Evening star., 1932-04-15
DRY MODIFICATION
PETITION PRESENTED
TO CONGRESSMEN

Continued From First Page)
to "adduce proof that the promise of
prohibition has not been fulfilled"
All that is necessary to restore State
responsibility for solution of the prob
lem, he added, is to do away with the
eighteenth amendment.
A second objective, he said, is the pro-
lection of the prohibition States.
Laws already in effect when the Vol
stead act became law, Wagner added,
gave that protection. He urged their
re-enactment If the eighteenth amend
ment were repealed.
A third objective he added. is pre-
vention of the return of the saloon He
added this responsibility is on the
States
Nothing" he said. will change the
fundamental fact that the saloon can
be kept out of a community only by
the will of that community"
He criticized the Beck-Linthicum pro-
posal to give the States the choice Of
being wet or dry, saying it would be
to 'unshoulder upon the Federal Gov
ernment the responsibility of keeping
their territory internally dry"
Local enforcement. he said, lis not a
proper sphere for Federal action"
He also mildly criticized proposals by
Senator TydingS, Democrat, Maryland,
and Senator Bingham, Republican, Con-
necticut, for State liquor control
All Of the proposals mentioned, he
said, recognized that the liquor traffic
must ''henceforth be subjected to local
standards. All that is necessary TO
bring that about, he said, "is to strike
out the eighteenth amendment"
Ernest M. Hopkins, president of Dart
mouth College, in letter to Senator
Bingham, Republican, of Connecticut.
made public today. declared prohibition
repeal as fundamentally vital to the
welfare of the country at large"
Bingham placed the letter in the
Congressional Record The educator
wrote his views in response to an in
quiry by Bingham, who is seeking
repeal. The letter read, in part:
There are few major problems, social,
economic or political, before the country
which are not being complicated and
made more difficult of solution by the
existence of this amendment In the
impossibility of its enforcement its
works disastrously to respect for law
and creates demoralizing disdain of
government"
Economic Grounds Urged.
Wagner urged consideration Of repeal
on economic grounds, saying the liquor
traffic is still hourishing and illicit
liquor is escaping taxation
Miss NJ. Louise Gross of New York,
State chairman of the Women's Com
mittee for Rpeal of the Eighteenth
Amendment, said her organization
thought repeal bills by Wagner and
Chairman Blaine of the Judiciary SUBJ
committee were perfect" measures.
She said she did net think any group
should urge something to substitute for
the eighteenth amendment.
Let the States decide after repeal, A"
she said. "I feel it is their respon-
sibility."
She praised bill by Senator Hawes.
Democrat, Missouri, for bonding prohi-
bition agents, asserting now when
these dry agents shoot down helpless
people they have no recompense."
She said if the prohibitionists form a
third dry party, the vets might organ
ize a party of their own"
Other countries have four or five
parties" she said. I'VE can meet that
threat by the drys," she said.
She added she had received letters
from a number of wealthy men who
said they would not contribute to the
Democratic or Republican parties un-
less they favored a change in the liquor
laws.
Harry p. Klinefelter of Baltimore,
representing the local Self Government
League, said personally he did not be-
lleVe 10 per cent of the Senate and
House are actually dry"
DryyOting Vets Scored.
He added he did not blame them for
not obeylng such a law and scored
vets who vote dry" asserting they
were worse" than drys who sneak a
drink
He said he knew of bootlegger who
had more than $1,000 900 in safe de-
post boxes, adding
We might as we'll collect income
taxes from counterteiters as boot
leggers."
Rufus Lusk of Washington, repre-
senting the Crusaders, said his organi-
cation stood for the outright repeal
OF the eighteenth amendment"
In 1919" he said. about 300, 900 900
people in the world lived under prohi-
bition. Now only about lao, 900, 600 are
living uncer prohibition. This si7uSs
the change hl world ssn.infsnt'
He argued that sentiment in this
country is steadily growing against the
liquor laws and that prohibition lis
the main thing which is causing the
depression to continue"
Hull Asks House Support.
Later Representative William z. Hull
Of Illinois, recently defeated for re-
nomination, who received the prohibi-
ton petition, urged In the House that
additional members support move for
a vote on legislation to legalize 2.75
per cent beer.
Saying the beer petition had lo4 Of
the l45 necessary signatures to force
House vote. he added:
I think this beer bill would do more
TO relieve and stabilize the condition
of the country than anything else we
ran do