Imperial Valley press., 1933-01-07
BEER
CHALLENGED
Dry Leaders Assert Provision OF
Collier Bill Conflicts With
Constitution.
BY LYLE c. WILSON
United Press Staff Correspondent

united Press stair Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7. Ed
ward B. Dunford, counsel for the
Anti-saloon League, w. c. T. u,
and other powerful dry organiza-
tionS, today declared the Collier
80 per cent beer bill to be square
ly in conflict with the 18th amend
ment' and hence unconstitutional.
Bearing the brunt of the dry ar
gument in a scheduled six hour
hearing before a senate judiciary
subcommittee, Dunford as the
first witness staked his case almost
entirely on the contention that 3.2
per cent beer is intoxicating. He
quoted scientific evidence to sup
port that contention.
Dunford was followed by an ar
ray of prohibitionist witnesses, in
cluding two women who asserted
the failure of the Collier bill to
forbid sale of beer to minors would
endanger the physical and moral
welfare of 30,000,000 children.
The women who presented this
argument were Mrs. William T.
Bannerman of the National Con-
greSS of Parents and Teachers and
Mrs. Henry w. Peabody chairman
of the Woman's National Commit
tee for Law Enforcement.
Leading wet organizations were
so confident the committee would
approve the bill that they did not
plan to present testimony at the
hearings. Representative Beck
tRep.l Pennsylvania, noted as an
authority on constitutional law,
was 10 reply to Dunford's argu-
ments for the vets.
Privately many vets expressed
fear that the drys have the best
of the constitutional argument and
that the supreme court would set
the beer bill aside if it were en-
acted. Despite this possibility,
and the strong probability of a
presidential veto, they are deter
mined to press the measure.
Dunford declared 80 per cent
sis substantially the same as pre-
prohibition beer which was COM
monty known to be intoxicating. j."
He said this was shown by a de-
partment of agriculture study in
1917.
Tests Related
Dunford cited laboratory tests
made on medical students by DR..
Walter r. Miles of Yale. He quot
ed Miles as having concluded that =:
There is no longer room for
doubt in reference to the toxic ac-
ton OF alcoholic beverages as weak
rs 2.75 per cent by weight"
He pointed out that 3.2 per cent
brew is 13 per cent stronger than
that used by Miles in the expert
ments which led to that finding.
AS for scientists who have testi-
tied that 3.2 per cent beer was not
Intoxicating, Dunford said some
of them had qualified their evi-
dence by stating that they based
their statements upon a healthy
adult accustomed to drinking a mod
crate amount of beer" Others he
said, admitted that the toxic effect
depended on whether the beer was
taken on full or empty stomach,
also on age, sex, tolerance to use
and other conditions.
"The constitution was not adopt
ed simply to protect the average
healthy adult who has established
tolerance for alcohol" Dunford
asserted, "but to protect all class
es, including the young, immature,
and those most SIISppptih1p tO the
narcotic, habit forming nature of
alcohol.
Under this bill 80 per cent
beer would be sold without re-
sLriction in the corner grocery, at
soda fountains and any place
whatsoever and be purchased by
all classes including women and
children"