Middletown transcript., 1915-03-06
"WETS" WIN VICTORY
Hill Bill Fails Of Passage in the
House on Tuesday
ACTION FOLLOWS DEBATE


DOVER, DEL, March 2.-Amid a
scene of great excitement the House
at the afternoon session today killed
the Hill anti shipping bill by non-par-
tisan vote of 16 yeas to Is nays. OF
the 16 affirmative votes, 8 were Demo
Gratis and Republicans, and the 15 ne
gative votes were divided 8 Democrats
and Z Republicans. The bill failed of
passage because it did not get the re-
quisite 18 votes, an actual majority of
all the members.
Four Republicans did not vote.
Advocates and opponents of the bill,
including w. C. T. U. cohorts, minis
ters and others, were crowded in the
House gallery, overlooking upon the
House floor, when the Hill bill was
called. 1t required about ten minutes
for the measure to be read, after which
Clerk Hoch read the anti-treating
amendment, which was adopted by a
vote of 81 to IL. Many ihs NE majority
evidently thought the Representatives
were voting on the original bill.
A motion, whicn prevailed, was then
made by Mr.. Hill, the temperance COM
mittee chairman, that the privilege of
the floor be granted to j. Bibb Mills, of
Baltimore, who is legislative attorney
of the Anti-Saloon League of Delaware
and Maryland. The bill was explained
in detail by Mr.. Mills, he declaring
that it had been patterned after the
anti-shipping law which became effec-
tive in the uine Maryland Eastern
Shore counties last spring, and citing
comparisons with anti-shipping laws Of
western states, pointing out the best
features of those statutes that had been
embodied in the Hill bill.
He declared that the bill covers a
field which the Hazel anci-shippng law
did not, and after saying 1--WE think
this bill is constitutional, he told the
legislature it was not within their pro-
vince to speculate over whether q bill
was constitutional. He said as far as
he could learn no test suits had been
begun in Maryland to determine the
constitutionality of the act there.
Mr.. Wills advocated passage of the bill
on the grounds it would afford protec-
tion to the coming generation, and de-
clared that anti-liquor forces in Mary.
land sought the enactment by Delawar,
of the Hill bill, because it would pre-.
vent Maryland imbibers from having
their liquor shipped to Delaware town.
lying nearby the -Marylan
boundary.
He further declared that there coult
lot be an overlapping of the Hill bill
with the Webb-Kenyon law. He seized
upon provisions OF the bill to point oul
that the temperance advocates Were
dealing lightly with the consumer OF
liquor. A gallon month, he declared,
was sufficient liquor for any drinker.
That the Hill bill would prelude
minors from having intoxicants shipped
to them, which, he claimed, was posi-
BILE now with the claws drawn from the
Hazel law, he declared his belief.
Mr.. Hill declared that the bill would
particularly hit the speakeasy and the
bOot-legger, and he charged that nc
matter how drinkers and speakeasy
proprietOrs wonld circumvent the law,
it was always possible for the county
prosecutor to arrest them.
The vote was then taken with the
following result:
Yeas-Carey, Daisey, Davis, Dono-
van, Evans, Hall, Hastings, Hill, Ma
brey, Milbourne, Salevan, Salisbury,
Schwatka, Short and Speaker Grant
land-16.
Nays-Allen, Bender, Cubb ag e,
Daley, Dickey, Elliott, Hook, Jones,
Kenney. Letherbury, Lingo, R s h,
Richards, Roach. Vaughan-15.
Not Voting-Messrs. Hance, Webster
and Williams.
Absent-Mr. Warrington.
MIR. Hill then had his vote changed tC
no for the purpose of reconsideration.