December 17, 1917

The sale of liquors in a given State can not rea ()nably be said to directly affect the people of a distant State; the latter have not such knowledge of local sentiment nor skill in local affair as would qualify them to intervene. Such intervention can but result in confusion, disorder, and dissatisfaction. Prior to the adoption of the "bone·dry law," States in which the sale of liquors was legalized were enabled to endanger the safety of adjoining States for their citizens by sending liquors into adjoining States, could provoke disorder and lawlessness. The adoption of the bone-dry law, however, has ended all that. It is now as unlawful to carry liquors into a prohibition State as to manufacture them therein. The strong arm of the Federal Government is thus called into action in defense of a State's prohibition laws. It is only through the failure to enforce the Federal statute that the security of a State may be impaired.

PlWRilUTIO. IN .A.L.!.lJ.UU ••

The results of prohibition in Alabama have been all that its advocates hoped for. It has caused great moral, spiritual, and . economic advances. A few years ago, during the time of the open saloon, the jails in my home city, Birmingham, became habitually so crowded as to become dangerous to health. A new and handsome city jail was constructed and was soon filled wi.th prisoners. Then prohibition came in and soon the number was cut in half. Since the passage of the bone-dry law the new jail has been emptied. It has now been unused for several months rind recently the city authorities have tendered it to the G.ov­ ernment for hospital purposeS. Tlle offenders in this city of 175,000 are now confined in the small prison adjoining the police court. A few days ago the coroner of my county told me that in May last we had 31 deaths from industrial accidents, suicides, and manslaughter, and that in September last the num· ber was reduced to 4. This ; re ulted, us he believed, from the bone-dry law.

I have been an advocate of prohibition even from my boyhood. As a citizen I have voted for it whenever I consistently could. I voted for prohibition when it was a matter of local option in my home county. I voted for it when it was proposed to put prohibition in the .Alabama constitution. As a Member of Congress I voted for prohibition for the District of Columbia, for Porto Rico, and for Alaska. I have voted for it on every occasion when I felt that 1t was a legitimate subject for Federal legi lation. I would gladly vote to put prohibition in the l!"'ederal Constitution lf my con cience and my principles did not forbid. I am a prohibitionist, but I am also a democrat. I do not mean that I am a democrat merely in the party sen e, but that I am a democrat in that I am a believer in the right of self-O'overnment-in the right of every community and State to decide questions which concern themselves alone.

It is exceedingly painful to me to find myself out of harmony with so many -of my friends upon the prohibition question, men with whom I have been associated in church and social life and in movements for the public welfare, and for whose views I have profound respect. Only to-day I received a telegram from my Sunday-school class urging me to '\Tote for national prohibition. It is most embarrassing to find myself in opposition to some of the great Christian influences of the Nation-influences diRin• terestedly devoted to progress and to the public welfare. How· ever, painful as it is to oppose the wishes of my friends, my conscience demands that I should remain faithful to the principles of democracy as I understand them. The future of my country depends upon the preservation of democratic principles. I can not now ignore them, even though I might approve the object sought to be achieved. I can not take this near cut and thereby establish a precedent which will greatly vex us in future. ·

I believe in prohibition. I look on it as a good thing, but I can not vote to force it on communities remote from my own, of which I have no specific knowledge and in which I have no particular interest. In my own State we already have prohibition. The Federal amendment will be of no benefit to us. It will merely serve to inject the prohibition issue more fully into State politics. This will be harmful to Alabama. It will delay much needed reforms and divert attention from grave public matters of more pressing concern to my State. Alabama through bet legislature chose prohibition voluntarily. It was not forced upon us by other States. '~e accepted it deliberately, not as the resUlt of outside dictation. I am willing to accord to the people of other State~ the same pr-ivilege that Alabama has asserted for herself; that i:;:;, to dPctde for themselves whether they will stop tile sale of liquors. . I should resent with all my soul any attempt upon the part of a · combination of other States by amendment to the Federal Con ~ = Constitution or otherwise to force the liquor traffic upon the people of Alabama. Likewise I shall not take part in un effort to prohibit such traffic in other States, the people of which d es ire that it should continue.

1\lr. GARD. Mr. Speaker, I yield seven minutes to the gentleman from New York [Mr. FrTZGEUALDJ. [Applause.]

Mr. FITZGERALD. Mr. Speaker. that the abuse of the use of intoxicating liquors has resulted disastrously to many person-s is unquestioned. Everyone interested in the happiness of our people and in their proper physical and moral development is anxious to do everything possible to eliminate the evils that result from the abuse of intoxicating liquors. I am one of those .who do not believe that by sumptuary legislation success is attained along such lines. The experience of our own country, as well u.s the experience of other nations, demonstrates that the attempt to control by legislation the habits of the people, in so far as they affect matters not inherently immoral, results in failure. I have as a demonstration of that fact a report of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue for the fiscal ye:a.r ending June 30. 1917. I have only time for brief reference to it, tmt it emphasizes the fact that laws prohibiting absolutely the use of intoxicating liquors have not been effective in the United States.

There were in Alabama ia the year ending June 30, 1917, 374 illicit distilleries; in Georgia. 472; in Kentucky, 90; in North Carolina, whence hails the champion who leads this cause, 680; in South Carolina. 308; in Tennessee, 192 ; in Virginia, 299.

I do not criticize nor have I fault to find with the people of any State fot· adopting prohibition legislation. In my opinion it is a matter to be determined by the people of the respective States; and when the people of the States have determined that there should be no intoxicating liquors manufactured or sold within their borders, in my opinion the Federal Government has acted properly - in attempting to assist those States in excluding liquors from their territory.

