Evening star., 1932-01-23
.DRYS IN SENATE
HELD UNBEATABLE.
Bingham Says Vote on His
Plan Proves HopeIessness
of Wet Cause.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
Two diametrically opposed sources
| found themselves today in agreement in
asserting the present dry strength of
the Senate an incontestable one.
A statement by Senator Bingham of
Connecticut analyzing the result of the
| Senate vote on his resolution asking
Governors to submit repeal or modifica-
tion to the people of their States, said:
THE vote in the Senate demonstrates
what the country has not appreciated
| how very dry the Senate is and how
hopeless are expectations of repeal of
the eighteenth amendment"
Said the Anti-Saloon League on the
same subject:
Congress failed to materialize in the
first test vote. The defeat of the
Bingham resolution refutes wet claims
| OF large acceSsions to the wet strength
| in the present Senate"
Calls 1t Strangie Hold.
Bingham, however, used the point to
demonstrate why he is working for
modification of the Volstead act instead
OF repeal, hoping that his objective-to
| get legalized 4 per cent beer-will be
atta1nable "in the not too distant
| future"
THE vote in the Senate" he added,
| demonstrated the strangle hold which
| the dry organizations are still main
tanning, Notwithstanding the extraor-
| binary change in public opinion"
The dry organization. however, at
| tributed to other reasons Bingham's
/ defeat
The Bingham resolution was prop
erly characterized by members of the
Senate as ridiculous since it sought to
! have members of the United States
Senate record themselves for the first
| time in our national history as in
competent to determine policies of
! legislation or Judge Of the merits Of
constitutional changes as the repre-
| Sentatives of the people"
| House -prohibitionists, however,
| yesterday predicted two prohibition test
votes this session and said the Senate's
| rejection of the Bingham proposal was
without significance.
Speaker Garner Explains.
Representative O'Connor, Democrat,
New York, told the House votes on both
amendment and modification of the
Volstead act had been pledged"
| Speaker Garner said this seemed -
| fair Interpretation of the rules"
Garner explained, however, he had
not closed his mind on this point. The
drys have argued parliamentary pro-
cedure would permit only one prohibt-
ton vote, while the vets have said both
votes will be permitted by the new rule,
under which a petition signed by l45
members can bring legislation on to the
| floor for vote.
! IF the Judiciary Committee acts un-
favorably, Immediately a petition will
| be filed under the new discharge rule
and no time lost in bringing the matter
before the House for vote at this ses-
sion," O'Connor said.
Referring to the Bingham resolution,
he added
The members of the House have no
sympathy whatever with the proposition
| in the Senate. We do not believe that
that is the proper approach to the
question, we do not believe there was
any criticism Of the vets who voted
against it."
100000 Sign Petition.
! A petition bearing 100000 sigma
lures, urging modification Of the Vol
! stead act, was presented today to Sena-
tors Walsh, Democrat, of Massachusetts,
| and Bulkley, Democrat, Of Ohio, on the
steps of the Capitol.
The petition, circulated through 319
congressional districts by more than
| TOO women in favor of temperance, but
not the present prohibition laws, was
handed to the Senators by Miss Lenora
McAninch Of West Virginia.