The cry has gone up from time to time since the passage of the Volstead Act that the country at large wanted--nay, had demanded, Prohibition. _The Literary Digest_, hearing and noting these reiterations, decided to investigate the feeling of the land. They would have a referendum of the people through a straw vote; and they would get, in that way, at the truth. Many of us were not at all sure of the sentiment in communities like the Far and Middle West. We knew that the South, for reasons best known to itself, had favored large arid territories; but the East had remained insistently wet. Therefore, it was a big surprise, when the _Literary Digest’s_ returns began to come in, to discover that in many sections a reverse feeling flourished from that which had been anticipated. It must have proved a shock to the Anti-Saloon League, in its smug complacency, to learn that many citizens, like a man I met in Omaha, declared that he was greatly in favor of Prohibition--until we got it. Indeed, many feel just like that. Conditions are certainly intolerable wherever I have been. Drunkenness may have disappeared from the sidewalks, but it has taken to the taxicab; and though the corner saloon has gone (I hope forever) the hip-flask has taken its place, on the south-east corner of many an individual. So much had been said and written of the feeling of the country, that the _Digest_ (the editor-in-chief is a Prohibitionist, if I am not mistaken) went right to the heart of the thing, in no uncertain manner. Much discussion had taken place as to the temper of the people, and there seemed no way of arriving at the truth. Ten million blanks were sent out, to every kind of voter. The Bonus for Soldiers and Sailors was more or less tied up with Prohibition. Therefore it was deemed wise to try to get the popular sentiment on both questions at the same time. The questionnaire, in the form of a ballot, was as follows: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Secret Ballot on Prohibition and Soldiers’ Bonus : : No Signature--No Condition--No Obligation : : Mark and Mail at Once : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _PROHIBITION:_ (Put a cross (x) in the square only opposite the policy you favor) A. Do you favor the continuance and +---+ strict enforcement of the Eighteenth | | Amendment and Volstead Law? +---+ B. Do you favor a modification of the +---+ Volstead Law to permit light wines | | and beers? +---+