The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1921-06-24
SPLIT OVER NEW
v0LsTEAD BILL
Dry Leaders Differ on Ways to
Make Dry Laws Dry.
SEEK PATH TO REAL DESERT
Wayne B. Wheeler's Ire Aroused Over
Testimony of e. c. Dinwiddie
Before the House Commit
tee at Washington.

Washington, June 20. - Prohibition
for years to make the country dry,
split wide open before the house rules
committee over the question of tight
ening up the law for the enforcement
of the eighteenth amendment. The
rules committee had before it q de-
mand for a special rule to rush
through the Volstead supplementary
prohibition bill as an emergency meas
ure.
e. G. Dinwiddie, former chairman OF
the Anti-Saloon league legislative COM
Initee, told the committee he saw no
necessity for such haste, except in so
far as the bill related to prohibiting
doctors from prescribing beer as medi-
cine.
Mr.. Dinwiddie's testimony aroused
the ire of his old colleague Wayne
b. Wheeler, general counsel for the
league.
Sees BiIPs Death Blow.
Opposition to the merits of the bill
is simply an attempt to kill it," Mr..
Wheeler said. "Mr. Dinwiddie has not
been with the Anti-Saloon league for
more than year, and In assuming to
protect certain phases of the trade he
is unwittingly protecting the illegal
traffic. In oppositing this bill Mr..
Dinwiddie Is in new company"
The new Volstead bill, broadly
speaking, is divided into two parts.
One part would prohibit the prescrip-
ton Of beer as medicine and the other
part tightens up the restrictions on
the use of alcohol for industrial pur-
poses.
Mr.. Dinwiddie argued for the divi-
sion of these parts into two separate
parts.
"It would be wiser to pass that
which is emergency legislation and
then to take up the other features, >
Dinwiddie said There are going to
be other prohibition features proposed
and a demand for the transfer Of en-
fOrcement to the Department of JUS
tice. There is plenty of authority NY
der the law now to regulate use of
industrial alcohol.
ST do not feel that l am betraying
any confidence when | say that there
are other matters In connection with
prohibition enforcement to come be-
fore congress. There appears to be
no question of the necessity of some
legislation to meet the emergency and
to stop the flood of beer which it is
said can shortly be expected"
Dinwiddie stated that he believed
that Attorney General Palmer's beer
ruling was a proper one, founded en-
tirely upon the law, and that no sim
lister motives could be ascribed to the
fact that it was handed down on the
eve of his departure from office. The
ruling, he explained. had been asked
only ten days before that.
Industry Needs Alcohol.
He reaffirmed the belief that the IA
TONS industries requiring alcohol were
entitled to the fullest consideration.
DR.. M. G. Whitaker, vice-president
of the United States Industrial Alcohol
company, said that prohibitionists
were seeking to give the federal prohi-
bitiOn commissioner more power than
the car had over Russia.
'The cZar was shot for exercising
less power than you propose to give
the commissioner under the BILL" he
said. '"There is no excuse for impos-
ing the arbitrary power on a single
industry. The only booze fighters we
have in our plants are the government
employees"
w. L. Grouse of the National Per-
fume and Wholesale Druggists asso-
citation declared: Liquor addicts will
drink anything. including varnish, fur
niture polish, shellac, flavoring ex-
tracts and wood alcohol"