Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-02-25
City Members Balk.

Many city members will not be bound
on such a matter on the ground that
they have their own districts to look
to fox instructions on such an issue
and that they will not take caucus di-
rection on a matter affecting the city
of Washington.
Several members known to be strong
labor sympathiZers took counsel on the
when the District hearings were in
progress Representative Gould asked
the secretary of one Of the international
unions how labor man in Congress
ought to vote on the matter. After
endeavoring to dodge the question. the
secretary answered that he considered
labor man would be untrue to the
interests of organized labor" If he
voted for prohibition.
1t seems to be the tactics of the dryS,
led by the majority of the rules COM
mittee and Representative Barkley of
Kentucky, TO wait until the District
committee reports the referendum bill
to the House. If this plan should be
followed, Chairman Johnson will re-
port the District committee referendum
bill. written by Representative Gould
of New York. at noon Tuesday. Inn
mediately member of the rules COM
mittee. probably Representative Har-
rison of Mississippi, will bring in rule
to make the Gould referendum bin in
order. Then, having brought up the
referendum bill, the drys will attempt
to vote 1t down. and if they succeed in
that the next step Will be to bring up
the rule to make the Sheppard Bark
ley bill in order. If that rule should
carry, then the Sheppard Barkley bill
will be passed by the House. without
the slightest doubt, according to House
members last night.
Another Plan Proposed.
Under the world-old rule that there's
many a slip twixt the cup and the lip,
it would not be surprising if all of
these plans go astray between now and
the middle of the week. The District
committee, it was rumored, will have
presented to it another proposition to-
morrow which will be more embarrass-
ing, perhaps. to the drys than the pres
ent referendum bill
Representative Gould of New York
who has prepared the referendum bill
in the District committee. explained
his action in an interview yesterday.
He said
AT the suggestion of several mem
bers of the House of Representatives,
after attending the hearings be-
fore the District of Columbia commit
tee in connection with the Sheppard
bill Is. 1OS2), which provides for pro-
hibition in the District OF Columbia.
/ prepared and proposed at the Dis
trict of Columbia committee meeting,
February "a. as a substitute for the Shep-
pard bill, an act which would permit a
referendum vote to be held by the resi-
dents of the city of Washington and
the District of Columbia in order to
express their desire for or against
prohibition. This bill also provides
that a voter having a voting residence
at home in another state shall not. un-.
less the laws of his state provide diff
ferently, lose his vote at home in case
he registers his approval or disap-
proval of prohibition by voting in the
special referendum which may be held
provided this bill is passed
1 also have been firmly convinced
that. inasmuch as the Congress has
decided that liquor should not be ship
ped into dry states in interstate COM