Evening star., 1933-03-26
Final Study of the Beer Bill.

Final STUDY OF the Beer DILL
If Senator Tydings is correctly
represented, he intends to make haste
slowly" in submitting the final draft
of the local beer bill to the full Senate
District Committee and, after that Sody
has acted, to the Senate itself.
This would represent an eminently
wise decision for reasons which now
shoud be apparent. In the hurly-burly
rush to legalize beer nationally and at
the same time to legislate separately
Gas local legislature) to control the
sale Of the legalized beverage In the
District OF Columbia, Congress failed
to comply with the usual formality In
regard to local legislation Of submitting
TIE proposed bill to the District
Commissioners.
This omission meant that until q few
days ago none of the local officials and
legal experts to be charged with the bills
enforcement had real opportunity to
study the measure and make sugges-
tions for strengthening its provisions
even If such strengthening did not go
beyond correcting loose phraseology.
When the local bill was finally and
Informally placed before Corporation
Counsel Bride and his legal associates
at the District Building, they spent
crowded hours in ironing out some OF
the legal kinks that endangered full
enforcement. But then, because OF the
parliamentary situation In the House,
it was too late to make the changes.
The resulting bill passed by the House
Is considered by legal experts con-
fusing hodge -podge. Some Of its in
consistencies have been pointed out IN
the news columns Of The Star and it
Is unnecessary to refer to them again
here.
The bill finally passed by the House
had been substituted for other drafts
previously considered by the House
District Committee. The Senate hearing
on Friday was held on the House bill.
But the hearings In no case have been
utilized for any adequate discussion OF
the merits or dement's of the legisla-
ton itself, with the idea Of receiving
constructive suggestions to strengthen
the legislation. For the most part the
hearings have merely provided oppor-
tunity for pro and con discussion over
the principle of legalizing beer-that
principle, to all intents and purposes
having already been decided by the
new administration to carry out its
Interpretation Of the mandate written
by the electorate in the last election,
and to fulfill its own party pledge.
The task confronting Senator Tydings'
committee Is more involved, therefore,
than mere consideration Of the bill
sent over from the House. The bill
obviously must be rewritten. Elsewhere
in today's Star the House bill and the
Commissioners recommended changes
are noted in detail. It will be seen
that many of the changes are to avoid
the inconsistencies and contradictions
Of the House bill. But policy is In
volved in some of them. The wise pro-
vision of the House measure against
sale of beer to minors Is not contained
in the rewritten measure, and 1t should
be. The rewritten measure provides for
sale Of beer "for consumption at tables
or in vehicles parked on the premises
Of ncensee"-and the doubtful pro-
priety of serving beer to automobile
parties parked at barbecue" stands or
in the darkened lawns of road houses
even though such resorts may meet the
should be obvious. This change, by the
way, was proposed as an amendment
to the House bill but was voted down
decisively by the House.
Decision regarding such details must,
of course, be left to the wisdom of the
Senate committee and to the Senate
itself. 1t must be remembered that
the coming week will provide the final
opportunity for Congress, possessing
the sole power Of legislating for the
unrepresented District Of Columbia, to
draft the beer measure for the District.
To be unduly hasty in performing the
task may mean that the people Of the
District will be forced to repent at
leisure. It may be impossible to fore
see all of the loopholes through which
sale of beer will be abused. It would
only be pursuing the course Of wisdom,
however, for Congress to begin with
regulations designed to place every
reasonable safeguard against return Of
old abuses in a newly legalized traffic
in alcoholics. Should circumstances in
dicate the wisdom Of later liberalization,
notifications may be made In the light
of experience. It is always easier to
lberalize than to restrict.