Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-06-30
WET ORGANIZATION
HEAD TAKES STAND
Stayton Tells Senate Group
of Activities in PennsW-
vania Primaries.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
The Association Against the Pro.
hibition Amendment was put on the
dissecting table today by the Senate
campaign funds committee. and these
disclosures were the result:
The national wet organization and
it's State branches have a membership
of about 26.000, and are handling an
average of about $3.50. 900 a year.
The money is used in part to in
fuence the results of elections, with
view to the selection on non
partisan basis of public officials who
favor repeal of the dry laws.
Worked for Ware.
During the recent Pennsylvania Re-
publican primary campaign. onlclalS
Of the association worked for William
s. Ware, the successful candidate for
the senatorial nomination. sending
out a form letter asking for contribu-
tions from the 10000 members of the
organization in that State.
Some mass meetings were held for
the purpose of aiding Ware. and the
expenses. amounting to $4,000, were
paid by the association.
II. Stayton of Smyrna, Nd, founder
and national chairman of the Associa-
ton Against the Prohibition Amend
ment.
To complete the contrast between
the DAVIS session and those which
have preceded it, Chairman Reed
turned the witness over to dry mem
bers of the committee for question
ing regarding the activities of the
wet organization in politics, its his
tory and its finances.
WheeIer's Charges Heard.
cit has been slanderously stated
that | am a wet" said Reed. There
are several drys on the committee
and / shall turn Capt. Stayton over
to one of you for examination. Then
there won't be any charge that l am
covering anything up"
The dry Senators had come into
the committee room fortified by
voluminous information presented by
WAYNE B. Wheeler OF the Anti-Saloon
League. who has charged expenditures
by wet interests in the recent Penn
sylvania primary. Just before Stay
ton was called to the stand the COM
mittee held q long executive session
at which it examined the dry leader S
information on that subject.
Wheeler himself was on hand for
the public session. taking scat in
the front row. His examination will
be resumed after Hicklin Yates. secre-
tary Of the committee. and corps
of accountants return from headQuar-
ters of the dry league at Westerville,
Ohio, where they are making extracts
from the books of the AntiSaloon
League over the period subsequent to
1915.
Outlines Organizations Purpose.
When Senator Reed withdrew from
the questioning of Stayton, examina-
ton of the witness was taken over
by Senator King, Democrat, Utah.
Stayton said the purpose of the or
ganiZation he founded in 1918 was to
encourage obedience to the dry laws
SO long as they were on the statute
books. but to do everything that could
be done "decently" to bring about the
repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment
and the Volstead act.
whats the membership of your
organizations" King asked.
II think it is 726,000."
"Distributed over the States?"
"Yes, fairly generally; a little larger
in Ohio and New York than in other
States"
Stayton said when the association
was organized there was a discussion
about its taking part in such politi-
cal activity as might bring about the
repeal of the dry act
Does your association conduct a
newspaper"
1.-The parent organization does not.
but some of the State bodies have
done So"
Paper Was Launched.
The witness said that William H.
Fish, while with the association, had
launched paper in New Jersey,
which is now private enterprise.
He testified that DR.. j. J. Sellman
of Milwaukee IS vice president of the
national association and that Gordon
C. Hinkley of Washington rs secre-
tary and treasurer. The headquarters
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