Evening star., 1917-03-01
No 1ntimation as to Intentions
Regarding Sheppard Pro-
hibition Bill.
BOTH SIDES SEEK HEARING


to urge the President to sign the bill.
He will make this recommendation in
behalf of the board Of District Commits
sioners. He has an appointment with
the President at 3 o'clock.
William F. GUIDE, president of tho
District OF Columbia Referendum Asso-
citation, and Charles ]. Columbus, Its
secretary, called at the White House to-
day to seek an appointment to urge
the President to veto the bill, in order
that a referendum vote may be taken.
They will be informed later of the time
when they may see the President.
Dry" Leaders Confident.
Leaders of the prohibition forces.
protesting little doubt but that the
President will sign the bill. were glee-
full at tho news that the Commission
ers will recommend such a course.
They state their belief that the Presi-
dent will follow the recommendation of
the Commissioners in dealing with a
local measure.
Commissioner Newman today said, in
regard to the dry bill:
Il am delighted at the passage of
the Sheppard bill and am glad to have
an opportunity Of participating in Its
enforcement Being unalterably op-
under any and all conditions. 1t Is i'm
mensely gratifying to know that they
are to be banished from the District
Of Columbia. with whose destinies !
am. naturally. vitality concerned.
1T is commonly said by persons who
don't know much about it that busi-
ness Is hurt by driving out the saloon.
My observation is that business is helped.
because the huge sums formerly spent
for liquor are spent for food, clothing
However.
was hurt. the saloon should, in my
opinion. be abolished because of the
immense harm it does to humanity.
Il am glad to be able to pledge the
present board Of Commissioners to a
sincere determination to enforce the
Sheppard law
To Keep UP the Fight.
Charles ]. Columbus. upon returning
from his call with Mr.. GUIDE at the
White House. said the referendum as
sociation will not abandon it's fight
for the referendum principle.
I'VE wish it understood that rs per
cent of the representatives of our
trade bodies who appeared at the hear
ings in behalf of the referendum were
prohibitionists," said Mr.. Columbus
We simply wish to gain an expression
OF the people of the District on this
vital question"
Leaders of the wet" forces again to-
day pointed to the now-famous letter
Of President Wilson. written May i.
1911. when he was Governor Of New
Jersey. to Rev Thomas Il. Shannon of
Newark. N. J. In that letter Gov. Will
son stated:
II am in favor of local option. am
a thorough believer in local self-gov-
ernment and believe that every self
governing community which constitutes
a social unit should have the right to
control the matter or regulation of the
Withholding licenses"
They point to another letter, written
in 1915, in which he said, in part: "My
so-called Shannon letter precisely de-
fines my position with regard to the
liquor issue. not only as 1T was when l
wrote the letter. but as it is now"
1t is known. however. that the Presi-
dent entertains grave doubt about the
wisdom of a referendum on any ques-
tion in the District, believing that the
lack of voting machinery and the fact
that many residents here would be ex-
Guided because they vote in other
states. would handicap a representative
expression Of opinion.
Consider Error in Dates.
The wet forces are considering the
possibilities offered by the error in
dates in the Sheppard bill as it passed
both Senate and House of Represent
atives. In the enacting clause the date
on which the bill is to become effective
is set at November /. 1917, but on the
following pages the date IS set at No
vember ]. 1916 This error slipped
through the Senate. but was recognized
by the time the bill arrived in the
House District committee. Rather
than risk the final enactment of the
bill. the dry advocates resolved to get
he. fIa
changing the 1916 date to 1917
Leaders of the temperance forces say
the conflict Will not affect the validity
of the law. w. b. Wheeler. general
counsel of the Anti-Saloon League of
America, said:
AN impossible date never controls
when there is a possible date fixed in
the law 1t is clear that the intent of
Congress was to have the law go into
effect November !. 1917"
Our people will not raise the date
issue said Rev. Edwin C. Dinwiddie,
superintendent Of the National Tenn
perance Bureau. IF 1t is raised by the
liquor people they take the chance Of
having decision that prohibition is in
effect on approval of the bill, for which
there are legal precedents in the case
OF conflicting dates"
Six Men to Lose Jobs.
NOHsieSs ltSlSidte0 SIX men out of
office when 1T passed the Sheppard bill
Three members of the excise board af-
fected bp the legislation are: Chairman
Cummings, appointed last August for a
three-year term; Cotter r. Bride, whose
term expires in July next, and Henry S.
Baker. recently given a three-year ap-
pointment by the President. but whose
| nomination has not been confirmed.
| These officials are compensated at the
rate of s2.400 per annum each
Then there are Waldo c. Hibbs, ex-
else inspector. at $1,000; Edward j
Hart. secretary. at $500, and Benja-
min F. Harris. messenger. at $500, who
also will go out of office November /, II
| the President signs the bill. The tota
appropriation for the excise board for
| the present year is s11,S0O.
Loss In revenue to the District as g
| result of the enactment of the dry
| measure will be nearly half a millior
| dollars annually. Based on the present
\ number OF licenses the loss would bs
| S474 TOO The total number of retail