California Industries and Prohibition

This seventy-two page booklet summarizes the facts and figure on 1916's proposed prohibition amendments to the California constitution. This anti-prohibition booklet presents facts on how prohibition would hurt laborers, businessmen, and farmers in California. It details information on the wine industry, hops growing, barley, wheat and rice. It explains how the grapes grown in vineyards cannot be turned into raisins and sold profitably and how broken rice is used in brewing and has no other market. Its position is that prohibitionists are out to crush organized labor. Other states had tried prohibition and rejected it because it caused job loss and challenged other personal freedoms these examples are brought up in order to convince Californians to reject prohibition. There is a special chapter to women explaining how temperance and prohibition are separate issues and how education and personal freedom deserve consideration. The booklet reprints the text of the two proposed amendments and reviews the voting record, finally admonishing, "Prohibition would destroy 210 million dollars and deprive the livelihood of 293,000 persons and create 10,000 vacant storerooms in California. Both amendments mean total prohibition. Vote No against both!"

Colvin, D. Leigh. Prohibition in the United States: A History of the Prohibition Party and the Prohibition Movement. New York: Ge