Evening star., 1926-04-25
DRY LhW,, UPHELD
|. AND ATTACKED IN
|. FINAL ARGUMENTS
Wheeler and Goldman Close
Hearing With Broadsides
at Foes Testimony.
HARRElD is OPPOSED
TO MAKING ANY REPORT
Effort to Strengthen Volstead Act
Expected to Be Only Action
by Subcommittee.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

Two things only have been proved
At this hearing That the vets want
liquor with kick in it, although they
are not agreed on how weak a drink
they will accept. nor on either their
method or the reason to allege for get.
ting it; and the drys want prohibit
ton
This quotation from Wayne B.
Wheeler general counsel for the Anti
Saloon League. epitomizes his closing
argument for the drys at the Senate
prohibition hearings yesterday after
noon.
Julien Goldman of Boston, counsel
for the vets, placed their contention
before the Senate committee as fol-
lows:
Mayor Dever of Chicago inlplored
you, as l do, to recognize there is a
great problem to be solved. During
these hearings We have presented the
facts. Will you tackle the problem or
will you sit supinely by while the drys
continue to insist upon this prohibi.
ton law and injuries come TO the
body polite? Are you going to deal
with this problem as men or shove it
aside for other men to deal with in
the future?"
Between the two contentious there
is a divergence as broad as the United
States itself.
Harreld Opposes Report.
Scarcely had the echoes of the last
speakers voice died away when Sen
ator Harreld, chairman OF the Sem
ate subcommittee of the judiciary
committee. which has been holding
the hearings. made a formal an
nouncement declaring that in his
opinion the subcommittee should
make no report on the general Ques-
tion as to whether prohibition was
good or bad, effective or Ineffective,
and that he doubted whether the full
judiciary committee had any author
ity to make such report unless
specifically delegated to do so by
the Senate.
the subcommittee, however. has
before 1t for report to the full COM
mittee various bills and resolutions
either strengthening or modifying the
prohibition laws. The predictions
made last night were that the sub
committee would eventually report
favoring the bill introduced by Sem
ator Goff Of West Virginia, mem
Der of the subcommittee, recon-
mended by Gen. Lincoln c. Andrews,
head of prohibition enforcement, to
strengthen the Volstead act.
The bills and resolutions introduced
by Senators Bruce of Maryland,
Edge and Edwards of New Jersey,
looking to repeal of the eighteenth
amendment so as to permit the Gov
ernment to sell and distribute liquor,
and seeking to modify the Volstead
act so as to permit wine and beer,
or beer alone, are likely to be re-
ported to the full committee adverse
ly, If reported at all.
Large Crowd at Hearing.
The vets and the drys. who for
three weeks have held the center OF
the stage in Washington. yesterday
completed their cases for and against
prohibition. The closing session Of the
hearings was without sensational incl
dent, though the arguments OF both
Mr.. Wheeler and Mr.. Goldman were
listened to with the keenest interest
by the large crowd which filled the
big marble caucus room of the Senate
once Building, and both were loudly
appIauded when they concluded.
The hearings closed without a
matching of wits between Senator
Reed of Missouri on the one hand and
WAYNE B, Wheeler on the other. 1t
had been expected that the general
counsel for the Anti-Saloon League
would take the stand as a witness
during the hearing OF testimony ana
would be cross-examined by Senator
Reed, a past master in the art. But
the time for the submission or testi-
mony ended with the morning session
Yesterday, and the hour remaining TO
the drys was TO be devoted only to
argument.
a statement issued by the vets at
the close Of the hearing expressed re-
sret that Mr.. Wheeler had not taken
the witness stand, as he had said
earlier in the hearing he would do. and
had failed to subject himself to a
cross.examination by Senator Reed.
Senator Reed, the statement SAID,
wanted to inquire Of Mr.. Wheeler
about the funds and expenditures OF
the Anti-Saloon League and Reports
that the league had been engaged In
a campaign to collect a million-dollar
fund to help elect dry Senators and
Representatives.
Reed Is Absent.
Senator Reed did not attend the
afternoon session. Indeed Tor tne
greater part of the time, only Two
members of the subcommittee were
present for these final fireworks, SEN
ator Walsh of Montana was absent
from the city and either Senator Gil
lett or Senator Golf were absent part
of the time yesterday afternoon.
Gen. Andrews, who was attacked
by some Of the drys because he re-
piled to a hypothetical question by
senator Reed a week ego TO the ef-
fest that beer mountaineering, In
fact. If sold for home consumption
alone. would aid in the enforcement
Of the prohibition law. was the hna1
witness for the drys yesterday. He
said that he did not favor any change
in the prohibition law so as to per-
NIT the sale of beer. Statements
we're issued yesterday by leading ofn'
cials of the Woman's Christian Tenn
perance Union and of the Board Of
Temperance, Prohibition and Public
Morals of the Methodist Episcopaa
Church approving Gen. Andrews
stand and promising cooperation.
The statement of the later organi-
zation, made by DIR. Clarence True
Wilson, general secretary, was as fol-
lows:
Gen. Andrews statement that he
does not favor any change In the law
so as to permit the sale of beer. and his
further comment indicating the abso-
lutte impracticability Of such sale
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