The Washington times., 1915-02-17
'PETWORTH CITIZENS
VOTE DISTRICT DRY"
"Wets" at Meeting Fail to Delay
Final Action on Resolution
by Filibuster.

Appeals from the decision Of the chair.
calls for divisions of the house. Rob
erts rule of parliamentary procedure
members of the Petworth Citizens AS
ISOLATION last night before q resolution
calling upon the House and Senate to
make the District dry was passed. The
the meeting. and the "wets'T sought to
delay final action by means of tiibus-
ter.
Tine vote was ABOUT to be taken when
President G. J. James announced that
the hour of 3 had arrived and consider
alton of business would cease. 1mmeod-
ately a score of watches were produced
and dissenting opinions as to the hour
mande1 by E. ". oyster and Jesse c.
Suter, the leading advocates of the
dry" motion. and when Chairman
the resolution was passed by a large
majority.
The only other business transacted
was the approval of the recommendation
Petwurth Women's Club be asked to CO.
operate with the citizens association in
q reception for the District Commission
ers DIT the March meeting.
Gives Sanitation Talk.
Asa Phillips. superintendent of sewers
of the District. gave an illustrated talk
on Sanitation and Sewerage in the
District
In order to test their strength at the
outset Of the meeting. the opponents
of prohibition sought to delay the con
siderat:on of a resolution commenting
Senator Sheppard for his efforts in be.
! halt OF prohibition in the District until
all other business had been transacted.
President Jap7es ruled that regular
business would procede the wet" and
dry debate Tho appeal from the
decision ~ tie chair made by Jesse
Suite iabisacd the strength Of the
dry
IA s,ntinS the cause Of the "drys.'
Mr. Sut.r moved a substitute for
the Sheppard resolution resolution
broader in scope, ur"ii.2 he House and
Senate, the District commissioners and
the Federation of CltiZrns' Association
to become active in making the District
dry. President James ruled that the
| resolution was new business, to which
| IN appeal was taken with the ''drys"
aAatn victorious.
In supporting his substitute resolution.
MIR. Suter said that the Petworth Citi-
, @enS Association. when the Jones'
! WorkS excise law was pending in the
! '',,.':nrut any boodshed or hard feel
ill.," lie showed a map of the Dis
trict :. ing the wet and dry parts;
aud said that sixteen States already had
| voted dry" He asked favorable ac-
ton on his motion.
! Paul Lesh. former president OF me
association; c. +. Richardson. and
William l.. Rhodes said the new reso-
luton prevented Petworth from reg
! istering a protest against legislation
by riders. such as the Sheppard pro-
. hibitory amendment to the District
appropriation bill
Held Up In Committee.
f. w. Oyster advanced the informa :
tion that Senator Sheppard has since
| L,l 1t, hn
dry" In referring TO the Jones
Works bill. Mr.. Oyster declared W
was passed by the Senate and held NJ
in the House District Committee 1ot
ten months through the influence OF
the rum traffic" He concluded an i'm
passioned prohibition speech by say
Ing mo man can stand up ami honest
ly say that the liquor traffic has done
the District of Columbia any good -,
| In opposing the "dry" resolution -
matter had come before the meeting
las 1t engenders i'll feeling and bring
to the surface differences of opinion
that are just as well left unVolced
He said he stood behind no man ~
opposing intemperance. but argued
that prohibition was like a volcano. IN
that by closing up the saloon crater
the bootlegging crater becomes ac-
tive. land If the prohibition agitation
continues a great explosion Will occur
or the millennium will come.
| Mr. Fernall said Montgomery coun-
ty Md a "dry" territory. procured ita
lliuuor from outside, and that persons
who on the surface were considered
dry" advocates very often got their
LIQUID refreshments through the praC-
tice OF hypocricy.
He offered substitute to Mr.. .Sut cr's
lmotion that "Petworth deeply deplore
the evils of intemperance that exist
in the District of Columbia and ap
proves OF all wise efforts to abolis'
the evil"
The Fernald substitute was defeate,
and the Suter resolution was passed
The lecture by Mr.. hPillips then fol
lowed,