New-York tribune., 1918-06-11
Prohibitionists Back Sen
ator Jones's Substitute for
Randall Amendment
Wilson and Hoover
Opposition Ignored
Point to 3 to l Vote in
Upper and 2-3 Major
ity in Lower House
Especial Dispatch to The Tribune)

Especial Dispatch to The Tribune)
WASHINGTON, June 1O.-Prospects
of an almost bone dry country-with
little wine for sale, but no beer, and
positively no distilled liquor-loomed
up to-day when the dry lobby got Wig
orously behind an amendment proposed
by Senator Wesley L. Jones, of Wash
ington, which is offered as a substitute
for the Randall amendment adopted by
the House, but opposed by President
Wilson and Food Administrator
Hoover.
The Jones amendment meets all the
objections made by the President and
Mr.. Hoover. The 'orgy of drunken
ness" feared by Mr.. Hoover as the
logical result of the Randall amend
ment is prevented by fiat prohibition
of the sale, transportation or furnish
ing Of distilled liquors during the pc
riod Of the war. The amendment also
forbids, as did the Randall amendment,
the use of food, fruits, food materials
or feeds" for the making of wine or
beer. So the Jones' amendment actu-
ally includes everything provided by
the Randall amendment. already ap-
in that it prevents the sale of distilled
liquor. ~.
Means Bdne-Dry Nation
The practical effect of it, as pointed
out by the dry lobby to-day, would be
that the supply of beer in the coun-
try would be exhausted in a few
months, whereupon only the rather
scanty supply of wine here-this not
being heavy wine drinking country
would soon disappear before the COM
drinkers, added in their thirst for alco-
hol to the minority of wine drinkers.
Then there would be nothing left to
drink, except the two or three years.
supply of distilled liquor, the sale,
transportation or even furnishing" of
which would be prohibited by law. A
bone-dry country would result.
No provision is made in the amend
ment for reimbursing the holders of
the huge whiskey stocks in the coun-
try. The many millionaires made by
the advance in price of distilled liquors
may we'll view the amendment with
alarm, should it be enacted without
change.
DTy OcNdIOTS NCuuUcuL
Dry Senators to-day were confident
the amendment would pass. They point
ed to the three-to-one vote by which
the national prohibition amendment re-
ferring the question to the states was
adopted by the Senate Flushed with
victory, the drys are not content to
wait the slow process of the state-by-
state ratification, especially since it is
apparent that the states are not rati-
flying the amendment with the speed
for which they had hoped.
They say the Senate will without
question approve the amendment by a
large majority and the House will yield
to the change made from the Randall
amendment. AS there is prohibition
majority of more than two-thirds in
quired in either house to pass this
amendment, their hopes seem to be
we'll founded.
AS to the constitutionality of the
proposed prohibition amendment, the
drys are not so sure. Most of them say
there is no doubt about the power of
Congress to do anything in war time as
war measure, but some dry Senators
are not so sure.
"After last weeks decision by the
Supreme Court that the child labor law
was unconstitutional because it inter
fered with state rights, l am not so
sure" said one dry Senator tonight.
However, it is worth trial"
Text of Jones Amendment
Following is the text of the Jones
amendment:
Provided, that, from and after the
date of the approval of this act and
during the continuance of the pres
ent war it shall be unlawful to sell,
furnish or transport distilled spirits
for beverage purposes, and no dis
titled spirits held in bond at the date
of the approval of this act shall be
removed therefrom for beverage pur-
poses, and from and after thirty days
| from the date of the approval of this
act no food, fruits, food materials or
feeds shall, during the continuance
of the present war, be used in the
production of malt or vinous liquors
for beverage purposes; and the Presi-
dent is hereby authorized and direct
ed to prescribe any and all rules and
regulations deemed necessary to
carry the foregoing provisions into
effect, and any one who wilfully vio-
lates any of the foregoing provisions
or any rule or regulation made to
carry the same into effect shall be
punished by fine not exceeding
$4,000 or by Imprisonment for not
more than two years, or both The
| Commissioner Of Internal Revenue
and all other officers of the United
States shall have all the power for
the enforcement of the foregoing
| provisions which is conferred by law
| for the enforcement Of the existing
| laws relating to the manufacture,
| sale or transportation Of. intoxicas-
ing liquors under the revenue laws
of the United States or otherwise.