Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1917-05-22
AGAIN
FIGHTS ON DRY
WARTIME LAW
Cun,mins and Others Urge
Amendment to Food
Control Bill

Washington, d c., May n-The
senate today took up the asmnis8ra
ton bill providing for federal survey
of food supplies, stimulation Of pro-
duction, prevention Of boarding, ncens-
ing of dealers and authorizing mixing
Iof fours.
Efforts to add prohibition amend
ment to the bill were forecast by sew
eral amendments introduced today IN
senate proposing various plans to cur
tail manufacture Of intoxicating bev-
erages during the war. Senator Thomp-
son of Kansas introduced the Webb
bill. now pending in the house to pro
hibit use of foodstuffs for making
liquor.
cUMMiks OFFERS AMENDMENT.
Senator Cummins of Iowa intro
duced similar amendment and Sen
ator Jones or Washington offered an
other authorizing the president to
commander present supplies of liquor
and take over liquor, manufacturing
plants.
Another prohibition amendment by
Senator Wadsworth of New York
would make unlawful the manufacture
of distilled spirits during the war, ex-
cept for industrial mechanical, sacra-
mental and scientific purposes and
limit alcohol content Of beer and other
malt liquors to per cent.
TRAFFIC CONTROL FAVORED.
Favorable report on the administra-
tion bill to give the president broad
powers as to preferential shipments of
food, munitions and other war traffic,
was made today to the house.
The report says the bill is ''gernsane
to the earnest effort we are making to
utilize to the highest state of efficiency
during the war the transportation facil
tiles of the country and to promote the
efforts of the administration to carr5
on the war by requiring preferential
shipments Of all freight which, in the
Judgment OF the president, Is essen
tial to the public security and de-
fense."
The section as to movements Of
transportation. the report explains,
has no reference, as has been errone-
ously stated in some quarters, to any
disputes between carriers and their
employees"
Fortunately, it adds. 'there is a
truce on that subject during the
war
HOOVER FOOD DICTATOR.
President Wilson in a statement
Saturday outlining the administrators
food control policy, announced he had
asked Herbert c. Hoover to become
American food administrator and that
Mr.. Hoover would accept the place.
Mr. Hoover proposes that the food
administration be divided into great
branches. Most Of the work to be car
ried out by men and women of the
country on volunteer basis.
IF this cannot be done Mr..
Hoover's statement says, II shall GER
tainly and willingly surrender the task
to some other method of emergency.
/ hold that democracy can yield to dis
cipline and that we can solve this food
problem for our own people and our
allies in this way, and that to have
done so viii have been greater ser
vice than our immediate objective, for
We will have demonstrated the right
ness of our faith and our ability to de-
fend ourselves without being Prus-
sianized.'
with the president Mr. Hoover be-
l1eveS II rarely VIII DecoEle necessary
to apply large powers.
PRINCIPLES OF CONTROL.
Five cardinal principles of food ad-
ministration outlined by Mr.. Hoover in
his statement are:
That the food problem is one of
wise administration and not ex-
pressed by the words dictator" or
"cortruler- but food admins
traitor"
That this administration can be
largely carried out through the CO
ordination and regulation of the
existing legitimate distributive
agencies. supplemented by certain
emergency bodies composed OF
representatives of the producers.
distributors and consumers.
The organization of the COM
CONTINUED on Page S.