Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-13

there was as much bringing now as
before prohibition.
Possibly there is not single spot
In the country he said, "wehere there
Is as much drinking as before"
He defended the drys against the
charge of unfairness in refusing to
agree to a Nationwide referendum on
the eighteenth amendment repeal,
terming the congressional biennial cleo
ton a national referendum" in which
the vets were not even able to win in
limited districts.
II can't imagine how we could have
better referendum than that" he
said.
Tells of Convention Fight.
At the Houston national Democratic
convention, the Pennsylvania stated,
he had sought to keep prohibition out
as an issue. But the party forced the
entire country to vote on that issue in
the presidential election, he added.
II don't know when candidate run
ming on q straight issue ever got fewer
votes in the electoral college" he said.
Representative Stobbs, Republican, Mas
sachusetts. asked him to reconcile his
objection to making prohibition an issue
at Houston and favoring a referendum
McSparren agreed with Stobbs that
other matters than prohibition views
should enter into the race Of congress
sional candidate.
La Guardia asked McSparren about
Pittsburgh conditions now.
II know nothing about it, but con-
ditions are pretty bad there in many
respects" McSparren observed.
The New York wet sought an admis.
sion that a straightout issue of prohi-
bition could not be obtained In con-
gressional races, but the witness an
swered he saw no way of changing the
constitutional system.
StobbS asked If the witness opposition
to the Democratic presidential nominee
at Houston was based solely on prohi-
bition issue.
Tammany a Irwin Sister,"
McSparren said Tammany was also
one Of his reasons, but that it and the
liquor evil were twin sisters"
Celler pointed out that Wisconsin
voted for Hoover and against prohibit
ton on the same day and asked him to
reconcile these facts.
We'll If they went that way, they
went that way" the witness said.
Edward G. Budd, president Of the
Budd Automobile Body Works, was the
next witness and urged that any change
In the Volstead act be directed at MAX
ing it more effective.
David B. Lupton, president Of q steel
manufacturing concern of Philadelphia
wrote that prohibition had been neces-
Sary to stop the inroads of liquor on the
happiness of mankind.
Such thing as personal liberty
never did exist" he wrote.
@. RenWich HOQR official of car.
pet manufacturing concern, also wrote
opposing modification.
Committee Members Clash.
The dry's yesterday presented more
than a score of women with short pre-
pared statements, and late in the day
one Of them precipitated a clash be.
tween two members of the committee
by the assertion that Henry Curran
president Of the Association Against the
Prohibition Amendment, represented
brewers"
Representative La Guardia, Repub-
l1can, New York, prominent wet, i'm
mediately took exception to this state
ment and denied 1t, with the assertion
that "Curran Is newspaper man; he
never tried 9 case or represented any
body in his life"
Representative Sparks, Republican
Kansas. objected vigorously and sug-
gested that La Guardia take the witness
stand If he wished to offer testimony.
The witness, Mrs Jesse w. Nicholson
president of the National Woman's
Democratic Law Enforcement League,
then read q list of breweries which, she
said, had contributed to Curran's asSo-
| citation. La Guardia responded with a
request that all the names of the con-
tributors Of the Anti-Saloon League be
laid before the committee.