The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-12-20
CONFERENCE WAS
EPOCHlL MEETING
CAUSE OF PROHIBITION ADVANCED
nv THE GATHERING AT
WASHINGTON.
FINE WORKERS TIL r
FOUR HUNDRED DELEGATES FROM
THIRTY-TwO STATES GATHERED
TO FURTHER THE SHEPHERD
KENYON BILL
FINE WORKERS TIL r

That the great national conference
on interstate liquor traffic at Washing
ton this week was an epochal gath
ering, and accomplished great good for
the cause OF temperance. giving the
leaders Of the movement q firmer grasp
upon the situation, liz the opinion of
Rev. J. D. McAllister, secretary of the
Virginia Anti Saloon league, who re-
turned TO Richmond yesterday.
The body OF the conference Mr..
McAllister says, was composed Of about
400 delegates from as many as thirty
two States. and among them were
many figures of national prominence.
including United states senators and
congressman, jurists, soldiers, men and
women OF international fame as ora
tors and especially business men of
large wealth and interest.
Many Organizations Represented.
The conference, while called under
the auspices of the AntiSaloon league,
: as not confined to the membership
tlonal orders OF W. c. L. u, the L.
y, G.. T., the W. T. L. A, the Church
4 ederatIon OF Temperance, the Ma
ton Reform ASSOCIATION, and other or
CARNATIONS were well Represented at
the conference.
There were eighty delegates present
from virginia, and when The commit
tee on CREDENTIALS mace that fact
known, one OF the delegates remarked
that 1t vas easy to come from Nir-
gina" MIR. McAli1ster WAS immediaL e-
~ upon his teet and retorted: 1t Is not
easy Tor this delegation TO come froi.i
Virginia; they are paying their ewn
expenses and are seeking no offices.
here are delegates here representing
Virginia. who travelled further 10 reach
shis conference than any delegate from
.Massae hnselts, New York.. ,Ubio AK
South Carolina"
Ii one wishes to realize the effective
ness Of this retort let him make WASH
! ington the center of circie--Lee
county. the one point OF the circle
circumference, and see where the
swing around will carry them.
Delegates OF Prominenes.
A notable feature Of the Virginia
delegation. and, indeed. of the entire
conference. was the large number of
representative men. OF the eighty VIZ
ginians present. sixty five were men
and some OF them men OF large means
not heretofore associated with the
temperance movement.
The Shepherd Kenyon bin, over
which the pro-liquor and the anti-sa >
loon forces are locking horns. Is funda-
mentally more of a recognition OF state
sovereignty than 1t is a prohibition
measure. Its design is to take the
protective feature OF interstate COM
merce off of intoxicating liquors
shipped from wet to dry states. and
by leaving interstate shipments OF
liquor subject to State law. enable the
dry States to enforce their laws
against the sales OF all prohibited
! liquors.
State Sovereignty involved.
1t is expected that the entire Vir-
GINA delegation will vote for the meas
,ure. Senator Swanson Is quoted as
saying that every Southern Democrat
must vote for the measure because II
/ embodies the sound old Democratic
doctrine of State sovereignty.
1t was quite evident, Mr.. McAliister
said, that the women who attended
the conference felt that 1t had been
epochal and that prohibition had taken
long step forward.