October 14, 1933
TH E STATE
Роде
Three
What the Fight for Repeal Means
THE people who ore advocating repeal are not criminals
nor drunkards, says Mr. Murphy; they are people who
have realized that national prohibition is a failure and
that it has not promoted temperance. They are demand¬
ing laws which can be enforced in the regulation and the
manufacture of alcoholic beverages.
By WALTER MURPHY
Executive Secretary United Council for Repeal
TIIE United Council for Repeal
is confining its activities solely
to the effort to have North Caro¬
lina cast her vote in favor of elimi¬
nating the Eighteenth Amendment
from the Constitution of the United
States. It has no other purpose than
to bring about the repeal of an amend¬
ment which should never have been
incorporated into the organic law of
the land, to restore unto each state
the right of local self government.
Beyond this is has made no effort aud
to this position it will continue to
adhere.
The forces against repeal say that
calamity, confusion and chaos will
follow repeal. It will not be long be¬
fore they will realize such statements
were unwarranted and absurd. The
facts are that of the forty-eight States
which constitute tho Union, fourteen
have constitutional prohibition, fifteen
have statutory prohibition, and North
Carolina is one of these. The remain¬
ing nineteen will certainly pass local
laws on the subject, ns nine of the
number have already done; such laws
to become effective upon repeal. The
prohibition laws in North Carolina
will remain in effect until changed by
some future legislature. Even a child
knows that to be so.
There is no issue before the voters
in North Carolina save the question
of repealing the Eighteenth Amend¬
ment. No matter how desirable uni¬
versal temperance is, nor how much
to be desired and how necessary is the
control of spirituous liquors, the rem¬
edy does not lie in national prohibi¬
tion. On this thirty-three States have
already spoken in unmistakable terms,
and North Carolina will do likewise
in November.
Let us return to North Carolina
her constitutional right to administer
her own internal affairs, independent
of the federal government, upon the
THE HON. WALTER MURPHY
★
grounds of local self
government or States
Rights. Tho recognition
of these rights has come
through centuries of so¬
cial and political strug¬
gle, and on these rights
and their maintenance
rests the entire fabric
of government. If we
surrender these rights,
then freedom ceases. The
people of North Caro¬
lina are capable of self
government without the
aid, consent, dictation or
coercion of outside in¬
fluence.
After repeal the legis¬
lature of North Caro¬
lina can be trusted to
meet the situation with
intelligence and patriotism, and it will
enact laws on the subject which will
meet with the approbation and con¬
sent of the people; laws which can
and will be passed in response to the
will of North Carolinians, rather than
the people of other states. There is
no issue in the present campaign save
that of the repeal of the Eighteenth
Amendment to the Federal Constitu¬
tion. No state laws on alcoholic bev¬
erages can or will be changed whether
North Carolina votes for or against
repeal.
We have prohibition but uo tem¬
perance. We do not have saloons, yet
whiskey can be found on every hand.
We have no legal distilleries, yet since
national prohibition went into effect
thousands of illegal distilleries have
been destroyed in North Carolina and
the field is yet white unto the har¬
vest. Up to date eighty million of
the citizens of the United States have
had the opportunity to vote on the
question in elections held in thirty-
two states and in each and every one
the people have decided by great ma¬
jorities that the monster called na¬
tional prohibition is a dismal failure;
that instead of promoting temperance,
it has bred intemperance, corruption,
crime and an utter disregard for the
laws of God and of man.
Those who advocate repeal are not
criminals, nor yet arc they drunkards.
They are people who have realized
that national prohibition has not pro¬
moted temperance, they are men and
women who have come to the conclu¬
sion after the experience of years that
alcoholic beverages will always be here,
aud they are demanding laws which
can be enforced in the regulation of
the manufacture and distribution of
such. There arc thousands of citizens
who believe in temperance, who live
temperance, and who want temper¬
ance, who will vote for repeal because
of the failure of national prohibition,
men and women who know that it can
be regulated if laws which have the
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