Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-18
VETS HIT DRY PLEA
FOR 500 MORE MEN
House SkirmiSh Believed
Forerunner of Historic
Prohibition Storm.
BY the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
Members of the House wet bloc
launched preliminary attack yester-
day upon the Prohibition Bureaus re-
quest for 500 new dry agents and addi-
tional funds of approximately $780,
900.
The Skirmish was believed by some
House members to be the forerunner of
historic prohibition storm.
The Law Enforcement Commission,
meanwhile, marked time in the delivery
of its controversy-laden prohibition re-
port. All hope for its submission to
President Hoover before tomorrow was
abandoned as the commissions head
quarters closed early in the afternoon.
Only two members remained in the
Capital.
The wet and dry conflict was pre-
cipitated by Representative Linthicum,
Democrat, Maryland, leader of the un-
official anti-prohibition group. He at
tackled the practice of wire tapping and
accused the Prohibition Bureau of "op-
Grating speakeasies to entrap police"
POstpOnement Is Asked.
He was joined by Representatives
Black and Mead, both New York Demo-
Gratis. Black urged that final action on
the proposed prohibition appropriation
be postponed until Congress had re-
ceived from the WickerSham Commits
sion its recommendation on the prohi-
bition problem.
Mead commended instead that further
consideration be given pending meas
ures for relief of the unemployed, as
serting I'VE have millions for prohibit
ton, but we have no money whatever"
for some needed labor surveys.
Word Also came yesterday from with
in the anti-prohibition ranks that a
carefully laid pi3n has been agreed upon
for attacking the proposed prohibition
appropriation contained in the Justice
Department supply bill this week 1t
was described as the first united plan
ever worked out between the independ-
ent vets and the recognized wet bloc.
AS agreed upon, the preliminary
SkirmisheS were to center upon efforts
to prevent Federal dry agents from
tapping wires in search of evidence and
to cut off the buying of alcoholic evil
dence as we'll as the use of informers.
Record Vote Possible.
Should these efforts fail the plan
would call for a record vote upon a
proposal to send the appropriations
measure back to the subcommittee
which considered it.
Aside from Linthicum, those expected
to be in the van of this attack are
Representatives La Guardia and Bacon,
New York, Republicans; Griffin. New
York, Democrat, and Tinkham, MaSSa-
chusetts. Republican.
Just before the tVickersham head
quarters closed there were indications
that if the report we're submitted to the
White House tomorrow it might be
placed before the public by Tuesday or
Wednesday afternoon at the latest.
The Supreme Court, which has the
Clark decision holding the eighteenth
amendment invalid pending, yesterday
received another attack on the amend
ment.
The case brought by the Dashiell
Motor Co. of Chicago, in challenging
the section of the dry law under which
automobiles carrying liquor are seized,
said the eighteenth amendment is no
part of the Constitution"
The motor company said, however, 1t
would not press at this time the con-
stitutionality attack, but asked the
court to hold the seizure provision
illegal.