The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931, 1920-03-18
STRAIGHT ITS BEER
FIGHT SPLITS c. O.P.
RANKS AT ALBANY.
Walters Takes Charge of
United VETS - Sweet
Heads DryS.
By Joseph A. Jordan.
Especial staff Correspondent Of The
EVENING WORLDLY

Evening Worldly
ALBANY. March rs. - Speaker
Sweets power is challenged to-day in
new wet and dry lineup that
threatens TO split the Republican
Party wide open. II Is to be a fight
for wartime beer "old 2.T5.- only
with no light wines or other entangie-
ments.
Senator Walters. Majority Leader
In the Senate, heads the beer forces,
and Speaker Sweet, with all his pow
ers over the Assembly, is in command
of the dryE. The party whip is crack
ing. but so far without definite re-
suits.
with the Senate vets lined up for
the Walker bill-a beer measure only
Senator Walters had n conference
with Col Ransom II. Gillett, Repub-
lican, who has been forcing a fight
for beer and light wines bill in the
Assembly.
As a result, Gillett win substitute
the Walker bill for his own.
The split between the Repub blican
leadership of the two Houses Is COM
plete In both chambers there is wide
division in party ranks. 1t is the
most bitterly contested issue the Leg
islature has faced in years.
Leader Walters announced that the
Republicans in the State would not
caucus on the matter, although for
NAL demand has been made by Sena-
tor Thompson. who is handling the
Anti Saloon League enforcement bill
Back OF Speaker Sweet are the
sixty upstate Republicans from
rural districts which are bone dry.
They will join in the Speakers de-
mand for a caucus of the Assembly
To whip the insurgent Republicans
into line.
the wet Assemblymen, including
most of the ex-service men and Re-
publIcans from upstate cities, arc
refusing to enter a caucus. Except
for the Sweet distractions, the COM
promise beer bill could be passed any
day. At least a score Of Republicans
insist they will not be tied by party
rule on the question.
Sneaker Sweet has two powerful
weapons. He may refuse to let the
Excise Committee, which he controls
and which is dry, report cut the beer
bill. That will force the insurgents
IN vote directly against his leadership
and thereby lay themselves open TO
punishment. The Speaker is Chair
man of the Rules Committee, which
can kill every local bill demanded by
t1e Assemblymen and upon which
tneir success at home depends.
Senator Walters said the Senate
was ready to pass a bill providing for
2.75 per cent. beer, but would shy ut
the proposal to leghize 10 per cent.
wine.
That there will be no bone dry en-
forcement act passed this session is
q foregone conclusion. Even Speaker
Sweet OF the Assembly admits this,
although not for public utterance.
The big fight of the Republicans is
TO secure the Endorsement by the
State OF the Eighteenth Amendment
to the Constitution, and IL they can't
get II any other way they are willing
to have the Prohibition Act incorpor-
ated as an amendment of the state
Penal Code. This is a brand new
proposition and the Republicans
argue that IL would be up to each
locality to judge for itself whether
1t would be wet or dry.
1t would really mean local option,
because 1t would have to be left TO a
jury to determine whether a man was
Intoxicated, or whether liquor found
on his person or premises was intoxi-
eating liquor or not. 1t would mean
that the District Attorney in any
community would decide whether that
community be wet or dry. 1t would
rest with the District Attorney
whether the Volstead act would ap-
ply to his community, and the Repub-
! licans are outspoken that, so far as
the State is concerned, New York
City would remain wet.