The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-24
"John Shdrp,2 Full Pledged
 Pro" By "Commdnd," IsI Ready 10 Go Entire Way
Mississippi Senator Tells His Fellow Supporters of Anti-LiquOr Legislation They Are Not Brave Enough to Make Buying
 Drink Crime" By Law
Nv HIGH ". ROBERTS

Washington, December 23.-(Special) A prohibitionist has openly and formally lectured other prohibitionists in the Sen ate of the United States. The lecturer was John Sharp Williams of Mississippi, who declares that he will support all prohibition legislation. During his ad- dress, he was not interrupted. No one of those lectured ventured to deny or refute made.
 Senator Williams declared there was no morality involved in the average prohi- biton measure. He criticized his brothers-in-law for their half-hearted tactics and declared that no one of them was honest or brave enough to make 1t a crime to purchase a drink, to interfere with gentlemen in pursuit of pleasure" He told them that their continual nag g1ng" caused men to doubt their sin cerity, to believe that they are moved by political incentive. He declared it dis honest to confiscate a mans business without indemnifying him for same after by law he had been invited to engage in such business.
 The stages of morality" which, accord ing to the senator, prohibitionists by their conduct have established were of especial interest. The Mississippian in part said:
 THE "DRY" STAGES
 Does this bill present either ques- tion of morality or constitutionality? Everybody knows it presents neither.
 q started my political life in opposi- ton to prohibition, in opposition to any sort of attempt on the part of govern ment to fetter mans private life. Now I stand here and state that I consider myself instructed by Mississippi to vote for prohibtory legislation. I take that back-it is not prohibitory at all mono of you are prohibitionists; none of you ever had the courage to be.
 You stand here and talk of prohibit tion as if it was moral question and you make it geographical morality by saying that if a man sells me a drink in Mississippi or here, if this bill passes, he Is a felon, but if he sends it to mo from Boston, equally a seller he is not. And then you stand for quantitative morality. man may sell me quart
  In the first place, he is a law abiding citizen; in the second place, a criminal. That is quantitative morality with a ven geance. Sometimes it is a which-side of-the-bar morality Is there any diff ference between the man who stands on that side of the bar and sells me a drink, as far as that individual act is con- cerned, and me who stands on the other side buying the drink? And yet, there is no one of you who dare to make it a crime to buy drink. Why? Why, you would affect supreme court judges, august senators, cabinet members some generals, and a few admirals. You would interfere with gentlemen in their private pleasure instead of merely interfering with tradesmen in their pursuit of bus 1T ess
 ZEE SQUARE ABOUT IT. T am little tired of it as far as I am concerned. l am now ready to vote for the whole thing. I am ready to vote for an amendment to this bill to put a fine of $500 and imprisonment of not less than six months on any man who buys or sells a drink in the District of Columbia. I want to see the whole thing brought to an issue. I think you ought to submit a prohibition bill-say so and face it. It would be almost as great a personal in convenience to me as 10 anyone Of you,
 
 honest and square and make it a crime to buy intoxcants. Put a judge of the supreme court, put a member of the cabinet, put a senator in jail for it. Be square about it. Bring it home to me. te' you. Be brave about it.''
 Regarding the plan of prohibitionists to evade a big fight and continue nag ging'' from year to year, Senator Will Hams said:
 6n hat 11ty inf which gentlemen want to go to in this legislation will be at some particular mo- ment frankly avowed and confessed so that society can line up on one side of it or the other I do hope that this little thing of taking 10 bites at one cerry will stop, because 1t Is a great deal more nagging than it is to eat up the whole cherry at once and be done with it. It is great deal less trouble to humanity gen. erally, and it is a good deal less trouble to man, to be soundly whipped than it is to be nibbled at for week at time. So I hope at sometime you may put in the shape of a bill that which is your u1ti- mate goal the point beyond which you do not intend to go, and then let us get through with it one way or the other getting through to a final result of fixed policy is a good thing.
 POINTS TO HISTORY q tell you it is dangerous not to do that You. remember the history of the immortality that came about as result of the overthrow of the puritanical power in Great Britain First from one little thing to another the Puritans went, inter fering with what men rghtfully or wrongfuly thought were their rights. wrongfully generally, just as in this case until they got men into state of re. volt, not against particular wrong thing that was being done, but against every legislative attempt to make them do right, and everything called by the name of re- ligion or morals went Dy the board for a while It tool. long time afterward to get things gathered together in a com l mon sense way
 Now, dc not begin with this and come Lack nere next year and go little bit further, and come back the next five years from now and go to the Williams l amendment, making it an absolute crime to buy a drink Do it in the next Con- gress, anyhow, and let the people to be affected see how far you are going, so that they may make up their minds whether they want to go With you or part company with you.
 DOUBTS YOUR SINCERITY" T am not joking about this. It sounds | like a piece of irony It is not It is req son: it is founded on the soundest mor- ality. You can nag men into condition where they will oppose the best thing you can think Of Take this very case No man of common sense in the world regards 1t as of the slightest importance to his moral character or intellectual de- velopment that he should be able to buy a drink He may want it. He may resent intprfaranCa