Evening star., 1934-01-06
D|SPENSARy SALE
| OF LIQUOR URGED
PIT. A. Congress and Citi'
zens' Federation Argument
Presented at Hearing.
Continued From First Page.)


throughout this country regarding the
| inferior quality of liquor sold. Unless
some attempt is made to remedy this
serious condition, I fear Congress will
be compelled to pass drastic regulatory
laws. We have done our part in repeal
ing the law. We now appeal to your
organization to uphold this law"
King Utters Warning.
After reading Mrs. Norton's telegram,
! Senator King made this personal
observation.
Some people believe that with repeal
OF the eighteenth amendment and the
Volstead law We may go back to old
conditions. I want to give a warning
that unless the new laws are respected,
there will be a recrudescence of the
demand for national prohibition"
Bride Describes Bill
Bride began his testimony by de-
scribing the section of the Commits
sioners' bill which would authorize
hotels. restaurants, clubs, dining cars
and boats to serve hard liquor only at
tables without displaying the bottles in
the same room, and permitting beer to
be sold at counters.
q
be in existence for three months before
it can apply for liquor license Sem
ator Kean, Republican, Of New Jersey.
suggested it would be better to make
this requirement six months.
Senator Carey inquired why a hotel
license to serve liquor was made 81 900
year and a restaurant $500 a year
Bride replied that it was because the
hotels were given certain added ad-
VantageS, such as the right to sell bot
tied goods to bona fide guests in their
rooms.
Senator Carey suggested that a large
restaurant might do more business
than a small hotel Bride pointed out
that the Commissioners bill requires a
hotel to have so rooms to get a license.
He thought Senator CareyS objections
might be met by having a graduated
scale of license fees for hotels based
on the number OF rooms.
King Questions Quality.
An explanation by Bride of a pre-
vision in the bill to license druggists to
sell whisky led Chairman King of the
Senate District Committee to remark
that he had been reliably informed that
some Washington drug stores are now
selling concoctions which contain prune
juice and small quantity of alcohol.
Il think the conduct Of some drug
stores in Washington calls for severe
condemnation" the Senator declared.
Senator Reynolds of North Carolina
asked Bride why it is necessary for drug
stores to sell liquor after its sale is
legalized in Washington. The corpora
sloners intended by licensing druggists
TO e5ta blish some places where liquor
would be available at any time especial
ly for medicinal purposes.
A provision for licensing liquor So
licitors ives attacked for a second time
by Senator Reynolds. who said it should
be eliminated from the bill. He ex-
pressed the fear that licensing liquor
solicitors would make II dificult to
keep a check on bootleggers
Even if you eliminate that provi-
sion," Bride declared, 1T would not
prevent soliciting"
Bride pointed out that in the opera
ton of the beer law, the solicitors rep
resented wholesalers and not retailers
Protests Home Canvass.
II have no objection to a representa-
tive of distiller or wholesaler coming
here to solicit business" declared Sem
solicitor who would go from door to
door"
While the committee was considering
whether the bill should provide for
licensing solicitors for liquor establish
ments, Representative Patman Of Texas
asked Bride if it would be in the in
terestS Of temperance to prevent Solici-
tation Of customers, and the corpora
tion counsel agreed that it would be.
You would not object then to a
provision prohibiting soliciting?" Pat
man asked. and the corporation counsel
replied he would not.
, would object to prohibiting newspaper
and radio advertising of liquor
Bride replied that it would be very
difficult to enforce such a provision,
pointing out that if a radio station in
some other State was broadcasting a
liquor advertisement there would be no
way of preventing audiences in the
District from listening
Pressing his inquiry, Patman inquired
if the corporation counsel did not agree
that such a restriction could be car
ried out as to advertising agencies
within the District and Bride agreed
it could be to that extent. The corpo-
ration counsel added, however, that it
should be remembered that this would
be legal business after the liquor
license law passes.
Restriction Questioned.
Referring to section which would
prohibit the granting of liquor license
to a person who had ever been convicted
of a felony, Representative Dirksen of
Illinois asked Bride If it would be fair
to deny license to an applicant wt.o
was convicted of felony 80 years ago
and who may have lived down his
previous record. Mr.. Dirksen suggest
ed that it might be better to limit the
restrictions to person who had been
convicted of felony in the last Ave
years, and Chairman King agreed that
there should be some limitation.
DirkSen inquired If public hearings on
applications for licenses would be neces-
sary in addition to the investigation to
be MADE into the character of the ap-
plicant. Bride replied that the people
in neighborhood should be the judges
of whether they want licenses granted
in their neighborhood and that public
hearings would develop that fact
I Bride next gave detailed explanation
of the tax schedule set up in the bill and
the provision designed to keep persons
convicted of a felony out of the liquor
business.
In this connection, Senator McCarran
of Nevada suggested a lower tax on
light wines than so cents a gallon. as
provided in the bill. He said this would
have the tendency of encouraging wine
drinking rather than hard liquor.
McCarran Suggests Change.
Senator McCarran also suggested
that persons convicted of misdemeanor
growing out of a violation of the pro-
hibition law be kept out of the liquor
business as well as persons convicted
of a felony.
"Of course. that is matter of pol
ICY" Bride replied.
A provision in the bill relating to