Evening star., 1917-05-12
FREEDOM Of PRESS
UPHELD IN SENATE
Newspaper Censorship Sec
ton of Espionage Bill Beat
en- by One Vote.
BOOZE OR BREAD, WHICH?

BY a majority of one vote the Sem
ate today entirely eliminated the ad-
ministration's hard-fought newspaper
bill. and then by an overwhelming
vote defeated an attempt to reinsert
the section in a different form.
This action. If permitted to stand on
final passage Of the bill. leaves the
House on record in favor Of the censor
ship and the Senate against 1T, and
probably will throw the question into
conference committee for settlement,
where the full force of the administra-
ton will be exerted to put it through
in some form.
Without a record vote the Senate
adopted an amendment by Senator Reed
to make the whole bill effective only
for the duration of the war.
Either Booze or Bread, He Says.
Senator Cummins offered his prohibi-
tion amendment and said: within one
year, If we believe the people who are
best informed, the people of this coun-
try and the countries with which it Is
allied will be starving. They may have
enough to sustain life, but they will
not have enough to sustain the strength
to make them a vigorous fighting force.
Either we will have to do without
booze or we will have to do without
bread. I am in favor of doing without
BOOZE"
Between revenue and foodp said
Senator Cummins. there can be only
one choice. We should not hesitate for
a single minute"
Senator Gallinger, republican leader.
said he was in favor of the prohibition
amendment, and quoted from statis-
tics to show that 7.00O.O0O,O00 pounds
of food were used annually in the man
ufacture of liquor.
Crime to Sit Idly BY.
"1f that be true" he said, "it is moth
ing short of a crime for the United
enormous conscription of the food sup
ply into the manufacture of liquor
which is injurious to the people,"
There is a similar amendment now
pending to the food conservation bill
which has been introduced" objected
Senator Overman; land the proper place
for the amendment is there"
Senator Curtis, republican, said he
was in favor of the Cummins amend
ment and that it should be attached to
This is an important amendment"
he said. ut will save millions of
bushels of grain for the manufacture
of bread and other food
Senator Wadsworth. republican. OBJ
jected on the ground that the Senate
was attempting to deal with a large
subject without much consideration.
Too Hasty, Says Senator Wadsworth
"Here you are starting at the outset
of the war to destroy some industries"
said the New York senator, INSTEAD of
controlling and reducing evils that
may spring from them. You make no
distinction here between the grossest
and slightest evils. You will utterly
destroy the business of every farmer,
and there are thousands of them, who
have all they own invested in vine-
yards. If. you prohibit the use of all
edible things in making alcoholic bev-
erages you include grapes and peaches
and apples also. 1 think we ought to
give this matter good deal of careful
consideration"
Senator Wadsworth said he favored
the eventual prohibition of hard liquor
manufacture or use in this country, but
had not reached the point where the
manufacture of wines and beer should
be forbidden.
Senator Kenyon said while the agri-
culture committee had similar legisla-
ton before 1t he did not know when 1t
might get to the Senate, and he be-
lieved that in the interest of a success
full war action should be taken now.
with flour at SIG a barrel and ex-
pected to be $50 a barrel shortly, and
the cost of living rising" said Senator
Myers, democrat. with bread riots in
New York and Chicago, 1t is incon-
cetvable this government would go very
far in this war without prohibiting
manufacture of grain into whisky"