The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1918-07-05
NEW PLAN FOR DRY NATION
UP TO SENATE FOR ACTION
Committee o. KS Amendment Pro
viding for Prohibition June 80.

viding for Prohibition June 80.
Washington, June 27.-Wartime
prohibition was thought to be abso-
Iutely inevitable. The opposition to
it has not given up the fight. but
the Senate Committee on Agricul-
ture, in voting to report the Norris
amendment, mentions that the issue
will come to a vote in the Senate,
and il a vote is taken, that vote will
be dry"
The only serious hope that the
vets had of defeating prohibition
during the period of war lay in the
possibility of an adverse committee
report, which would have had the
effect of keeping the matter from
the calendar as a part of necessary
appropriation bill. BY the over
whelming vote of 8lto 8, the commit
tee stood for the rev amendment,
and the appropriation bill will come
before the Senate with this rider at
tached to it.
In order to obtain favorable re-
port, however, a compromise was
forced. Under this the whisky and
wine industries are given until June
80, 1919, in which to liquidate and
get out of business. The breweries
are allowed three months from the
passage of the bill in which to close
down.
This is a somewhat more conserva-
tive measure than was that which
originally came before the Agricul-
tural Committee. The first measure
would have prohibited the selling Of
any liquor now on hand, the closing
of the breweries almost Immediately
end the outlawing of wine making
even before the current grape crop
is saved.
Those who opposed the enactment
of liquor legislation at this time were
inclined to throw up their hands.
They took the position that if the
influence of the Administration, in
cluding the President himself, cou-
pied with the forceful arguments of
such men as Percy H. Johnston, for
merly of Louisville; Chairman Hur-
ley, of the Shipping Board; Samuel
Gompers, of the American Federation
of Labor, and Food Administrator
Hoover, could not stay action by the
Senate Committee, that it was i'm
possible to head off the dry forces"
Extensive hearings on the question
of prohibition during the war were
held by the committee. The proposal
was opposed and approved by high
Government officials and others.
Chairman Hurley and Bainridge
Colby, of the Shipping Board, were
among chief opponents because of
the effect they feared the taking of
beer from the workmon would have
ION the shipbuilding industry.
Secretary Daniels disagreed with
the view of Shipping Board officials.
Mr.. Daniels, who did not appear as
an advocate of prohibition, but at
the request of the committee, said
that after the sale of liquor was pro-
htbited around the Mare Island Navy
Yard and the Newport Torpedo Sta
tion, the workmen showed greater
efficiency, the outputs of both plants
increasing He said this increased
efficiency was further indicated by
the record launching of torpedo
boat destroyer at the Mare Island
yard in seventeen and one-half days
after the keel was laid
Senator Sheppard, of Texas, and
other prohibition leaders were con-
fident of the passage of the prohibi-
tion amendment They said that
since the Senate last year adopted
by two-thirds vote the resolution
to submit to the States prohibition
constitutional amendment majority
vote in support of the present pro-
posal easily could be secured. OPP
ponents, however, expected strong
fight to be made in view of the
fact that the constitutional amend
ment now is awaiting action by the
States.