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Hokitika Guardian, 27 February 1933, Page 4

By the necessary two-thirds majorities, the Senate and the Honfce of Representatives of the United States have passed a resolution providing for the repeal of the prohibition amendment of the Constitution, subject to ratification by 36 of the 48 States at convention!, 5 by a. procedure yet to be determined. The Senate passed the 1 Blaine resolution on February 16 by 63 votes to 23, and the-House of Re. presenbatives approved it by 289 votes to 121 on February ,20. The voting in the lower chamber represents an extraordinary change in opinion. Its members are tho.e who were elected in 1930 and include about 150 who failed to secure re-election last November; their successors do not take office until March 4. A vote on the prohibition issue was taken in the Houre on March 15, 1931. and the repeal proposal was then defeated by 227 votes to 187— a total of 414 votes out of 430. On Do re™ her 5. when the last session of the 72nd. Congrms assembled, the House imhiediately entered upon a di'-ecy-sion cif n resolution to submit to the 'States the issue of direct repeal of the 18th. amendment; when the vote was taken, 415 members answered their names, the voting being 271 for and 144 against, so that the affi•-netive vote was only five short < f t' e twothirds majority. It was then presumed that t' e question would not he revived until the new Congress assembled, with the expectation tJrt as most of the new members were “wet,”

the requisite majority would be revealed. However, upon tin;- ‘third vote in the present Congress, the House hay declared for repeal!, of prohibition by 16 votes more than t-ho two-thirds majority. In comparison with the division two yeans ago, xlie latest vote shows that over 100 members have changed their opinions.