Evening star., 1926-04-20
HEAD OF CARNEGIE
INSTITUTE HIT IN
LIQUOR HEARINGS
Pittsburgh Dry Chief Says
Church's Attack Grew
Out of Seizure.
BISHOP ASSAILS WET
WITNESSES RIGHTS
Declares Violators of Law Have No
Standing-Debates
With Reed.
By G. GOULD LINCOLN.

A charge that President Samuel
| Harding Church Of the Carnegie In
stitute had been actuated by anmus
against the Federal prohibition forces
in his recent testimony before the Sen
ate judiciary subcommittee dealing
with prohibition was made before that
committee today by Frederick {.
Baird, Federal prohibition director al
Pittsburgh.
The animus which Mr.. Baird said he
believed was back OF the statement
made by President Church Mr.. Baird
attributed to an occurrence which he
said happened about IS months ago.
"One of his personal automobiles
containing whisky was seized at that
time on the Canadian border" said
Mr. Baird. II understand that it cost
him 81 900 to pay the fine of the men
who were in the car and other incl
dental charges"
Mr.. Baird's statement was made In
reply to a question Of Senator Walsh
of Montana, after Mr.. Baird had de-
clared unfounded charges made by
President Church against the enforce
ment officers in Pittsburgh and against
the young men and girls In educa-
tional institutions in and about Pitts
| burgh.
What animus was back of the
statements made by President Church
before this committee? demanded
Senator Walsh. 1t was in reply to
this question that Mr.. Baird described
the capture of an automobile whlch
| he said belonged to President Church.
WAS President Church in the car
| himself at the time il was captured!
| the witness was asked.
"NO 7 understand he was not.
WAS any member of his family in
the car?'
Il do not know
WAS his chauffeur in the car at
the timer
Mr.. Baird replied that he did not
know. that he only learned of the oc'
currence the day before he left Pitts
burgh to come here. He said, how
ever, that the car was the personal
property of President Church, and
that he understood that President
Church had paid the fine for the men
in the car and other charges.
Matter Common knowledge"
do you know that TO be a fact?"
demanded Senator Reed of Missouri.
| 1T is matter of common know
ledge" said Mr.. Baird.
Members of the committee wanted
to know how far it was from the
Canadian border to Pittsburgh, and it
was brought out that at the time the
car was seized President Church was
summering near the Canadian border.
Before Mr.. Baird had completed his
! direct statement to the committee the
hour for recess arrived. Senator Reed
of Missouri announced, however. that
he would want to croSS-eXamine him
probably for an hour There was a
wrangle in the committee as to
whether an adjournment should be
taken until tomorrow morning, as
Senator Reed desired, owing to his
intention of speaking on the Italian
debt settlement. Finally the COM
mittee adjourned to meet at o'clock
| this afternoon.
Bishop Takes Stand.
The witnesses placed on the stand
by the "drys" at the hearing today
included Bishop William Frazier Nc
Dowell of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. president of the Board of
Temperance, Prohibition and Public
, Morals: DR. Clarence True Wilson.
general secretary of the Board of
| Temperance, Prohibition and Public
| Morals of the Methodist Episcopal
Church; DIR. Arthur J. Barton of Kan
sas City, representing the Southern
| E>dIllSl (OIiN eLtIOIs 1dIllcl n.
Polling. president of the United Socie-
ties of Christian Endeavor of New
| York. They all protested vigorously
against any modification of the Vol
| stead act and declared that conditions
in the United States had improved
very greatly under nationwide prohi
| bition.
| Before Mr.. Baird was placed on the
stand, Senator Reed of Pennsylvania
! do n hrio To- ant 10 he
| tee urging further delay since his
! work required his presence in Pitts
! burgh. The dry" leaders in charge
! of the time at the hearing agreed to
| Senator Reeds request.
Mr.. Baird said that as Federal pro-
| hibition director at Pittsburgh, in
| charge of the Middle and Western
districts of Pennsylvania, he had
come to Washington to refute the
statements made recently before the
committee by President Church of the
Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh.
Denies Students Drink.
| The first and most important
phase of his testimony which / wish
! to refute," said Mr.. Baird. was his
sweeping statement that the student
! bodies of the Pittsburgh district are
violating the prohibition law. l have
| a son in his last year in Carnegie In
stitute. | also have a daughter who
is two years in that institute. / have
| come into close contact with many of
| the students. We have investigated
! the conduct of the young people At
the big ATHLETIC events when crowds
! are gathered there and we have never
! been able to verify the alleged gem
eral dereliction of the student body.
| "If there were any individual viola
tions of the prohibition law they were
covered up and If our agents who were
| sent there specially to observe them
did not see any, then 1t was unlikely
| that the ordinary observer would see
them. AS body l have never seen a
group of students with higher ideals.
| The aspersion cast upon them by
President Church was particularly un-
| fortunate unwarranted and unfair, as
many of these students work their
own way through.
1.-THE man who made these criti-
cisms of the students happens to be
president of the Carnegie Institute.
| If the board Of trustees of Carnegie
Institute do not take official notice of
| this incident, 1 think they should be
| investigated themselves"
Mr.. Baird said that President
Church had made the statement that