New Britain herald., 1930-02-19
PROTESTANT LOBBY
 BLAMED IN LIQUOR LEGISLATION ABUSE
Continued From First Page)

At the outset today Represent atiVe Kitchener republican, Michi gan put in the record statements from Gov. Green of Michigan and four circuit judges of Michigan is- sued Saturday challenging Liggetts testimony that they had attended a wild party" at q road house out vember ,. 1929.
 The first witness this morning was William II. Stayton, chairman of the board of directors of the as sociation against the prohibition amendment. He was introduced by Representative Linthicum. demo- crat, Maryland, chairman of the house wet bloc.
 Stayton recommended return to the states of the powers Of local option and expressed q belief that each state could deal with it's own local liquor situation if the 18th amendment were repealed.
 Represents Board of Directors
  fcscntatiNe of the board of directors, explaining the board as composed of o32 members engaged in nearly every kind of business. He asserted it had conducted an exhaustive in NcstiGation into conditions result ing from prohibition and had reached a conclusion that all was not we'll under national prohibition laws"
 '"ro correct this Situation,' Stay ton continued. the directors of this association beg leave 10 recommend to the committee q favorable re- port upon one of the resolutions providing for the repeal of the 18th amendment. bringing the matter moro closely back to the people.
 In this repeal we do not want to take from the federal govern mcnt any of it's old powers. It should be left with the full power to deal with importations, eXporta- tions, interstate transportation and taxation.
 Nor do we believe that a repeal Of the amendment ought 10 go into effect instantly. We think the states should be given sufficient time to have sessions of their legis- latures at which suitable local rcgu- latory liquor laws mey be adopted.
 We believe, further, that where a. state adopts a restrictive law or q prohibition law, she should have
 
 benefit ot such legislation as the 1 Webb kenyon and the Reed bone dry act. so that the improper trans portation of intoxicants into a state which has forbidden their entrance, shall be a federal crime, and the federal process may run throughout the country to produce the witnesses which the state herself might not 1 have the power to produce"
 Group Has Two Assumptions
 Stayton testified the association started with these two assumptions:
 First: That the liquor traffic had resulted in very grave evil. and that all good citizens ought to acknowledge that evil and cndcayor to lessen it.
 Second: That we ought 10 recog- nizc the sincerity of the great body Of the people who proposed and brought about national prohibition" /"
 "Whilc it is readily conceivable " he went on, that even a great num- Der of people may err in their judg- . mcnt, it is utterly inconceivable to us that the great body ot So-callcd 'drys,' including millions of good mon and women, should have enter cG into anything like q wicked con- iuro their country"
 The wartime congress, Stayton continued. apparently taking all wisdom unto itself" said in effect, four things (which have changed our lives ard the current Of our history, namely:
 ITO tho people Of the whole United States it said, You arc un- worthy; you can never again be trusted; you must be muzzled. Ut said 10 every state You arc an unworthy state; we take from you the powers which your fore fathers enjoyed; hcnccforth you arc not free
 Future Generations "Guardrd'
 'To the unborn generations for all time it said, We condemn you in advance as being low. unworthy, and Of vile habits, we take from you the right to regulate your own lives be- cause we forcscc that you will be q low people,
 'It said to all future congresses GncludinG this one in which you . gentlemen now siD, we predict that you will be unworthy of the power of lcgi3latng and we therefore take that power from you. just as we have taken it from the people and from the states; we, the war con- crcss know what will be good for the people for all time. and we take ] from all future congresses the right [ to govern as their conscienccs and their wisdom may determine. They must do 1s We wish.'"
 Stayton asserted it became ap- , parent soon after the enactment of prohibition that it's results were sat isfaCtory neither to the vets nor the | dryS. Significant of this, he added, was that the Anti Saloon league , ceased it's publication Of statistics for arrests for drunkenness and total arrests, q practice it had maintained { for 20 years, after it's annual report , Of 1923.
 Arrests Showed Increases
 The Anti Saloon league annual re- port for 1919. Stayton said, was 500. GOO arrests for drunkenness. It increased, he continued. until in 1929 it aggregated 492,0oo.
 The total arrests for all causes { shown in the leagues report. hc