among his own people who know him,
understand h'm. and love him, and
ey rallied to the standard bearr
the party of which Bryan has so long
been a trusted leader. Roclcvillo
(Ind.) Tribune.
WILSON ELECTED BY BRVAN',
: . FRIENDS SAY
From Washington, D. C, Times.
Bryan men in Washington are tak
ing the keenest k'nd ot satisfaction
over the fact that it was the far west
wUJch gave President Wilson his re
election. "Wilson," they say, owed the pres
idency in the first place to Bryan be
cause Bryan nominated him at Bam
more. Now, it turns out that tne
states in which Mr. Bryan spoke gave
their Votes to the Pres'dent."
For some time before the election
much was said here because W
was working with iis coat oil
western states, such as Kansas,
braoka, and elsewhere.
Yet the democratic headquarters a
New York was careful to say notwnj
about it, apparently fearing to one
conservative and anti-Bryan JW
crats. This was resented by sou
Mr. Bryan's friends. Now, uit
suits speak for themselves.
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