Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1917-07-04
u S. IS VOTED DRY
FOOD CONTROL BILL is PASSED
IN THE HOUSE BY VOTE OF
365 TO 5.
NOW UP TO THE SENATE
Confiscation by President of All
Whisky in Country Authorized
Beer and Wine included in
Prohibitions.

Washington, June 25.-The admins
tration's food control bill was passed
in the house on Saturday.
1t gives the president power TO con-
troll the distribution of food, feed and
fuel for war purposes and appropriates
$152, 100000 for its enforcement and
administration.
The measure was passed after sweep
ing prohibition for the war had been
written into it.
Only Five Vote Against Bill.
The vote was 363 to 5. Representa-
'tives McLemore, Slayden and Young of
Texas, Democrats, and Meeker, Mis-
souri,, and Ward, New York, Republi-
cans, voted in the negative
Those voting present were Hubert,
New York; SABBATH, Illinois; Kitchin,
North Carolina; Gallagher, Illinois,
and Esch, Wisconsin.
The bill gives the president power:
/. To regulate transportation, stor-
age, distribution and sale of food
stuffs.
3. To prohibit further distribution of
and to seize present stored supplies.
4. To prevent willful destruction of
food products or boarding.
5. TO prevent Withholding of fuel
from the market or boarding.
6. To prevent control for monopoly
OF shoes, clothing and other necessities
of life.
T. To establish license system to
regulate manufacture and expectation.
s. To commander all storage and
food supply plants, and fuel mines, if
necessary.
9. To appoint any agency or person
to make effective the provisions of the
bill.
To Seek Senate Action.
The bill will be taken up in the SEN
ate early this week and administration
leaders will make every effort to force
it TO an early vote, as it is desired
that the law shall become operative
July 1.
The prohibition amendment, adopted
as a substitte for the provision in
the original bill, which authorized the
president to forbid the manufacture of
alcoholic beverages follows:
mo person shall use any food ma
teriaIs or foods in the production of
alcohol, except for governmental, In
dustlial, scientific, medicinal or sacra-
mental purposes, or of alcoholic bev-
erages. Any person who willfully vio-
lates this section shall upon convic-
ton thereof be punished by fine not
exceeding $1,000 or by Imprisonment
for not more than two years, or both"
Political lines were cast aside, Re-
publicans and Democrats being about
equally divided in support of and in
opposition to the drastic amendments.
Efforts to save the beer and wine in
terests met with decisive defeat. 1t
was argued on behalf of continuance
of wine and beer making that unless
these were permitted the nation would
turn to whisky as that would be the
only drink in existence.
The adoption of the provision for
confiscation nullified this argument, as
the president with the powers given
him, may decide the whisky now held
in bonded warehouses would serve a
more useful purpose by being convert
ed into alcohol for munition manufac-
ture than to be sold for human con-
sumption.
To compensate for the intoXicants
seized Lenroot of Wisconsin unsuccess-
fully tried to increase the appropria-
ton.
Curbs Gambling, boarding.
The bill was drawn ''to stimulate
production, reduce waste, facilitate and
clear the channels of distributors, pre-
vent boarding, assure fair prices elimi-
nate injurious speculation and prohibit
evil pra ctices on exchanges"
If food allowed to be brought in from
Europe threatens to injure American
prices and business the president is au-
tborized to impose an additional tariff.
The prohibition clause was forced
through only after bitter fight.
a, onIuNrn Nnro EnDngfnn