New-York tribune., 1922-11-15
Will Call on Legislature
TO Seek Modification of
Volstead Act Through
Demand Upon Congress
Plan to Capture
Federal Control
Election of Sympathetic
President and Legisla-
tive Body Is Chief Goal

Ransom II. Gillett, general counsel OF
the Association Against the Prohibi-
tion Amendment. made clear yesterday
the attitude of the body in view of the
Democratic victory at the polls. The
association intends to try to get q Joint
resolution through the Legislature
calling upon Congress to modify the
Volstead act so as to permit the manu-
facture and sale of light wine and beer
i'll this state otherwise than in saloons
Letters have already been nd
dressed to the officials Of the associa-
tion in charge Of the various sub-of-
fees in the New York State DIVISION
said Mr.. Gillett, calling on them to
institute a movement among the mem.
bers in their respective Assembly and
Senatorial districts, requesting thei,
ture to adopt joint resolution calling
upon Congress Immediately to make
such changes in the Volstead law as will
raise the lawful alcoholic content OF
beverages so as to permit the manu-.
facture and sale of light wines and
beers in New York State through some
agency other than the saloon, and di.
recting the Governor to forward such
resolution to the President and tc
Congress.
"The Mullan- Gage law was the worl
of fanatical prohibitionis.s. It wa;
passed by the Republican Legislature
and signed by the Governor ut theil
dictation. 1t leaves much to be de
sired as workable, sensible statute
and contains many unenforceable. un
constitutional features, and the AS
sociation Against the Prohibition
ANA N s1at 90,
the fight better than by calling on the
Democratic party to repeal or, al
least, overhaul it and wipe out it
many defects.
IL Several specific criticisms hav,
,,oeen Incorporated in memorandum
prepared with the aid of counsel from
all over the state and the association
will place this document in the hands
of every member OF the State Legis
lature when it convenes January
1922
Z. C. Yellowley, Acting State Prohi
bition Director, said yesterday that HI
thought the Mrllan,G Gage act was |
good one and hoped the Legislatur,
any attempt to repeal 1t, he said. /
it was repealed, he said, the eRect 81
its abolition would be felt only in com
munities where the active co-operatior
of the police had enabled enforce ement
agents to uphold the law.
Gus j. Simons, Acting Chief State
Enforcement Officer, Mr.. Yellowley
said, was going to Albany to-day to in
vestigate reports received from womer
of that city and an official of the Anti
Saloon League that government employ
ees and ogicials, including members at
the Legislature, were able to buy
~ nh II, +A1hopv eo1onna
Special Dispatch to The Tribune
BALTIMORE, Nov. ID. Definite
plans for the capture of control of
Congress under sympathetic Presi-
dent and the entire country by the
"wets" were outlined here to-day by
Captain William Stayton, national
head of the Assu, ,tion Against the
Prohibition Amendment in anticipa-
ton Of a meeting Of the state leaders
Of that organization at the Hotel JEFF
ferson, in st. Louis, next Monday.
In substance these plans are:
Revolution Of city voters against die.
tation by the rural voters in every
state.
Complete organization of the voters
as New York, New Jersey, Massa-
chusetts, Maryland and Illinois.
To compel the state convention OF
both parties to insert "wet" planks in
their platforms SO as to assure "wet'
legislatures.
To construct, through the conference
at st. Louis, complete machine for the
achievement of the ideas herewith out
lined.
First, explaining that the conference
at st. Louis would be devoted to de-
vising ways and means for carrying
out an adopted policy, rather than for
riscussing any policy, Captain Stayton
added:
Build Machine
"At ST. Louis we are going to have 6
meeting of the heads of the various
state organizations. They will build d
machine which will carry out the poll.
cies already adopted. We are going SO
to arrange our work that we shall con-
centrate largely on the pivotal states
and on the cities of these states, and
to a large extent we shall leave the
rural districts as they are"