STRAW BALLOTS SHOW HUGE MAJORITY FAVOR PROHIBITION IN ONE GERMAN PRECINCT
Bielefeld, Germany (JFK+50) On August 7, 1922, "the results of the first straw vote ever taken in Germany on the question of prohibition showed an overwhelming majority...in favor of the abolition of alcohol."
Of 14,069 registered voters in the Bielefeld* precinct, 12,626 voted for prohibition. The straw poll was conducted by the German prohibition committee headquartered at Darmstadt**.
The committee plans more straw polls in other parts of Germany. They argue that that saving 3,500,000,000 gold marks each year with prohibition in place would help "shake off the yoke of the reparations burden."
*Bielefeld, founded in 1214, is the 18th largest Germany city & is located in the north-east of North-Rhine Westphalia.
**Darmstadt, the "city of Science" is located in the southern part of the Rhine-Main-Area near Frankfurt.
JFK+50 NOTE
According to Mary Miley's blog, "several European countries...passed laws that restricted consumption of alcohol." She specifically mentions "the suspension of liquor sales in German industrial areas."
SOURCES
"Prohibition Favored in Germany, First Straw Balloting Indicates," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., August 7, 1922, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
"Prohibition in Europe?," Mary Miley's Roaring Twenties, www.marymiley.wordpress.com/
