The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-05-24
Anti-SaIoon League Has De-
cided to Wage Warfare on
A Few Who Blocked Tenn
perance Legislation.
NOTHING WANTED HAS
BEEN DONE BY BODY.
Watson Used All His Influence
Upon the House to Decide
FavorabIy But This AvaiIed
Nothing.

Washington, May 23-The temper
ance forces of the country, led by the
national Anti-Saloon league, threaten
to punish congress for its failure to
heed any of the demands made for
temperance legislation at this session.
We are now planning to bring about
the defeat of several republican me m
bers of the house." said S. E. Nichol-
son, formerly of Indiana, legislative
que. We believe that if we can re-
tire about members of the judiciary
committee of the house the Legislation
we are demanding will go through
congress at the next session. We
have already picked out several mem
bers against whose reelection we
shall work and several more are to be
added to the list. | think the Anti
Saloon league has demonstrated in
the past that it has influence in poll
tics. We shall use every effort to de-
feat the members of the judiciary
committee who refused to let our bill
to control interstate shipments of in
toxicants come out Of the committee
1t may be of interest to Indianians to
know that Representative Foster, of
the First district. is one of the men
we have marked for defeat"
Gave Up it's Fight.
The legislative committee of the
Anti-Saloon league gave up it's fight
before congress the first of this week
For the last few days its members
have been engaged in perfecting plans
to oppose the reelection of those
members who stood in the way of its
program. The National league, it is
announced. will work through the
state leagues. The names of the re-
publicans who are to be opposed will
be furnished to the proper state lea
CUES with instructions to array the
temperance vote against these men.
Obstacles in the Road.
While there were several things the
temperance people wanted congress to
do, the effort of the session was cen
tered on the bill for the control OF
interstate shipments of liquors The
Anti-Saloon league, which took charge
of this proposed legislation, was con-
| fident early in the session that. as a
result of the growth of the cause OF
temperance throughout the country, it
would be possible TO get this legisla-
| ton enacted. But the campaign had
not been under way long until obstac.
les were met in both senate and
house. The house committee on iu.
dietary postponed hearings as long as
1t could, and then, after they were
held declined to report the bill either
favorably or unfavorably. The sen.
ate committee referred the bill to a
subcommittee of which a majority de.
cided that it was unconstitutional.
BIames the House Committee.
The anti-saloon people put most OF
/ the blame for failure on the house
committee Mr.. Nicholson says tha,
| If that committee had reported a bill
| at any. time during the session II
would have gone through both houses
| Watson Did His Best.
| Representative Watson, the whip
of the body. knowing something of the
| temperance sentiment in his state
! and being candidate for governor
did what he could to persuade the
i speaker and the members of the judi
ciarv committee to let the bill come
before the house, but even he was no,
influential enough to get action.