It is proposed, however, by a combination of persons residing in various States wherein they have not been successful in their effort to prevent the manufacture of into:xicating liquors, the abuse of which only is harmful. to impose upon the people of the entire country prohibitory regulations, to which great numbers of our people are violently opposed. In my opinion i·t is not a proper subject for regulation by the Constitution. If it were not that there are so runny fanatical persons interested in this movement this amendment would not be in the form of prohibiting the manufacturf-' of intoxic-ating liquors. but it would be in the form of conferring upon the Federal Government the right to exercise the power by legislation to prohibit the manufacture of intoxicating liquors if that were deemed necessary.

It is an unwise time to press this question. It is ill advised. The experience of Great Britain in this war already demonstrates that it would be unwise absolutely to prohibit here the manufacture of intoxicating liquors. The British Government was compelled to increase by 6,000,000 barrels the amount of beer that could be brewed for the use of those engaged in essential industries during the war .

Every Government participating to a. great extent in it finds it necessary in certain industries to provide that those engaged therein shall have certain sustenance from the use of beverages containing some alcohol. Under the regulations adopted by the President it is well to recall that beer, as it can be now manufactured, containing only 2i per cent of alcohol, about 30 per cent of the alcohol contents of the favorite tipple of the most stringent advocate of temperance. ·

Mr. Speaker, I shall not be much longer a Member of this body, and yet before I go I wish to speak a word to my colleagues in the Democratic Party upon the unwisdom of such legislation as this. Our party has always been opposed to sumptuary legislation. Our party has been the one political party in all the history of the Union--

1.\lr. JOHNSON of" Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, will the gentle· man yield?

Mr. FITZGERALD. No; I decline to yield. It has been the one party in all of the history of the Union that has stood for the freest action on the part of the individual, consistent with law and order. Legislation designed to eliminate-

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman from Kew York has expired.

1\lr. FITZGERALD. I used only 7 minutes, according to my watch, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. HULBERT. That is all you had. . Mr. FITZGERALD. Then I have finished. [Laughter and applause.]

1\lr. GRAHAM of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker and gentlemen of the Congress, I have some profound convictions with reference to this amendment, and yet I can scarcely hope by an expression of them to change a single vote, for perhaps every one has already determined his own action in respect to this question. But as we are met here for the purpose of conference as well as -voting, I am going to trespass upon your time for a few minutes to express those convictions .

I "\"Oted to send this article out of the committee, while not concurring in the recommendation that it be passed, because I felt that it ought not to be allowed to slumber in the committee, but ought to come forth and be discussed and acted upon by the entire House.

I do not regard the question that is presented to-day as one which involves a struggle between the wets and the drys. That has not been reached. So far as I personally am concerned, I am not classed with the wets. If this question came before my State in proper form, I might possibly do again what I have already done when a candidate coming up for election as district attorney of my city. Then I voted an open ticket in favor of prohibition. So that when I state certain views which impressed themselves upon my mind I a~n following the line of conscientious duty, and I wish to maite an appeal to my brethren here and try to influence them to see this subject as it presents itself to me.

First, let me say there is no difficulty about the third section of this bill. I conferred a moment ago with the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. LENBOOT], and I think that perhaps I am at liberty to say that he concurred in the view which we expressed together. The limitation here is in the article that is to be sub· mitted and is not a separate proposition. Hence, when it Is voted upon by the States and adopted it is as much a valid article and amendment to the Constitution as was the fifth article of that instrument, which itself contained a limitation as to any amend· . ments being made with reference to slavery, or affecting the question of slavery. Congress has the power to propose amendments. That means to state them in their entirety, and it has proposed this amendment with a limitation of seven years as the period within which the legislatures may act upon it.

So much for the question of constitutionality. In my judgment it is absolutely constitutional, and I say this so that it may - not be a bugaboo to any Member who wants to vote for its adoption. It is idle and unwise for us to send proposals for amendment loose upon the fabric of this Nation without some limitation. As the chairman of the committee himself said, one of them got astray and has never been heard of up to this date. But the time and the occasion when the proposal is made is when the States ought to be called upon to make their ratification or their rejection; and every time hereafter that a constitutional amendment goes forth from this House, so far as my vote is concerned, it shall have a time limit in it.

Now, gentlemen, is it not true that to-day in this country you can have prohibition in one or two ways?

As a war measure we have clothed the President of the United States with power at once not only to prevent the manufacture and distribution of distilled spirits but also to regulate and prohibit the manufacture and sale of other beverages containing alcohol. We have clothed the President also with power to guard the various cantonments where our :ro-1- diers are gathered. Within proper limitations, he can forbid all use of liquor at or near any of these places.

You have another method by which prohibition can be reached. It can be reached by every State in the Union acting upon the subject, and that is the right and the privilege of every State-to act upon this question for itself. Its neighbor has no right to say to it, "You shall prohibit within yoill· dominion." Each State is yet a sovereignty in this Union of States, and no one sovereign State has the right to impose its will upon the other sovereign power and to say, "You shall prohibit, willy-nilly. Whether you wish it or not, it shall be done." My colleague from New York [Mr. CHANDLER] very convincingly pointed out to you how in four combinations 36 States can be obtained representing a minority of the people of this country, and by adopting this amendment they will impose their will upon the rest of the States against their wishes. When once adopted one·fourth of the States can forever prevent its repeal. , You gentlemen know that when the Constitution of the United States was adopted it was adopted by unanimity. It could not be adopted in any other way, and it could not become a document binding upon any State unless that State in par- ticular gave its assent and approval to the instrument. That was the unanimity required, which was foreshadowed in the Articles of Confederation, which could not be altered except by the unanimous consent of the States. When these States unanimously gave to the United States certain powers tbe7 retained nll the rest; and to show that that was their purpose and thought the tenth -amendment to the Constitution embodies that thought · specifically in words. There never was an intendment on the par.t o f the fr . framers of the Constitution that the State boul<l surrender their police power over the regulation of their internal affairs, and this proposed amendment is an exact and direct evasion of that reserved power in -the States and means the destruction of local self-government and the creation of illimitable officers and agencies on the part of the Government :to carry out the provisions of such an amendment as this. Think of the spy system that will be inaugurated. Think of the employees that will be gathered in the effort to put this amendment 'into effect.

