Evening star., 1933-12-08
VARIOUS CONTROL
PLANS OPEN D. c.
LIQUOR HEARINGS
Commissioners Receive
Trade Board Proposal,
Among Others.
SYSTEM OF LICENSING
SEEN BLOW TO SALOON
Buck Asks Sale by Government
Stores and That Citizens Be Re-
quired to Obtain Pass Books.

Several widely different plans for
liquor control in Washington were un-
folded to the District Commissioners
when they began formal public hearings
on the subject in the board room Of the
District Building today.
A special committee of the Board of
Trade, headed by George w. Ofutt,
filed report favoring license system
rather than a Government-owned dis
pensary or private monopoly, but en-
phasizing opposition to the return of
the prohibition saloon. The trade
board committee took the position that
whatever is done should be based on the
aim of eliminating the bootlegger and
the speakeasy and suggested that the
most effective way of achieving this
purpose would be so to hberalize the
legal dispensation of liquor that it
would be able to compete commercially
with the Illicit traffic, thereby driving
such traffic out of existence.
Government Sales Plan.
DR.. F. w. Buck of the Federal Dis
pensary Tax Reduction League, on the
other hand, urged that sale of hard
liquor and strong wines be confined to
Government stores and that citizens be
required to get pass books good for three
or four quarts month to be purchased
at these stores.
The Night Watchmen's Association,
through its business manager, James P.
Cochran, opposed sale of liquor by the
drink and favored conflning it to pack
age sales only.
Other witnesses heard at the open
ing session included Edwin S. Hege of
the Executive Committee of the Chevy
Chase Citizens Association, asking
that sale of alcoholic beverages in any
form be prohibited in the territory of
the association. As to the remainder
of the District, Mr.. Hege said his COM
mittee favored in part the program
adopted by the Federation of Citizens
Associations. taking exception to few
of the items in that program.
Private License Proposal.
Charles E. Sands, representing the
Hotel and Restaurant Employees AL
lance, which favors the private license
system including sale for cons 'Dtion
on the premises, said a great de-
pendS on the caliber of those Ilted
licenses and pledged the cooperation
OF the employees in maintaining what
ever liquor laws are passed. Mr.. Sands
reiterated the opposition of his organi-
zation to barmaids in the District
by recommending that only men over
81 be allowed to serve liquor.
Milton R. Volmer, representing the
Georgia Avenue Business Mems Asso-
citation, protested against establishing
again the law in force prior to pro-
hibition which prohibited sale of liquor
within one mile of the Soldiers Home.
He also asked that no restriction be
made against the granting of licenses
in the vicinity of Walter Reed Hos
pital, declaring that restricted areas
around either of these institutions
would be unfair and discriminatory
against the business men of Georgia
avenue. He said such restrictions also
would be reflection on soldiers.
Henry Gilligan, member of the
Board of Education, asked the Com
missioners to keep the sale of liquor
as far from public schools as possible.
Henry I. Quinn presented the liquor
report of the Federation of Citizens
Associations, suggesting sale OF liquor
by the bottle in Government-owned dis
pensaries, together with sale, by the
drink at licensed hotels, restaurants
clubs trains and boats. This report
was printed in full in The Star on We'd
nesday.
AS the hearing opened there were
less than 100 persons present, and to-
ward noon the number was about $50.
The Commissioners had four policemen
stationed outside in the hall to handle
the expected crowd, but the attendance
was less than that which customarily
shows up at Zoning hearing.
Sale as Medicine Only.
Charles Pidgeon of the Society of
Friends suggested prohibition of the
sale of alcoholic drinks save by repu-
table physicians and druggists as a
medicine. This could be done without
reference to the eighteenth amendment
Continued on Page 2, Column g.