Evening star., 1932-02-16
DRY LEADER SHUNS
BEER BILL HEARING
Mcbride Turns Down Invita-
ton to Testify Before
Senate Committee.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
An invitation to testify in hearings
on Q bill to permit per cent beer has
been turned down cold by F. Scott Nc
Bride, general superintendent Of the
Anti-Saloon League.
He was invited to come Friday be-
fore the Senate Manufactures Commit
tee, at the instance of Senator Bing-
ham, Republican, Connecticut, who
about the activities of the league Nc
Bride informed Chairman Metcaf, Re-
publican, Rhode Island, by letter, that
he would be unable to attend adding:
THE insincerity of the proposers of
this bill Is emphasized by the fact that
they are inviting the attendance of a
known opponent of the measure when
what the bill needs If it gets anywhere
is not more opposition but more sup
port"
Says Attorney Presented Stand.
Mcbride said the attitude of the
league was presented before the COM
mittee fully by its attorney. Edward B.
Dunford. He added that Senator BIng-
ham seems to feel that he has lost
his opportunity in not being present TO
cross s-examine the representative for
the dry organizations and now desires
to have the game begin again so that
he might go to bat
Remarking that Senator Bingham
had been quoted as saying he had some
questions to ask about the activities
Of the Anti-Saloon League McRJide
said this is beyond what was under
stood to be the committees scope and
added, Such an inquiry would natural
ly include investigation Of all the or
ganizations, both for and against the
eighteenth amendment"
Meanwhile, Edwin c. DinWiddie, ex-
ecutive secretary of the National Pro-
hibition Board Of Strategy, described as
not impressive" the prophecies" OF
Henry S. Curran, president of the As
ISOLATION Against the Prohibition
Amendment, in his annual report.
Dinwiddie Statement.
Dinwiddie's statement follows in full
text:
Mr.. Curran's wet prophecies are not
impressive. When the Association
Against the Prohibition Amendment
was claiming nearly one-third OF the
House of Representatives few years
ago and which is only one-half the re-
quirements for repeal, they only mus
tered 95 votes, just about 80 l-3 per
cent less than their vociferous claims
at the time.
The few gains in the 1880 election
were ehargeable to the depression, from
which prohibition suffered, as well as
>the party which happened to be in
power, and were not primarily charge
able to prohibition. The eighth dis
trict of Michigan is a later case in
point The New York Times-by no
iyaun
that district to learn what had caused
the shift there and he reported 1t was
the industrial situation and not prohl-
bition which was responsible.
Mr.. Curran says "a Senators now
favor a submission resolution. winch
means a repeal resolution, bur when
these Senators had an opportunity al
forded them to help the wet propa-
ganda scheme in the Senate January
81 only IS of these militant vets In
the Senate voted for the Bingham reso-
luton to invite referenda in the states.
They now claim "a; they need "a 10
win. All the vets they can muster
and all the doubtfuls together will not
give them one-third of the Senate,
whereas they need two-thirds to carry
a repeal resolution.
Does Not See Dry" Aid Needed.
"Only If and when Senators and
Representatives who follow the leader
ship of Mr.. Curran and the Assocla-
ton Against the Prohibition Amend
ment secure a record vote on prohibit
ton repeal will this prophecy OF such
vote be justified. They are now
clamorously beseeching 'drys' to help
them take this first step. If the coun-
try Ia as overwhelmingly wet as our
opponents claim, why call on 'drys' TO
help them over the first hurdle toward
| repeal?
To those who know the facts some
of Mr.. Curran's statements are even
less impressive than his prophecleS.
He says the American Bar Association
demanded an opportunity to vote on
repeating the eighteenth amendment.
There was no action taken at the At
lantie City meeting of the association
either for or against the amendment.
His reference to Finland and the
United States Is intended to convey an
impression the facts do not justify.
Repeatedly the vets refer to Sweden
and Norway and Canada abandoning
prohibition and substituting another
system of control. None of these coun-
tries were ever under the national pro-
hibition policy.
Mr.. Curran's statement that 48 dif-
1eflng plans Will emerge Niltl LaLloiiaI
prohibition is displaced is interesting.
but hardly persuasive with sensible
public in this machine age, when steam
and electric trains. private automobiles
and public buses and all manner of
trucks, as well as airplanes, have an
INITIATED space and practically elimi-
mated county and State boundaries. 1t
was to get away from such Intellectual
control that the States adopted nation-
al prohibition by overwhelming major
tiles"