And in that connection I call your attention to section 2 · of the article, which says that the United States and the States shall have concurrent juri diction-two sovereign powers to be exercised in company. The State may pass its legislation, may attempt to enforce the law in its way, and the United States in another way. This will not raise the question that came into being, 'for instance, under the bankruptcy law; for while the State may legislate on que tions of bankruptcy, for instance, up to the time that Congress act , but when Congress acts the supremacy of the United States' enactment has to be acknowledged throughout all the States; but here you have two entities, struggling · one with the other, and it leads to illimitable and immeasurable confusion. It can do nothing else.

Now, my friends, it has been said that this is the only way in which to reach the people, and a whole mass of claptrap basbeen poured out here in the way of sentiment and suggestion about appealing to the dear people whom we are to con nit. Is . it consulting the people when you send this amendment to the Con titution down to the States to be voted upon by the legislator in those States? This is no direct referendum to the people. Let each State act on an amendment to its own constitution, and then you have the · direct and absolute action of the people of every State. It can not be said any longer that a State has no power to enforce bone-dry prohibition within its limits becau e the recent legislation of Congress has given it that power, and . the · decision of our United States Supreme Court has declared that it can within its own borders protect itself even to the extent of excluding from interstate commerce every package of rum or other liquor that may be sent from one State into another. I raise my voice in protest against subjecting the majority of the people possibly to the will of a minority.

You may say this is a moral question, and I will grant you for the sake of argument, and for the sake of the fact I will admit that it is; but you have no right to legislate in behalf of the accomplishment of a moral reform by adopting illegal measure to accomplish your purpose. When men become fanatical in any movement they become unreasonable. lllen have been known to try to make others religious by . violence, by the sword and the flame. Men will not hesitate to prostitute the great Constitution of your country and trample it under foot by impo ing upon it legislation of this sort which does not belong in it. There is no semblance of grant in that instrument to control this subject . This is an effort to put a policy in the fundamental law, which should only be a declaration of principles.

I Yerily believe that so far as the power to amend the Constitution is concerned it relates only to and ought only to be exerci ed upon the deler;ated powers unless the unanimous conent of the State is obtained in the · matter of the new delegation of power. Amendment means what the -word implies and should be made only to affect the delegated powers that were giYen to the National Government. The National Government is not a sovereignty of itself. It is the creation by the States delegating some of their powers and rights in order that it might exerci e the functions of a government. [Applause.] I speak thn in obedience to my oath upon entering this body, that I would support the Constitution of my country.

The SPEAKER. The time · of the gentleman from Pennsylvania has expired.

l\I-r. GARD. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from l\1nryland ['Mr. CoADY].

1\.lr. COADY. It is a pity, 1\Ir. Speaker, that a great public question like that involved in the pending resolution, affecting as it does not only the property rights of individuals but their per onul liberties as well, can not be considered in the light of rea on and the experience of mankind and decided upon its merits; but it seems it can not be done. .

l\!ost measures that come before this body are debated fully and considered with the greatest deliberation; but, as a rule, when a prohibition bill is bef01·e us deliberation is thrown to the winds and we cease to be even fair. We had an illustra­ 1\fr. GARD. tion of this when the District Df Columbia prohibition bill was before the House . The Rules Committee brought in a ru~e absolutely preventing the opponents of the bill from voicing their opposition to it-completely gagging them, although they knew · their action meant the confiscation of property running into the hundred thousands and the denial to the owners ot such property of the right to have a voice in · their own affairs. Tho e of us who served in the Sixty-fourth Congress remember that this report was concurred in by some members of the Rules Committee who before that time had ably and consistently fought the adoption of rules limiting debate, but who on this particular occasion tamely and meekly submitted without a word of protest. It · was the most arbitrary action I have witnessed here or elsewhere. It was an absolute denial of the right of a majority of the people to be heard through their elected Representative and the absolute surrender upon the part of some Members of their honest conviction that every question should receive fair con ideration and its proponents and opponents given a reasonable amount of time to discuss it. It was a denial of the right of free speech. We talk about democracy and the rule of the people, but every man here knows that if this resolution passes and is ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the States it will mean the rule of the minority. The wishes of the few will prevail over the protests of the many. The great States of the Union wherein live a majority of our people, from which the Government receives an overwhelming portion of taxes, will vote against it. Gentlemen in favor of this resolution, and who come from States that have statutory, and not actual, prohibition, tell us that their States have advanced in prosperity. They have told us this so often that we began to accept it as the truth until the publication of the report by the Treasury Department of the collection of income anti excess-profits taxes. This report shows than an overwhelming portion of such taxes came from those States· that do not have prohibition, while those States that do have it showed surprisingly small returns. I am told that in my own city of Baltimore four or five men there paid more income and excess-profits taxes than were collected from five of these legally but not actually dry States. This proves to me that there is more real sobriety, industry, a:nd pro perity in those parts of our country where the sale of liquor is licensed .and regulated by law than in the sections where it iS prohibited.

Some time ago, I received in my mail, as no doubt all other Members of this body did, a copy of u speech on prohibition delivered by a member of another legislative body before a society of New Yorkers, all of whom were former r idents of a Middle West State. The speaker told of the wonderful benefits that bad accrued to his State by reason of prohibitiol.l, of the great prosperity of his people, and how they were all making money. And let me say here, by way of parenthe is, that his is one of the dry States that brought so little into our National Treasury ; and yet the gentleman was talking to a body of men who had left _ a dry State where they could · not find success, and bad located in a wet State where they all had achieved splendid reputations and had secured abundant prosperity .

