scale were Pennsylvania with 1 county and a few towns ("town" in America is generally equivalent to "village" in England); Michigan, 1 county and a few towns; California, parts of 8 or 10 counties. New York had 308 out of 933 towns, Ohio, 480 out of 768 towns, Massachusetts, 19 out of 33 cities and 249 out of 321 towns. At the end of 1909 a strong reaction against the prohibition policy set in, notably in Massachusetts. There is no more uniformity in the mode of procedure than in the extent of application. At least five methods are distinguished. In the most complete and regular form a vote is taken every year in all localities whether there shall be licences or not in the ensuing year and is decided by a bare majority. A second method of applying the general vote is to take it at any time, but not oftener than once in four years, on the demand of one-tenth of the electorate. A third plan is to apply this principle locally and put the question to the vote, when demanded, in any locality. A fourth and entirely different system is to invest the local authority with powers to decide whether there shall be licences or not; and a fifth is to give residents power to prevent licences by means of protest or petition. The first two methods are those most widely in force; but the third plan of taking a local vote by itself is adopted in some important states, including New York, Ohio and Illinois. Opinions differ widely with regard to the success of local veto, but all independent observers agree that it is more successful than state prohibition, and the preference accorded to it by so many states after prolonged experience proves that public opinion broadly endorses that view. Its advantage lies in its adaptability to local circumstances and local opinion. It prevails mainly in rural districts and small towns; in the larger towns it is best tolerated where they are in close proximity to "safety valves" or licensed areas in which liquor can be obtained; the large cities do not adopt it. On the other hand, it has some serious disadvantages. The perpetually renewed struggle between the advocates and opponents of prohibition is a constant cause of social and political strife; and the alternate shutting up and opening of public houses in many places makes continuity of administration impossible, prevents the executive from getting the traffic properly in hand, upsets the habits of the people, demoralizes the trade and stands in the way of steady improvement.