The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-02-03
INTERSTATE LIQUOR TRADE.
Hard Fight to be Made to Pass Bill TO
Prevent Shipments.

| "oS"ih6Ioi' Jan. 5l.-lt is learned
here upon good authority that a first.
class fight is going on behind the lines
to have Speaker Cannon name a man
as chairman of the house judiciary
committee for the next congress who
will be favorable to the passage Of
bill prohibiting the shipments Of
liquor from one State to another. The
term of the present chairman. Judge
Jenkins, of Wisconsin, will expire with
his retirement on March 4. and for
some time there has been noticeable
activity among the advocates of such
bill.
Last year and the year before the
Littlefield bill was the principa, neos-
ure of the kind under consideration.
and the efforts that were made to have
1t passed as we'll as the work done in
opposing 1t are still fresh in the minds
of persons who followed the course of
legislation. Not only did the heuse
tackle the question in all of it's knot
ty forms, but the senate also when II
took up the Tillman bill endeavored to
find some way of legally getting
around the Wilson law.
One of the best posted LAWYERS in
the house gave 1t as his opinion today
that there was. beyond a doubt. q
practical method Of passing law that
would prevent interstate shipments of
liquor into dry States, provided con-
gress really desired to pass such a law.
1t will be useless, however to again
make the fight of last year, unless
there Is some assurance that desired
results will follow. For the present,
therefore, nothing more will be at
tempted than to work on Speaker
Cannon with the hope Of having him
make such changes in the personnel
Of the judiciary committee as would at
least permit OF such a bill being fav-
orably reported to the house. !
Judge Jenkins. as stated, has for
many years been the chairman of the
committee before which bills of this
character were referred and as head
morgue-keeper he has been a decided
success in the opinion of those who
wanted to pass a law that would ef-
fectually put a stop to the shipments
OF liquor into dry or local option
States. Judge Jenkins's influence is
of the widest kind and his long famil-
iarity with the rules and customs of
congress, as well as the extent of his
friendship among other members has
made his opinion highly valued. Be-
cause of the defeat that he suffered
at the polls last summer, however
some one else must be chosen to be-
come to the head of the judiciary COM
mittee upon the assembling of the ex-
ira session Of congress- ogr
The other members of this commit
tee are: Representatives Parker. OF
New Jersey, who according to the
present custom of the house, will suc-
ced Judge Jenkins: Alexander, of New
York; Tirrel. Of Massachusetts; Ster-
ling. Of Illinois; Foster, of Indiana;
Bannon. OF Ohio; Moon, OF Pennsyl- ]
vania; Die Kerna, of Michigan; NAL
by, of New York; Caulfeld. of Mis-
souri,; Higgins, of Connecticut; all Re-
publicans, and Representatives De-
Armand. of Missouri; Clayton, of Ala
bama; Henry, of Texas; Brantley, of
Georgia: Reid. of Arkansas and Webb
Of North Carolina.
1t is fact we'll worth noting that |
each of the Democratic members of
this committee comes from a State |
that has In recent years declared bold |
ly for prohibition. There is not a sa,
loon in Georgia, few counties in North |
Carolina allow liquor sold for any
reason; Alabama Is dry and many por-
tions of Arkansas and Texas do not
permit the sale of Intoxicating liquors
1t would be easy to see, therefore, how |
the Democratic members of the COM |
mittee would vote were they to be al |
lowed to do so at this time. In ad- |
ditiOn to this many of the States rep
resented by Republican members of |
the committee have come out for pro-
hibition in one form or another and |
against the open and unrestricted sale |
of intoxicants.
Besides Judge Jenkins there will be |
one or two other retirements from the |
judiciary committee when the pres
ent session of congress ends. 1t is in |
teresting, therefore. to speculate |
whether Speaker Cannon will appoint |
the same memherS for the naxt con-