Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1917-02-09
WHlTMORE'S "BONE
DRY" BILL KILLED.
IOWA SENATE FEARS TO PASS
TEMPERANCE MEASURE At
PRESENT TIME.
Especial Correspondence


Des Moines, Feb. All possibility
the present legislature was believed to
have been killed in the senate yester-
day when action was postponed on the
three WhitmOre bills until February
20 and the bills were returned to the
senate temperance committee.
Senator Whitmore announced after
postponement that he will sidetrack
senate file No. 4. prohibiting railroads
from carrying liquor and preventing
it's transportation on streets and high
ways. and bring in another, fashioned
after the Washington liquor law, per-
hitting the importation of liquor for
personal consumption.
Senate file No. 4 was the real bone
dry bill If it had been adopted,
liquor for personal consumption would
have been barred from the state al
together. The measure would have
made 1t illegal to bring liquor into the
state in any manner or for any pur-
pose except medicinal and manufactur-
ing purposes.
The new measure Senator Whit
more will ask the temperance commit
tee, of which he is chairman, to bring
out, will provide that individuals may
receive a certain amount of liquor in
a specified period for personal con-
sumption The amount suggested by
Senator Whitmore is two quarts of
whisky and case of beer every two
weeks: The purchaser would be re-
quired to go to the office of the county
auditor and secure certificate that
the liquor was for personal consump-
ton only. Railroad and express COM
panies would then be required to at
tach that certificate to the liquor ship
ment before they could legally deliver
it to the consignee. Any person re-
cejving liquor in excess Of the stipu-
lated amount would be subject to
prosecution for violation Of the liquor
laws.
Thus the laws would permit liquor
Tor personal CONSUMPTION but tie the
bootlegger hand and foot, according to
Senator Whitmore.
The outcome of the parliamentary
maneuvering that prevented the SEN
ate from reaching vote on the three
bills yesterday while victory for the
anti-radicals on the LIQUOR question,
was really life saver for the hackers
of Whitmore
The moment President Moore called
the bills for action Senator Wilson Of
Appanoose moved that consideration
be postponed until February 20. Sen
ator Whitmore Immediately asked for
ten minutes to argue the point He
thought he was entitled to that time
under the senate rules. After consid-
cradle parliamentary discussion he
was ruled out of order and the senate
adopted the Wilson measure of post
ponement.
Senator Kimball of Council Bluffs
then moved the bill be referred to the
temperance committee of the senate.
Whitmore and his followers voted mo"
on both motions but 1t is said they
were secretly pleased with the turn OF
affairs 1t paved the way to gracefully
pull back the bone dry" bill and sub
stitute the new measure permitting
personal consumption.
Senator Wilson gave as his reason
for postponing action on the bills that
many of the senators were undecided
whether the adoption of the bone
dry" bill would iniure the chances Of
the constitutional prohibitory amend
ment at the polls. He declared the SEN
ators wanted longer time to consider
this phase of the temperance situation,