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Procedure. Having gotten a thumbs-down on the 18th Amendment from the Democrats and at least a thumbs-sideways from the Republicans, last week Wets made ready the next steps toward wrenching Prohibition from the Federal statute books. Mrs. Sabin's sisterhood was to meet at Roslyn, L. I. July 7 to decide which Presidential candidate it would support. The Crusaders, the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment and the United Repeal Council were to meet later for a like purpose. There are 33 Senatorial elections ahead in November and 435 Representatives to be campaigned for or against before the first step intended by both parties is taken. If a Democratic majority is returned to Congress in November, the method of procedure must follow this line:
Step No. 1. A resolution in Congress similar to the one introduced last week by Representative Loring M. Black of New York, as follows: "Resolved, that the Secretary of State be directed to immediately communicate with the Governors of the several States, directing them to call at once conventions of delegates elected by the voters of the several States to ratify the following resolution: The 18th Amendment to the Constitution is hereby repealed."
If two-thirds of both national chambers adopt this resolution, Step No. 2 will be up to the 48 Governors.
Step No. 2. Each Governor would recommend to his Legislature that a day be set and appropriations be made for a special election of delegates to a Constitutional convention. State laws would determine the apportionment of representation at these conventions, the like of which have never been held in U. S. history, all Constitutional amendments heretofore having been ratified by the Legislatures, at Congress' direction. Thus a fresh series of local Wet-Dry fights must be fought since Wets consider that present apportionments of representation in many Legislatures vastly favor the rural (normally Dry) populace, and the proposed conventions are to be, the national parties agree, "truly representative."
Step No. 3. When the State conventions assembled they would elect chairmen who would put one question to the floor: To repeal or not to repeal. Each delegate would vote yes or no according to whether he had been chosen to represent Wets or Drys. Each chairman would report the result of the vote to his Legislature, which would forward it through the Governor to the U. S. Secretary of State.
Step No. 4. If three-fourths of the States thus signified that they wished the 18th Amendment repealed, it would automatically be dropped from the Constitution. Otherwise it would remain.
The procedure would be approximately the same if a Republican majority were seated in Congress. But the Republican proposal on which the conventions would have to pass would not be simply Repeal or Retention, but a new amendment superseding the 18th.