Evening star., 1926-04-09
SUMMERS, IN TALK,
HITS NEW WORKERS
Would Exclude Congress Del
egation From Testifying on
Dry Law Amendment.

Federal District Attorney Buckner
OF New York and the delegation from
that State in Congress should be dis
qualified and not allowed TO testify
in the Senate subcommittee hearings
on proposals to amend the Eolstead
act" declared Representative John
w. Summers of Washington al q Law
enforcement gathering, under tre au-
spices of the Mount Pleasant w. c. II.
L.. in the Mount. Pleasant Congrega.
tional Church last nighl.
Mr.. Summers said they should be
disqualified from testifying because
the New York delegation in Congress
and various politicians of that State
have done all in their power TO nullify
the eighteenth amendment. lie re-
feEred to Gov. Smith as one of the
leaders in the attempt TO do away
with that part of the Constitution.
Referendum Held "Unlawful."
Referring to the proposed refer
endum vote on the Volstead law, Mr..
Summers declared thai the Supreme
Court has held that 1t is unlawful
to take a referendum to repeal an
amendment to the Constitution. The
only way a repeal of the law could
be obtained would be by the same
method i'll which ii was enacted
through an appeal to the various
States, he said.
The eighteenth anne neauu1eE, VAS
enacted By the largest vote ever reg
iStered in the adoption Uf an anetnt-
ment to the Constitution. ne said.
pointing out that OF the various upper
and lower houses OF the iesisa tive
bodies of the different States 53 voted
for the anne ndment and only ) against
IL
Mr. Summers -belittied the straw
vote on prohibition and The modifica-
tion of the Nolstead act, taken by
the newspapers. claiming that only
! the vets have voted and that many of
them voted twice. He said also that
prohibition had not been forced upon
the people, as has been charged
while the soldiers were overseas.
Quotes Election Figures.
While the boys were overseas" he
said, Michigan went dry by more
than 6S, 900. and later wnen the puys
came home it went dry by 207, 600
Ohio went dry originally by $4,000.
while in 1922 1T Wenj dry by l6y 200.
And. naming other States which had
registered a similar vote, he pointed
10 California as grand climax.
The latter State Wenl wet by
1900 with the troops overseas and
dry by $1,000 when they returned. he
said
he was emphatic in declaring that
permitting the sale OF light wines
and beer would i'll no way do away
with the sale of strong drink. quot
ing statistics from other countries to
illustrate his point. There will al
ways be smuggling regardless of
whether liquor is sold lawfully in a
country or not" he said
Representative Ketchams Views.
Representative John c. Ketcham of
Michigan, in a brief address, said he
believed the vets have overplayed
their hand. and the prohibition ques-
ton has gone further than they hoped
II would. They don't want il 10 come
10 8, vote he said. He told OF the
general disrespect for law caused by
persons criticizing the eighteenth
amendment. Law is laughed at by
The opponents OF the Nolstead act,
he said. ~,'
A program of music rendered by
Mrss Wayne B. Wheeler. Miss Mary
Apple, Mrs. Raymond Dickey a nd Mrs.
Chester Adair completed the program.
Mrs. James NJ. Doran, president of
the Mount Pleasant W. c. T. T., pre-
sided at the meeting.