An overwhelming majority of people of the district I represent are opposed to this resolution. They are industrious, successful, sober, law - abiding citizens-men of substance and charJ acter, broad minded, liberal, and free from cant and hypocrisy. They know that you can not make men lead clean lives and be sober by the passage of a law . They are too sensible to believe that.

The laboring people, through their accredited representatiYes, are protesting against the passage of this resolution, so we should be slow to antagonize the wishes of those who toil and · spin to please those who neither toil nor spin because they are too busy lobbying. •

Do not let us make the toilers dissatisfied, and thereby injuriously affect the industry of the country .

It will be impossible to secure a substantial enforcement of a law of this kind in those cities and States where an enlightened public sentiment prevails against it . An attempt to do this would involve the employment of thousands of Federal officers and the expenditure of large sums of the public money, without any corresponding moral benefit accruing to the people. It is far better to license, regulate, and supervise public drinking places and get the enormous revenue that comes from such licensing than by prohibition close them and cause to spring up in their places untaxed and unregulated speak-easie , such as exists, I am told, in many of the States that have prohibition laws . [Applause . ] :Mr . Speaker, I yield one minute to the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. CANNoN.]

Mr. GRAHAM of PennsylYania. I al o yield him one minute. 1\ir. \VEBB. I a1 o yield the gentleman one minute. Mr. VOLSTEAD. I yield the gentleman o.ae minute.

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Speaker, on the Princess Alexandra's arrival from Denmark, Tennyson, the poet laureate, m·ote:

Saxon or Dane or Norman we,

Teuton or Celt or whatever we be,

We are each ah Dane in our welcome o! thee.

I run charged, as the agent of the House of Representatives, to state that within the last hour the Members have expressed a unanimous desire upon their part to extend a memorial to our departing friend in public life, the Hon. JoHN J. FITZGERALD, a memento for him to take with him of our love and respect, to the amount, when selected, of a thousand dollars. [Applause.] I can suggest to him that-

Democrats, Republicans, Progressives are we,

But we all unite 1n our love for thee.

· we love him .as a man and as a legislator. [Applause.]

One thing further. The leader of the minority, vbo has the re pect of every man in this Hou e, is sick at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and we have also concluded to send to him on Christmas ·morning a fio1"11l tribute of our love and respect for him. [Applause.]

Mr. WEBB. ~1r. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York [1\Ir. FITZGERALD].

1\fr. FITZGERALD. 1\!r. Speaker, I do not desire the RECOliD · to indicate that I had not expressed my overwhelming gratitude for this addition to the innumerable favors I have received from my colleagues in the Honse. I wish to express to them my .Jnc-Ec>rc thanks for this added manifestation of their kindness. [Applau e.]

Mir. WEBB. M.r. Speaker, in closing this debate I shall only be able to touch .on three or .four points: First, gentlemen, this is not .a prohibition vote. It is a question of referendum. We had not long ago the question of a referendum, and a great many of the"' wet" men in this House voted for a referendum in the District of Columbia to :m unorganized electorate. Will you balk on submitting to State of the Nati-on this great question whether or not liquor a a be .. ·erag e shall be banished from the country? Are you afraid to tru t the States? The States made the Constitution reserving to themselves the right to amend it, and that is whe~1 two-thirds of both Houses of Congress deem it necessary that an amendment should be submitted. I submit to you genUemeu, " wets ,. and u drys " alike, that you should be willing to tand by your States in giving them the -opportunity to amend the greatest instrument ever struck off by the pen of man, and, submit to the 48 sovereign States the question whether liquor a a beYerage .should be baniShed from the land. {Applause.] · ~t·. DUPRE. Vvill the gentleman yield?

l\fr. WEBB. For a question.

Mr. DUPRE. How is t.h€: gentleman going to vote on the amen<lment for woman suffrage?

Mr. WEBB. I am · going to vote against it for the same reason that I have expressed. I do not think it "necessary" to submit that amendment to the States of tl1e Union, because there are not enough people in the various States demanding it, Whereas 61,000,000 out of 95,000,000 li"f'e under the Stars and Stripe in dry territory, and 85 per cent of all that territory under the Stars and Stripes is dry. I do not believe, of course, in submitting any and all proposed amendments. · And you tell me that this Oongre s has the right to disregard the appeal of that number of people and that much dry territory? I have in my po~ ession petitions signed by _ eight and a half million American people, 500,000 of whom are among the best women in the world, sent to me by Mrs. Anna Gordon, the head of the Woman's Chri tian Temperance Union. Why not giYe them a chance? If the State do not want to adopt it, you wet men are not hurt; if they want to adopt it, it certainly is your duty to submit it to them, because that is the only way in which they can change their Constitution; and, as Senator Blair said long years ago, if you do not allow the peo- ple of this Republic to amend their Constitution when they want to, it breeds revolution. It is the orderly way to amend that sacred document. I submit that when over 61 per cent of the population and 85 per cent of the area of a great country desire to amend this in tru.ment, that opportunity should be given to them. There is no question of State rights in this prop ition. It i the right of the States to have the opportunity to determine whether or not they shall vote to amend the Constitution. That is a sovereign right of which they should not be deprived, and which they provided for in that great in t rument. If three-fourths of the , States say that the manufacture and ·ale of liquor for b evernge purpo e stopped, then it is the highe t sovereign prerog!ltiv~ left to the States to say that, and tbere L~ absolutely no nolatwn of State rights when that que. tion is ubmitted to then1 in that way,

