The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-02-19

senate and house with whom + talked,
that it was fair and satisfactory. When
the vote on the report was taken /
registered my vote against its accept
ance. as ! had Informed Senator Mapp
| would do, and as I thought numher
of others would, ana | was satisfied
that the report would not be adopted.
Senator Mapp had told me that he did
not expect that one conference would
suffice but that another would be need
ed before the difficulties could be ad-
justed and such seemed 10 be the pre-
vailing opinion; nor did | suppose for
a moment that the rejection of the
conference report would mean the de-
feat of the bill.
| had told the leaders of the dry
forces in the senate and others that
1T was not my intention to try TO de-
feat the bill by loading 1t down with
amendments, and that would not he
a party to such a plan. and that l did
not mean to try to accomplish by in
direct methods that which | was un-
willing to try to bring about by open
ly opposing the bill.
I voted consistently with the drys
on all amendments offered except that
with reference to the time at which
the law was to become operative, 1T
being understood that | would recede
from this position if the conference re-
Of which knew nothing until it was
offered, and which ] had never dis
cussed with any one, but which | voted
/ for as even less harmful than the cider
amendment and consistent with it.
/ After this amendment was adopted
learned that IL was very offensive to
the drys, SO | again informed Senator
Mapp that while j hoped the confer
ence would allow it to stand, II they did
reject it / would vote to sustain them.
/ However when the conference report
was finally made up it accepted the
beer amendment with aminor change,
! extended the time to November l, 1916.
but rejected the amendment as to the
I ballot which had been pronounced per-
fectly fair. and had been accepted by
the dry forces without contest.
In DIR. Cannon's letter to me no OBJ
lection is made to this amendment but
he did object to an extension of the
time. Now. in his article in the Vir-
! gilman he stated that l, along with
others who had voted for the bill with
( it's vicious amendments, was not equal
| to the real test. but having been
weighed in the balance and found
/ wanting, at the crucial moment de-
serted and lined up with the enemy,
and absolutely misrepresented the
wishes of a majority of my eonstitu-
! ents.
{ w nat were THESE Vicious AHcNi~
ments? The beer northumberland
that was adopted by the conferences
! the cider amendment that was Of
cred by the drys and adopted by the
conferees, the time mendment2-the
time was extended six months by coa~
ferees. Then the vicious amendment
was necessarily the ballot amendment.
! If that WINS vicious when the conference
report was voted on. why was 1t not
vicious on the End of February, when
/ DR.. Cannon wrote me the letter l have
mentioned, and. If vicious then, why
did he not make some objection to ii
as he did to the 1917 amendment?
The leaders of the dry forces knew
that l was willing to yield on the other
amendments il the conferees rejected
| them and as DIR. Cannon was in con-
slant communication with them, and
followed the fight closely. ii Is reason
able to suppose that he knew the po-
sitionsI had taken.
| 1t is with reluctance that l make
this public statement. and i do so only
! after careful consideration but ] feel
that l cannot, in justice to myself and
my friends, permit such IA statement as
| DIR. Cannon has made regarding me 10
| GO unchallenged, placing me az il
does in a false light, and calculated as
it is to do me great harm. l make no
apology for my course, as l have acted
as beneVe TO De right, ana Noleu Tor
! submission of the question in form
which / think is fair, and | never
heard. during the campaign, the form
of the ballot discussed, il always being
represented to me that a vote on the
question of Statewide was all that the
/ people demanded. AS far as | can
| ascertain, my crime seems to consist
| in having taken a different view of the
question from that taken by DR.. Can
| non.
r. X. BROCK