Omaha daily bee., 1917-02-28
HOUSE APPROVES
BONE DRY" BILL
WITHOUT FIGHT
Measure to Prohibit Liquor
Use and Sale Absolutely Ad-
vanced to Third Read
ing by Members.
MOVE FOR DELAY FAILS
No Disposition to Await the
Printing Of Bill in It's
Entirety.
AGREE WITH FEDERAL BILL
MOVE FOR DELAY FAILS
AGREE WITH FEDERAL BILL

(From stan correspondent
Lincoln, Feb. 2.-(Special Tele-
gram. .)-Sjnging How Dry l Am,'
the lower branch of the legislature at
IL o'clock today by unanimous vote
passed to third reading the bone dry"
bill prepared by the joint committee
of both houses.
The bill as recommended prohibits
liquors of any kind except for medic
inal purposes and the like on any
premises, and all on hand midnight
April 80 must be destroyed or drank
up. An attempt was made by some
of the members to delay recommenda-
ton Of the bill until Friday, but this
was voted down.
Section II of the Original bill COW
ering prescribed quantities was entire
ly stricken out and bone dry sec
ton in conformity to the federal bill
adopted.
An attempt to protect newspapers
from liability for unknowingly i'll
serting advertising of prohibited
character was voted down.
There were no very spectacular tea
lures in connection with the consider
alton of the bill. The progress of the
amendments was watched closely.
Attempts of members of the COM
mittees to make it appear that the sec
ond bunch of amendments was offered
by the committee met with oppotssi-
ton, Hoffmeister stating that the
amendments were not committee
amendments, as the committee had
offered its amendments at the previ-
Gus session and these were simply
Norton amendments.
Mr. Norton took the responsibility
of being responsible for new features,
explaining that it was the work of the
Joint committee of both houses and
complied with the federal bill in re-
gard to the keeping of liquors.
Norton's Dry Enough.
Richmond of Douglas offered sew
eral amendments of bone dry ma
ture, but withdrew them all when it
was discovered that the Notion
amendments were as dry as the hot
sands of the desert. He said he did
not want to appear as delaying the
bill, but he did want the considera-
ton of it carried on intelligently, SO
that when completed everybody would
know what the bill contained.
Messrs. Craddock and Schneider.
two other Douglas county men, sent
up an amendment, which would have
allowed stocks of liquor laid in before
May to be kept and used after that
date, but it was also withdrawn. As a
reason for not pressing it, Mr.. Grad
dock said that Congress has taken
the load off our shoulders"
Would Not Postpone.
Proposals were made two or three
times by Messrs. Bates, Richmond
and others, to defer final action upon
The bill for several days until 1t could
be reprinted in its entirety, with all
amendments incorporated, but the
house was not of mind to permit any
further delay, inasmuch as one weeks s
time had already been given for the
members to draft amendments. Each
time the suggestion was made it was
defeated by large majority.
Taking up the bill as special order
at 10 o'clock, the house, in committee
Of the whole, with Speaker Jackson
in the CHR, spent some time wrangling
over hom it should proceed. The
speaker ruled that amendments Of
fered by the prohibition committee
should be read first. They were adopt
de as read, without exception.
Joint Committee Changes,
The joint committee amendments
as adopted made the following
changes:
Section 2, entitled Prohibition on Ii
quors in General" is changed to read az
follows 1T shall be unlowful for any
person, corporation, club or association to