It is argued that we will lose some revenue if '"'6 pa this amendment and the States adopt it. I would rather adopt the opinions of th~ great judges in the lic e n e cases when they said · it may be there will be a lo s of revenue, but if there is a loss of revenue to this country under the banishment, the country will be a thousand times the gainer in the wealth, health, and happiness of the people. Everyone in the House knows that that is so . . There is not a man, I do not care whether he takes a drink or is a prohibitionist, but knows and admits that the liquor traffic, the beer traffic, and the wine traffic _ ffie are !he most audacious lawbreakers i!l tlle land, the de "' despoilers of men, an.d the terror of women. Think of that poor boy the other day in France, sent there with an American uniform on to defend this great country, to represent u on a foreign · shore. Some lowdown scoundrel sold him some liquor, some beer or wine, ~m<l made him drunk, and he went off and committ d an infamous crime. When he was hauled up before the court-martial he admitted that he committed the crime, but aid that he was drunk and did not hLlow anything about it. He was told that that would not excuse him, and he was ordered to be taken out to the edge of the camp grounds and h'311ged in disgrace. That penalty has been ratified by the War Department, and yet that filthy scoundrel who made money -on the sale of that liquor i still roaming about the shores of France ready to make criminals out of American boys whom we have sent there to defend this country.

I hope when this proposed amendment is offered to e:s:C€pt wine and beer that you will vote it out. A man can become a drunkard on beer and wine just as he can on liquot·. It wa. not liquor that destroyed Rome, it was wine and beer. It was not ardent spirits that threatened to desh·oy China, but wine, and that was what caused the emperor to order the natives to dig up the vineyards. We did not except wine and b~r when we passed the law prohibiting the importation of liquor into the Indian Territory. We <lid not except ":Vine and beer when we forbade the sending of intoxicants through the mail. 'Ve eondemned them all. We did not except wine and beer when \Ye prollibited the sale of intoxicants in canteens and on military reset·vations. All of it must stand or fall together. A . <:; tl1e Siame. e twin lived, so must tbe Siame e twins die. Cougre. s did not e~et wine and beer when by practically a two-third · vote it drove liquor out of the Capital of the United State . Congre s said all must go. Congre ha ne...-er made any distinction between wine and beer and liqu"Or, and I hope this Congress to·dny will vote down the proposed amendment overwhelmingly. No State in the Union that has \'oted itself dry has ever given a place of privilege to wine and beer. They have treated intoxicants all alike. Twenty-seven States and the District of C<>lumbia, Alaska, and Porto Rico, have all gone dry, and not a single one of them has ever excepted wine anll beer and said it was all right to drink those but that they would put a.rdent spirits alone out of busine · ..

Something has · s been said here about the war. You say we want to win this war. We are determined to do that. Here is an article from the Manufacturer's Record, one of the great· est manufacturer's and trade papers in the world, and here is what Mr. Richard H. Edmonds says about liquor, wine 1 and beer at this moment : TO PRESIDENT WlLSO~ A~D THE NATION-QXE GREAT AlD TO WINNING THE If we could find labor enough to operate to advantage all the farms of the country we could produce an abundant supply of foodstuffs for ourselves and our allies.

If we could find labor enough to operate to their fullest capacity all of the coal mines ot the country, there would be an ample supply of coal to meet every need of railroads, industries, and domestic use.

If we had labor sufficient to man every shipyard in the country and crowd to the utmost limit our facilities for building ships we wouJd soon settle the world's de tiny by supplying the shipping which is so essential to our own salvation and that of our allies.

If men could be found in sufficient number to operate to their utmost capacity all of the munition factories in the country we could provide materials for explosives and guns and shells, without which the war can not be won but with which we could win it.

If there were enough men available, working regularly and earnestly, to crowd to their capacity otn" iron and steel plants we could produce all the iron and steel needed for ourselves and for our allies and make certain that there would be no shortage in steel shipbuilding material and in the iron and steel needed for guns, for railroads, and for other purposes.

U labor in uffici e nt quantity could be bad every wooden shipbuilding yard in the country would be abundantly supplied with the lum ber needed for buildin g wood e n ships-and these wooden ship · may yet prove a deciding factor in the war.

If labor in sufficient quantity could be had for all the other v!rie d activities of the Nation's life. every interest-agricultural, manufachall be turing, and other lines of work essential to the winning of the war— could be run to it utmo s t capacity · and be mad e to produce an abun- . SHALL (!ant supply of the materials needed for feeding and clothing the Nation, for feeding the live stock of the country, for increasing the food supplies and for doing the other things without which the world must inevitably drag through years of weary and at times despondent conclitions.

How shall this labor supply be secured and thus the end of the war be hastened and our success made certain? The answer is simple.

This labor supply can be had almost to the full extent needed. In potentiality it is here, but it Is not being utilized, except to a limited extent . On the farm and in the factory there is a vast amount of inefficiency and lack of ability for regular, systematic work. And this condition, whi c h directly mllltates against the Nation's ability to fight and to feed itself and the allies, is due to th e inefficiency produced by the liquor traffic.

Banish the entire liquor industry from the United States for the duration of the war ; close every saloon, every brewery ; rigorou ly and vigorously enforce the laws; suppress drinking by severe punishment to the drinker ; and, if neces s ary, death to th e seller or maker, or both, a traitors, and the Nation would suddenly find itself amazed at its efficiency and startled at the vast increase in it s labor supply. Ship- :ranls would teem with work. Iron and .steel and munition industries and coal mines would vastly increase their output. The produ ctiO n of food would almost in s tantaneously leap forward, and the Nation would sutlde nly find itself buoyantly optimistic and dominant.

Against u c h a Nation Germany would struggle in vain. The end of the war would · be hastened by many months; perhaps by some years. Our triumphant succ es s would be made certain. Hundreds of thou sa nds of lives and billions of money would be saved.

No intelligent c nt man looking over the situation will question the truth o f theRe . ·tat e ments, for every Intelligent man, be be in public life or a day laborer, a mechanic or an employer, will at once admit that the c ursP. of the liquor traffic is the greatest power that holds u back.· It is a weight tied around our neck. It is like the chain of the convict which drag · th e heavy ball as slowly he moves, with his efficiency le sse ned and his power to Jo things decreased.

