New-York tribune., 1919-05-25
Never Ending
War on Drys
Is Declared
Continued from page 1

New York and its suburbs, in mass
meeting assembled in Madison Square
Garden on this, the twenty fourth
day of May, 1919, express them
selves, by approving this resolution,
as being sternly and irrevocably OPP
posed to any bill passed by Con-
gress providing for the enforcement
of the Eighteenth Amendment, until
such time as the United States Su-
preme Court has said that the amend
men is legally a part of the funda-
mental law of the Republic and
be it further
"Resolved, That this meeting ex-
presses itself as sternly and irrev-
ocably opposed to any member of
the Sixty-sixth Congress who at this
session of Congress votes in favor
of any bin providing for the enforce
ment Of the Eighteenth Amendment;
and, be it further
"Resolved, That we demand of the
Sixty-slxth Congress the repeal on
or before July /, Of all so-called war
time prohibition.'
Army Officer Is Bitter
The army officer who spoke was
Lieutenant Edwin j. Mcdonald. 1t was
the whole hearted harmonious action
of the nation which had enabled the
United States to be in at the death in
France, he said.
II might say" he declared, "that had
prohibition been passed while hostil-
ties were actually on, the situation
might have been changed. The fight
ing men showed every drop of their
fighting blood, evidenced unheard- OF
heroic acts, accomplished almost in
conceivable detectives. because the
people at home were whole -heartedly
behind them.
when, 10 and behold after the
work was done-accomplished in a
most fitting way2the newspapers of the
A. E. F. made the announcement that
the states were going dry after July 1 !!
Well, they put it over on us!" was the
common and usual expression of al
most every one"
Denounces "Damnable Lie"
Lieutenant Mcdonald read from
what he said was "clip sheet issued
by the Board of Temperance, Prohibi-
ton and Public Morals on March 20,
1919. 1t said that many soldiers had
been won to prohibition by their visit
to France because "they know that few
people in France are really ever sober"
Hundreds Of boys here" he said,
know what a pernicious and false
statement and what a damnable lie
that is.
when they say our stay in France
made many prohibitionist, they ex-
aggerate; on the contrary, almost 95
per cent of the overseas men are
against prohibition, and, what is more
intend to fight it out and, what is still
more, intend to make those Represen-
tatives at Washington who put it over
on us while we were away repent.
There could be nothing more detri-
mental to the national welfare, moth
ing more destructive of the unified
spirit Of the past, nothing more en-
couraging to anarchism and Bolshe-
vlsm, than to have prohibition fall on
the people Of this country when the
overwhelming mass of the people are
against it,"
The Rev. John L. Belford Roman
Catholic priest who has gained the en-
nifty of prohibition leaders. declared
his conviction that a prohibition pub
lication probably would lampoon him
as drunken priest addressing a
drunken audience, but said he was
going to talk just the same. He is
pastor of the Church of the NATIVITY.
in Brooklyn.
"People will ask the question:" he
SAID, "how is it that this great nation,
which has been the admiration of the
world, particularly nthe last ffty
years, should ever allow so vile a stat
ute to be written on it's code. And the
answer is because the decent people of
America did not believe that this in
famous measure could be carried
through the legislatures of the states.
or particularly through that govern
ment at Congress which they have al
ways been taught to respect; and they
had too much faith in their legislat
ures, they had too much respect for
the wisdom and the justice of the Con-
gress, and therefore they were asleep
while the enemy were awake, and the
enemy organized and used every just
and unjust measure in order to carry
out their plan. They employed men
VINO are notorious for their mendacity;
they gave them unlimited money to
use or abuse, and the Lord alone knows
now they used it or abused it. The
money that was given to them had no
strings on it. They kept no books and
they are not able to give any account
OF what they have done with it, and
believe as firmly as l am standing here
that many of those who have gone
about the country agitating in the
cause Of prohibition, who have haunted
the lobbIes in the various state legis-
latures and the lobbes in Washington.
have never allowed the money to 90 out
of their own pockets"
Representative Reuben L. Haskell,
besides asserting that prohibition leg
isiation was an infringement upon in
dividual liberty, already had led to
speculative buying and would be of
doubtful benefit, declared that the issue
was entirely moral one and outside
the sphere Of legislation except for
purposes Of revenue, for regulation
through the police power Of the state
or for the conservation Of food during
the war. He spoke, in part, as fol-
lows:
1.-THE organized minority which has
succeeded, in part, In the passage of
prohibition laws, is about to be put to