On Jan. 5, 1919, the Medford Mail-Tribune published a reflective piece after the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to allow enforcement of the 18th Amendment, the National Prohibition Act that forbade the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States.
鈥淭he country is dry by one vote,鈥� the article said, adding 鈥�2.75 percent beer is illegal because five men say it is and four men say it isn鈥檛.鈥�
The article continued, 鈥渢here is no question but that with the American people as a whole the decision will be popular,鈥� and the article accurately predicted, 鈥淭here will undoubtedly be strong liquor made and consumed, ... wood alcohol deaths and lemon extract poisoning, but there is a pretty general feeling that all in all the country will be better off under prohibition ...鈥�
鈥淎t any rate,鈥� the article said, 鈥渢he die is cast and the people want to see the experiment given a genuine and uncompromising try-out.鈥�
The unique American experiment lasted 14 years until the 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment in 1933, the only amendment to the Constitution ever repealed in its entirety.
Source: "Mail Tribune 100: The Dry Decision." Mail Tribune, 4 Jan. 2020 [Medford, Ore.], p. A2; Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia, The Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Jan. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volstead Act. Accessed 24 Jan. 2020.