Let us cut loose from the ball and chain of the c onyict. Let u . throw off the weight that hangs around the neck of the Nation! Let us banish, drinks. as - a war measure, the entire liquor tra.ffic and make the punishment against the drinker and the seller and the maker of alcoholic drinks so severe as to make certain that the punishment will prevent the crime. Then this Nation will go forward in its work with a . song of ·victory on it lips. Millions of mothers and fathers will feel that the Ta tlon has met the challenge, . "'e, and they will give their · sons to the battle feeling that, at lea t, the Nation is not doing the utmost in its power to uamn their bodies and their souls by its upholding of the ljquor tratlk.

If there w e re no higher motives than that of efficiency, if there were no higher motive than that of hastening the end of the war, surely President Wil on and his advisers . r · must be r ea dy to meet this issue and force it to a final conclusion. No halfway m e asure will accomplish the results . Banish from the land every saloon, every brewery and every open or hidden producer of alcoholic drinks ; stand before the firing s quad every maker or seller of alcoholic drinks during t he war, and then ' yi c tory will be certain and hastened.

Is the Nation ready to meet the issue?

Every interest of the Nation and of the world demand th e closing of every saloon :lDd the total prohibition of the manufacture of alcoholic drink during the w:u:. The liquor intere s ts have prote s ted in times past that prohibition would throw out of employment many thousands of bands. To-day the country ne e ds millions. of hands, and every man who is now operating in breweries or distilleries or standing behind the saloon bar could be turned into employment of benefit rather than be kept in an employment wbicll !s a curse.

The liquor interests have protested that the farmers of the country would be injured by the elimination of their use of grains. To-day the world is facing a serious shortage of foodstuffs, and every bushe! of grain that can be saved for food for man and beast is an e sentia l factor in the world's salvation. E-very bushel wasted in producing alcoholic drinks is a moral and economic loss.

Even the breweries and the distilleries and the saloons could be turned into profitable operation for other things. Increased cold storage is needed and larger production of ice is necessary. Munition making must go on in many places not now available, There will be a great increase in the demand !or house room for the laborers drawn into shipbuilding , munition making, and other industries. To-day the Government is calling in vain for houses for the munition men that must be put to work in the great cities or the country in the e · war activities. Every building now used. for a saloon could be utilized for a dwelling or !or some business purpose. . _

If we should entirely disregard the moral issue involved and figure on t his matter purely from the economic standpoint in regard to the winning of the · war, every argument is in favor of wiping out the entire Hquor traffic and banishing every saloon from the land.

We are wasting annually $2,000 000,000 or more in drink, but that is only a small portion of th e actual waste. This accursed drinking habit is largely 1esponsible to1· the number of men in jails and penitentiaries . ries and almshouses. It curtails the working power of men needed to build ships, to make munitions, to operate the iron and steel works and the coal mines of the country and to make possible an increased food production. The $2,000,000,000 or more actually expended for liquor is a very small item compared with the fearful cost of le sened efficiency of labor on the farm, in the factory, in the office, in the countingroom, and wherever men are engaged in work.

Banish from the Nation every grog shop, every brewery, every distillery; prevent the sale of the whisky that now is in store. at least until the end of the war, and there would come a tremendous increase in the Nation's power to prepare for the war and to carry the war to a successful issue.

We talk about shortage of railroad transport ation, and this is vital, and should receive the Nation's attention. We talk about the lack of foodstuffs; this, too, is vital, and every effort should be made to increa c the production of food. 'We talk about the Jack of ships, upon which the life of this Nation and the life of other nations hang. But none o! these things can be adequately developed so long as the liquor traffic holds s ;vay and so large a proportion of the people who ought to be steadily at work are wa tlng their . r time, their bodies, and their souls in the saloon.

Will President Wilson lead the Nation in this, the great, supreme issue before the country for th<' winning of the war by the development of our economic strength, even if we should be so recreant to our respon sibility as to forget the great moral i ss ue involved?

THE GOYER::\ lENT CUT OuT LIQUOR AXD lU C E-HOHSE TP..\FB'lC .AND rTU\ " PRIVATE CARS '.r!J l>AY.E TRA~Sl'Ol:TATH'X FOr: XE<.:E ," S.Hn: 'l'Hl;IIGS?

The following letters to Judge Lovett , chairman of the War Indu trial Board , will, we believe, meet the approval of all right - thinking people :

NOVEMBER 21, 1917. Hon. R. 8. LOVETT,

Chairman War Industries Board, Washi11gt on, D. 0 .

MY DEAR JUDOI!l LOVETT: I :nclo e an editorial from last week , suggesting that ln view of the importance of curtailing shipments of nonessential thing , the Government should forbid the handling by rail ot whisky and beer, or of the materials which enter into their manufacture or distribution. · . Shortly after writing the editorial I walk ed out of my office door and saw a big two-horse wagon loaded to the limit with pa ck ages of wbi · ky bound for the express " s office.

You are curtailing, and properly so, the handling of none sential things by rail in this time of stress, a.nd you are, of necessity, practically cutting out the handling of materials for road and street bulld ­ ing, as vital as these are to the best interest of · the ' country, because o! the importance of handling coal ahead of them.

Our railroad facilities are heavily overtaxed, and it i s not possible to catch up for year s to come with inadequate transportation facilities. . In an emergency such as this, every carload of materials which enter into the production of alcoholic drinks, and e ·ery carload of alcoholic drinks which is shipped, is taking up the facilities of transportation so sadly needed for other things, and is carrying wherever such shipments go a curse rather than a blessing. · in~. Is it not, therefore, absolutely incumbent upon your board to forbid the handling of alcoholic drinks or the materials used for the manufacture of them during this war period'! -

It i also under st ood that you will shortly have to issue a list of things which can not be shipped by rail because of the lack of faciliti es. Surely the first on the li st of prohibited things should be alcoholic drinks and th "! material us e d for their manufacture.

