Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-04-12
'sDRYS" FORESEE
GREATEST VICTORY
at Threshold Of National
Prohibition Through Ex-.
igency Of War
SHORTAGE IN GRAIN CROP
Cereals Required for Food Sup
ply-Liquor Men Argue Treas
(. ury's Need of Revenue
WASHINGTON. April ~.

Art,.,iouor forces are standing today on
~ threshold of their greatest victory
shs final drive OF the prohibition forces is
nsarIng completion. For under the lash
A. war and economic necessity. the Admin
s.,rotion is seriously considering the sup.
srsssion of the manufacture of alcoholic
iouors-for the duration Of the war at
least.
prohibition and temperance advocates
ara exerting every pressure known to the
art of conviction to bring this about. Once
ths manufacture of liquor Is stopped. once
the vast machinery of the distilleries is
halted, they believe that 1t will never be
resumed.
The moral side of the question Is not
Seng considered by the Government off,
s,als. That they believe is moot ques-
Non-much to be said "for and agin It."
Hut facing a 40 per cent reduction in the
nation's winter wheat supply, stringent
ssmedal measures are absolutely essential.
"DRYs" URGE PROHIBITION
To this end there has been placed before
President Wilson and his Cabinet figures
'showing that by stopping the manufacture
~ Iouor there will be an annual saving
of COZ, ,00O, 900 bushels of wheat alone. Corn.
harley and rye also figure equally as i'm
portantly in the production of alcoholic
stimulants 1t is known that the matter
has been discussed by the Cabinet. Repre-
sentative Asbury F. Lever. of South Caro-
lima, chairman of the House Agricultural
Committee, conferred with President viii.
son at the White House yesterday A
short time before he had been in confer
snce with Secretary of Commerce Redfeld
and Secretary of Agriculture Houston.
The Department of Commerce has pre-.
pared figures showing just how much grain
would be saved by adopting the anti-liquor
forces plan. 1t reaches an astounding total.
Some sort of drastic action against the
Nouor traffic Is assured OF that there can
te no doubt. Only the form the action will
take is being debated.
The liquor forces in Washington have
marshaled their forces. They have pointed
out to the Government that If the manu-.
facture of their product is stopped it will
mean the loss of millions and millions of
dollars annually to the national treasury.
They have urged that, with the Government
floating the most gigantic loan in the his.
tory of world flnance-$7 900 ,000. .O00-every
dollar In revenue is going to be needed.
They have put the pertinent question to off,
cals of how the Government is going to
make up the deficit of these stupendous
amounts taken away from the Treasury.
And no one, they have pointed out. can ac-
curately forecast how long the world war
will last. The Government may be sadly in
need of whisky dollars" and every other
kind before peace again comes to the world,
II is argued.
SALE AND MANUFACTURE
A form Of sop has been thrown to the
liquor people by the argument that the
Government would not suppress the sal"
Of liquor, but only the manufacture" in
order to conserve the nations grain Of
ncals have pointed out to the liquor men
that drinks can be imported, but the dis
tillers' representatives have countered with
the question Of where are we to get U?"
! The grain shortage is not national; 1t is
3 worldwide In its scope. and every nation
under the sun, belligerent or neutral. is
suffering from food shortage. All are try
Ing to conserve their grain supplies
Two propositions are before the ad-
ministration-stop the manufacture of
liquor or raise the taxes on it's production
: to such a prohibitive degree that it will
onset. or nearly so, the loss of the grain
mat goes into 1t. Prohibition advocates
favor the former; but they feel that in
either event they have won victory in the
cause to which Neal Dow and John b.
Cough devoted their lives.