Evening star., 1926-11-29
ENDORSES MELLON
LIQUOR PROPOSAL
Wayne B. Wheeler Favors
Private Corporation to Pro-
duce Medicinal Supply.

Wayne 3. Wheeler Of the Anti
Saloon League. in announcing yester-
day a meeting Of the league legisla-
tive committee this week, stated that
he approved the Mellon.Andrews pro-
posal for setting up a private corpora
ton to purchase and manufacture all
medicinal whisky in the country.
In earlier statements Mr.. Wheeler
had expressed some doubt as TO
whether the plan would he feas1bie.
hut now declares he knows OF no op-
position to the proposal Of the treas
ury Department, providing the actlv'
tiles Of the private corporation were
conducted under proper regulations.
Wheeler Explains Position.
There was opposition to the orig
inal plan for Government ownership
and distribution" he explained. The
Secretary Of the Treasury never IN
dorsed the plan. If the last bill pro
posed includes the authority needen
to limit the distilleries that may open.
this will GO far to settle the question
as to whether 1t is best to buy liquors
abroad or manufacture them In the
United States. 1t Is an added reason
for early action on the bill which Gen.
Andrews requested"
This proposal" continued Mr..
Wheeler, will doubtless carry re-
vision to give Government authority
to limit the number OF distillerles that
NAV omen to make whisky for medi-
cinal purposes when the time arrives
for making or buying new supply.
This will GO far to settle the question
as to whether we should make the new
h,tx- ~ abroad Under
the existing law there Is no power
to limit the number OF distillers who
may apply for permits to manufac-
ture. and the Government would have
to give them all an equal chance.
Some Of the less Responsible would
take a long chance to make large
supply and dispose of it illegally
Excepts to Claims Of Vets.
Mr.. Wheeler took exception to re-
ports Of alleged gains made by the
vets in the recent senatorial elections.
They failed, he said. to account for
the gains in that body by the drys.
For instance" said Mr.. Wheeler.
"in Alabama and Oregon these offset
the wet gains in Massa chusetts and
Wisconsin, The Pennsylvania fight
is not vet settled. In several other
States the drys made gains by elect
ing dry leaders where the issue was
not so clear as in the States men,
toned. In Missouri and New York
there was no change.
VETS Well ORGANIZED
since the eighteenth amendment was
adopted in which the vets We're better
orga nized or spent more money to
elect their wet candidates and where
they failed so dismally. Even the
United States Brewers Associa tion
spent $4,000 in one county In Ohio
to try to defeat Senator Willis and
elect Mr.. Pomerene. Large sums of
money were spent by the vets in I'LL
nois. Washington, Nevada and other
States.
mo one expects that the vets can
put over their wet bills. The bills to
put prohibition agents under civil
service and the reorga MIA ton bill
indorsed by the drys have passed the
House by large ma ajorities and are
at the head of the calendar in the
Senate. There Ia every reason to
believe that they will pass. The Goff-
Graham bills, recommended for pas.
sage by the judiciary committee of
the House and Senate. will pass un-
less the vets prevent a vote by fill
buster. When the best the vets can
do to defeat 1aw-enforcement legisla
ton is to use the indefensible fllibus-
ter method, the weakness of their
cause Is self evident"
Effect Of Supreme Court Ruling.
Automobile statesmen and manufac c.
turers are unduly disturbed, Wheeler
said. over the recent decision of the
Supreme Court authorizing the for
feit,re Of automobiles under the old
internal revenue laws when seized for
rum running. Their fear that auto
mobiles innocently sold on the install.
ment plan would be a total loss when
90 seized was not we'll founded. he
ytated.
They have two remedies. he ex-
plained, by requiring a. bond OF the
purchaser that the automobile will
not he used for illegal purposes or by
recourse to the method now provided
by law for the innocent owners when
the autos are seized under section 345O
Of the Revised Statutes.
In discussing the elections in On
taliO, Canada, today, Wheeler stated:
1.-The liquor election in Ontario rep
resents a strategy In decided contrast
to the wet program in the United
States. In two referenda elections in
Ontario the vets lost. Now they raise
the issue through the election Of pro-
vincial officials. In the United States
the vets insist that the referendum
is the only way to settle this Ques-
tion."