I can not feel that the Government could, under any possible conditions, forbid the handling of things which enter into ordinary trade and commerce of the country, and yE:t permit the shipment of alcoholic In this co nne ct ion . I am taking the liberty of inclosing herewith an editorial from the Manufacturers Record of November 15, headed "Will the Government officials who have the power in the scarcity of trun ·­ portation refuse all transportation of the liquor interests in order to conserve transportation and in c rea. e the Nation's efficie . ncy?" I trust you will do me the favor to r e ad this presentation of th matter.

Very .truly, your .·,

RI CH ARD H. EDMOXDS, Btlitor.

l\OVEMBER 22 , 1917. Hon. ROBERT S. Lovett,

Chairman Wm· Indu st1· i es Bom·iJ, Wa s hington , D . C.

MY DEAr. .Tuoc:E LOVETT: Referring to my letter of yesterday, calling attention to the desirability of shutting off the transportation of alcoholl c drinks and the materials of which they are made, on account of tbe inadequate transportation facilities of the country, I beg to indose an editorial from this week's i sue, in which I have published :; hcd the letter which you kindly sent me in regard to highway .

May I add to ye ·tc rday 's suggestion the desirability of shutting off the transportation of race horses? Many cars are being u .-e d in carrying race horses and race-track · gamblers from place to place, a lm lne s which, with the liquor traffic, is a curse to the Nation.

Permit me also to rai e the que tion as to whether the handling of private cars, merely because men are able to own private cars, is not against the best interests of the country at present. A few days ago, on a train crowded almost to suffocation with travelers, the private car ot a rac e -hor e owner was connected to the train, and this car was o cc upi e cl by the owner and his wife, and yet the power p! the engine was useu to pull this heavy car simply for the accommodation of two people, while others were crowded · in inadequate , accommodation s furnished by the railroad. I recognize the fact that these private cars are owned by the men who travel in them , and that they are paying adequate tran.-­ portation to the railroad, but the y are taking up transportation facilities which the public needs. ,

A few days ago, while many people were standing in line at th e depot of the electric line between . Baltimore and Camp Meade, trying to e end small packages to the soldiers at the camp, and the cars were overcrowded with passenger s and freight, there were other cars standing on the track loaded with rae~ horses being s hipp ed from one race-track gambling place to another race-track gambling place. I believe that it is hardly necessary to suggest that at this time the u e of private cars or of cars for handling race horses or the liquor traffic is an imposition upon the country.

While I know that railroad officials have been com p elled, to a lars e extent, to use their private cars !or business purposes, making these private cars moving offices, I am inclined to think that a considerablt~ amount of this could be cut out, and that many officials who now travel in their private cars could have secretaries with them in the drawing ­ rooms o! the regular Pullmans, and thus economize in fuel and b·an - portation power. Moreover, it is an unfortunate fact that many of these officials u se their private cars for pleasure trips, and the visitor to Florida in the winter time wm find a string of private cars at nearly every resort place; some owned by railroad officials , some by men ani women abundantly able to own such cars. In peace times there can not be any question as to the propriety of the use of private cars by those who are able to ha,•c them and to pay the heavy tolls which they now have to pay to railroads for handling these cars, but Is there not a serious question as to the wi dom of permitting any of these priva'te ear n to be used in this period of tremendous emergency, when every ton of. coal that can be saved must be saved, and when ~v ery ounce of strength of the railroads to do business mtv~t be c~m~erved?

I can imagine that when consideration has once been given to the question of using transportation facilities for the handling of race horse. and race-horse equipment ancl for the handling of th e liquor traffic, there can not be any doubt whatever a s to the deci Ion of your board in cutting out the se thing:-- and al so in cutting out the u e of private cars, except where absolutely essential for public business. .

Very truly, yours, ·

RrcnAuD FT. Eo:uoxos, Editor. Following up the editorial in ln. t week’s issue, urging that in order to win the war by increasing the efficiency of labor for the farm and the factory and the battle field, th e Nation should a. a war rueasm·e a<lopt prohibition of the manufacture and the sale of all alcoholic drink., the editor · of the Manufacturers 'Record sent · t to Judge Lovett, chairman -of the War IndustriPs Board, the foregoing letters, calling ltlpon the boa1•d repre ·enting the Government · to forbid the transportation of any materials which enter into the . production of alcoholic drinks or the handling · of the finished product. .

The adoption by the Government · of ' these suggestions would lmmediatcly cut out the vast amount of coal which rJ.s now .used by breweries, at a time when millions are • finding it difficult .and .many -of them :finding it impossible to secure ~onl for domestic · tic use. and even Government industries absolutely nece sary :to produce munitions of 'War are 11Jla'b1e , to secure the full supply &f coal needed.

ETery ton of coal that goes into the : manufacture of alcoholic drinks Is tlms doubly a curse to the Nation, and we do not believe that Presi· dent Wilson or his advisers can possibly in the light of 'this situation fail to have the courage to shut off from every brewery the use of · coal.

This would save transportation and it would save coal. The handling of the raw material which goes into the manufacture of alcoholic drinks would be saved, and this vast amount of foodstuffs and feed8tti1f could be used for other purposes. The men at the _ plants now used for man· ufacturing kegs and · barrels and bottles and all of the other things which enter into _ the production of alcoholic · drinks would be saved, and every one of these plants is needed 'for · other purposes, and · every man engaged in them is needed elsewhere in work fo-r the Nation’s - sa-fety, while now every :man thus engaged is working directly against the Nation's safet;y.

Moreover, the use of transportation for such purposes in this time of terrific crisis is a crime, when many things that are needed for life of the individual and · 01' · the Nation must be delayed or · completely -shut .on: because of the lack of cars a-nd locomotives.

