Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-02-17
URGES "B0NE-DRY"
BILL FOR DISTRICT
Mr.. Morrison Says Present
Measure Is in No Sense
'Anti-A!CohoI."
BRINGS OUT WEAK POINTS

An actually "bone-dry" District of
Columbia is urged by Representative
Morrison of Indiana, who states that
the pending Sheppard-Barkley bill is
"anti-saloon," but in no sense anti
alcohol" In its pace, Representative
Morrison urges a law which actually
prohibits and wipes out any chance OIL
even single drink being left in TINS
city, or any chance of one being sWug-
gled over the bound dairy line from Mary
land or any other state. Representa-
tive Morrison. who retires from con-
gress at the expiration of the present
session. was nominated and electeu lou
times on q platform containing pidhk !.
for a dry Washington. In statement
issued by him he says that washington
is the ideal place for an actually bone
dry law. He says:
In no other city are there more eie
ments that make for the success OF such
an undertaking or fewer elements that
would tend to make the administration
of such a law difficult. In the carcum
stances, the Congress cannot IN la,I
ness enact a law patterned AFTER me
weakest of the weak states. 1t is rain
err our duty to make the dry law loi
the District of Columbia as strong as
the strongest.
THE pending bill as it came TO the
House is fatally weak at two poiiits,, l,
permits the manufacture OF alcohoi
within the District for beverage pur-
poses and it's expectation from the Dis,
trict. OF course. alcohol once ca, leu
beyond District lines passes peyo ono tiit
control of the officers of the Dlstflct
and heyond the control of the Congress
under the pending Dill
Weak Points in Bill.
"Tbe hill as if came to US, also writes
into the dry bill for the District OF
Columbia the fatal weakness that has
for many years made states nominally
dry actually wet, to wit, the right OF
interstate shipment of liquors into the
District for beverage purposes Until
recently states have had no power to
prevent the evasion and practical NULL
fication of state constitutions ana
statutes by interstate shipments. and
until recently the Congress has refused
to place it within the power OF the
states so to protect themselves. Just
now, for the first time, the several
states are in position to enact and en-
force laws that are completely and ef-
fectively prohibitory.
THE weak spot in state legislation
has always been the failure of the Con-
gress to outlaw interstate shipments IN
violation of state laws. FOR lHe DIS
trict of Columbia the Congress eXer-
cises both the general police power eN-
ercised by the legislatures of the sew
eral states and its own general plenary
power over interstate and foreign COM
MERGE If the otherwise drastic pro-
visions of the pending bill are to be
legally subject to notification by i'm
portation of alcoholic liquor for bever-
age purposes, it can be accomplished
only by the deliberate refusal of the
Congress to exercise for the benefit of
the people of the District of Columbia
the power it indisputably has and has
already exercised for the protection of
the people of every state OF the Union.
The bill as it stands is distinctly and
exclusively 'anti-saloon,' but is in no
true sense anti pocol.' If it shall re-
main substantially unchanged it will
be little less than a CHASTITY joke to
continue to refer to it as a dry bill or
as bill to make the District dry"