Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1917-06-26
SENATE UP IN AIR
OVER DRY CLAUSE
IN FOOD CONTROL
Lever Bill Blocked by Con-
fusion Caused by Drastic
Dry Measure
DISTRIBUTION WILL BE
aim, NOT PRODUCTION
Bill Being BrOadened to In
clude Coal. Steel, Oil and
Other Necessaries

Washington, June 26.-The senate
agricultural subcommittee today voted
to broaden the house food control bill
to include regulation of coal, steel, oil
petroleum products, farm implements
and other necessaries.
The committee amended the bill to
exclude from control of the food admin
istrator food consumption-wha the
people shall serve ON their table. 1t was
further agreed to release the farmer
from all regulation under the bill cover.
ing power to requisition products.
Senator Gore contended the bill
should be limited only to distribution
and not to production A special sub
committee, including Gore, Kenyon and
Chamberlain was named to consider
this
The dry amendment was not acted on
during the morning.
The prohibition fight, pending in the
senate today endangered the whole
legislative program.
The Lever food bill Is blocked by
the tremendous confusion resulting
from injection Of the sweeping dry
amendment by the house.
Threats and counter threats from OPP
posing factions have brought about a
situation perhaps unprecedented in the
upper branch As result, rection to-
day set in. in force against the drastic
dry measure as an adjunct to the food
BILL
Would Cause Great Loss.
"Let prohibition go through on its
own merits, and not under the food con
troll measure" urged one dry member
today.
Letters and kilograms poured in from
all sections and all factions, the radical
prohibitionists hailing the situation as
propitious to put across a nation wide
dry bill and the more conservative urg-
ing against hitching prohibition to the
food measure.
Meantime, the senate finance com
mittee experts are mulling over argu-
ments of experts dealing with loss of
revenue if the prohibition amendment
carries.
Some emphasize that $3.50, 100000 in
taxes to the federal government and
i$3, ,00O,000,O00 or more to individual
states and cities in license taxes and
the like will be lost through the prohi-
bition amendment
To which proponents reply: eyes,
but this tax money and the billions in
volved in the annual business of the
breweries, distilleries and saloons will
thereby be diverted to other business
channels which can be drawn on for
taxes.n
Fear for the Children.
And again, those opposed point out
that under the house amendment even
household dainties and children s de-
lights are threatened because vanilla,
lemon and orange extracts could not be
even for flavoring, cook
ing, ice cream, soda, candies and cake
In addition to the prohibition fight
the food bill was threatened from an
other angle. There is an effort on
foot to overload the measure so it can
not move. Senator Reed, Missouri, and
numerous others say that if food is
steel, oil, elothing-every-
thing from a sack of peanuts to farm
implements must be controlled.
designed to accomplish
this are III reserve,
Already the measure is carrying some
super ANIMATED measures such as the
Walsh oil land leasing bill, which has
been before the senate five years and
the preferential routing bill, passed by
the senate some time ago.
With this tangled skein to unrayel,
the senate agriculture subcommittee
met early today to redraft the house
bill. 1t was hoped this committee would
be able to report out to the full COM
mittee tomorrow and that the bill would
be on the floor for q finish fight late
or Thursday.
The house dry amendment viii be re-
written to clarity it, bat. viii not be
according TO present commit
tee plans.