We are also using railroads for the shipping of race horses from one race track · to another, and Shipping the materials needed for the main- of war." tenance of these race ho-rses, and wasting lthe transpertatlon of the .gamblers who run from one place to another. Cut it all out if the Government wants to be honest with the people of the country. Let us not talk about cutting down transportation by reducing the num· ber of . passenger :trains and shutting out the handling :of :nonessential things until w.e have · Shut out • the handling of race hors £' · and all the paraphernalia connected · with '!'ace-track operations, and until we have shut out 'the handling of whis'ky and beer and everything that enter into their manufacture, sale, ' and distribution. These · are :not essential industries. They are indeed handicaps to the winning of the -war. The complete closing down of these in'terests would tremendqusly increase the · efficiency of the Army · and o'f · the men engaged on farms and in factories in producing the things Without w . which we can · not p · possibly win the war. Moreover, they would take out of this destructive · business at least half a million men who could immediately find wor - k in constmctive uperatioD.B.

From all parts of the · country the Manufacturers Record has :re· ceived enthusiastic commendation of the position which it took !last week on this question.

The issue has been squarely put befo-re the ' Government It is now . up to the people - of tM whole country to acti-vely :and aggressively urge the matter upon the President and the war boa r d.

.HOW DOES THE GOVERNMENT STAND ON THE USE OF COAL AND TltA.XSPbRTATION FOR BREWERIES :A-ND · RACE-TRACK "HORSES 'IN ~ VlEW OF !!'liE ACUTE

SITtJA!l'ION OF COAL .AND RAILROAD JI'AOILITIES?

A dispatch from New Orleans published in the daily papers on .November 30 said :

"Five thousand persons were on hand f&r the -eptming of the winter . racing season · at New : Orleans. Winners :at :the new Shrewsbury track were : Lady Elleen, · Pilsen, .Phochion, · Runes, CU1r Field, · and Libyan Sands."

Here were 5,000 people and all the paraphernalla connected lW'ith their transportation attending a winter racing meet at New Orleans. . Every ton of coal , that was used in carrying these people, every . pound of material used that lessened the supply of things needed for the war 'Was an absolute waste. More than that, it was · a curse to the country. Had this racing seaso.n at New Orleans been · the only one in • the • coun. try · it would · have ~ been bad enough, but at other places where race. track gambling iS permitted similiar conditions exist, and the .coal .and other materials so sadly needed by the country were being consumed in order to permit the horse-race gambling to be • carried on. ·

The Manufacturers - Record called attention last week to the fearful waste of coal for the running .of breweries and lessening transportation now so badly needed · and · also 'lessening the supply of food ill.nd foodstuffs.

Bearing on the same question is an interesting letter from 'F'. A. Churchill, of the Dunn Wlre·Cut Lug Brick Co., .Conneaut, Ohio, . a copy ' of which Mr. Churchill sends us. It was addressed to Judge Lovett, chairman, Priority Shipments, War Industries Board, Washing· ton, and is as 'follows : CoNl\"EAUT, ;()mo, November 1!6, 1917. Hon. ROBERT S. ' LOVE~~.

Chairman Boat<il of Pt'kw·tv, Council of National - Defense, Washington, D . .0.

DEAR Sm : In your letter to the Manufacturers .Record, Baltim.Ore, explaining Order No. 2. relating to road materials, you say:

"We are forced to a · choice between highway material and • coal · essential · for war industries and · domestic and other essential • uses.

" I trust t'hat you will not misconstrue as disrespectful the query Does Order No. 2 apply as well to . material · used in · paving the road to hell’ In other words, are fuel and grains for the use of breweries and distiller , ies classified as essential'! Does Order No. 2 design 'to curtail the use of · cars for shipping :the products of breweries and dis· · tilleries as .a means of expediting the transportation · of fuel and material needed by war industries? . ies? .

"Breweries are us~ enormous quantities of coal and grain, yet the patriotic people of : this .country are stinting themselves in food, and HOW in many sections they are suffering actual discomfort from lack of coal. " I learn from the newspapers that the public schools at Da'Yton, Ohio, may be forced to close on account of coal shortage, . a ' although brewery side tracks are filled with cars loaded with . coal.

"As I have seen no report touching the brewery phase .of the transportation problem I take the lib e rty of asking a few . questions .for the information 'Of an important industry :

"(1) Are manufacturers of road materials placed on exactly 1 fho same plane as br e weries and distilleries with respect to coal supply and cars for shipping produ c ts?

"(2) While the people everywhere are cheerfully denying themselves food 1n · order t~ conserve the national supply, is any restriction put upon breweries - and distilleries as regards the consumption of grain? " · (3) ls the freight • congestion · on railroads aggravated to any extent by shipment of fUel oT grain to ' breweries and distilleries or . by shipment or beer or fermented liquors from such ihsb"tutions?

" In the most respectful spirit 1 submit the foregoing questions, and not only I individually, but thousands · s of men affitlated with 11 :great industry would appreciate answers from you.

" I am not . a temperance .fanatic. I write as a man engaged in a business which is sorely bft by Order No. 2.

" I can .JJ.ot conceive it ;possi-ble that the . F-ederal Government :would discriminate against road material and .pu't in the pref-erential class the coal and grain and be(}r . and liquor of breweries and · distilleries; nor can 1 believe that :the =Government would withhold coal from s~hools, churches, · hospitals, homes, and legitimate industries, or lay an embargo upon cars .for shipp.ing road materials, and - at the sa:me timeallow ~de latitude to breweries and distilleries.

" 1 have heard o! no breweries shutting -dGwn because of lack of coal or . transportation . facilities, but I · know of ;plants engaged in making road . materials having to shut · down because · of fuel shortage and cal· shortage for shipment of products. I =know &f other pla..lits preparing to shut down fo:r the same reaso-n.