The Washington times., 1932-12-12
MRS. PEABODY
: SCORES BOTH
CONVENTIONS
Declares They Lacked Power
J For Giving Mandate to
Destroy Prohibition

=. Continued from Page ~
sippi admonished the women
against demonstration.
Conventions Assailed
The Republican and Demo
cratic national conventions were
indirectly assailed by Mrs. Pea
body as mob conventions" which
had no power to give Congress
a mandate to destroy prohibi-
tion.
Describing her organization as
Q clearing house for militant
dry women, Mrs. Peabody said
half of 100000 Protestant
women are banded together in
prohibition .odieS.
Mrs. Peabody sprang into the
public eye few years ago when
she moved from Boston to
Florida because the Bay State
voted wet.
-: Defends VOlstead Act
She assailed either 2.75 or
80 per cent beer and defended
the Volstead definition of intoxi-
eating liquor as anything con-
tanning over one-half of one per
cent alcohol. She said:
"This content was established
by the brewers themselves in
1852 in their defense against
the soft drink trade. Let this
decision stand. We have no
financial or pOItical interest.
We are not here to lobby for
any trade or party. Nor have
we ever received funds from
wet organizations or politicians.
We have only one deSire-to
protect the Constitution"
She referred to experiments
made by Representative w. E
Hull (RO of Illinois in Europe
He, told the committee he drank
four bottles of beer before break
fast without i'll effects.
Refers to Capacity
Declaring little revenue would
be obtained unless each person
drank several gallons OF beer
weekly, she said:
"ThiS would be on the basis
Of congressional capacity re-
ferred to, which we hope would
apply TO only limited number
even, in Congress.
Mrs. Peabody said before
pFohihition 80 per cent of drunk
eil1iess was "beer drunkenness
She presented the statement OF
Dr.. Howard A. Kelly, of Johns
Hopkins University, favoring the
one-half of one per cent defini
tion.
"MOb Conventions"
Denying that national political
conventions have given Congress
Q mandate to change prohibi'
ton, she said:
"ActiOn in mob conventions
is not the. voice Of the people,
but of party machines.
-"Such conventions have no
power to dictate changes in
the Constitution"
She presented a statement from
Commander Evangeline Booth, o1
the Salvation Army, attacking
''the accurSed liquor traffic" enc
declaring that the Army stands
firm against the return of liquor
"Win With Prayer"
Mrs. William L. Darby, of this
city, warned Congress of the wom
ems vote. She said ll,000, ,O0C
women voted in 1898 for Presi
dent Hoover on dry platform
She added:
Through the power of God
and prayer the women will
win"
Miss Margaret Hamilton, oi
New York, quoted Profs. Benedict
Miles and Dodge, of the Carnegie
Nutrition Laboratory, as saying
even small quantities of alcoho
slow down the human machine.
Representative Sanders CD oi
Texas, asked Miss Hamilton if SHE
objected to submitting the Eight
eenth Amendment for repeal. Shit
replied:
"If it is submitted by Con-
greSS to legislatures so that the
will of the people is expressed
] do not personally object"
, Listed Gains and Losses
Mrs. Lippincott, comely, de
termined woman, who spoke ir
a firm voice. listed the gains anC
losses of prohibition. Among the
gains she cited an increase o1
SITS. 100000 in automobile anC
gasoline taxes. $4,000 gasoline
stations, increase of 28 per cen
in milk drunk, 100000 new homes
built since 1920 and a 25 per cen
increase in wages from 1918 tx
1880, decrease of 80 per cent il
deaths of babies under one year
The dry broke into applause
as she finished her statement.
Mrs. Harvey w. Wiley, preSi
dent Of the District of Columbii
Federation of Women's Clubs ant
widow of the famous pure foot
crusader, answered the question
is 2.75 per cent beer Intoxicating
by quoting her late husband.
She asserted that there is n
question but that this form o
liquor could produce intoxicatior
To IMcTMI nEEINEnc