WHAT “WETS” AND “DRYS” THESE DAYS,
ARE TELLING EACH OTHER IN HALLS OF CON
GRESS ABOUT PROHIBITION AND ENFORCEMENT
(Continued from Last Issue.).
Mr;. Timberlake. It was the infor
mation. the gentleman intended to con
vey to others, rather than a desire to
purchase himself?
Mr. Ceiler. No: I did not desire t<.
convey information to anyone hut
members of the House, and the mem
bers of the House ought to. have that
information.
Mr. Blanton. . Will .the. gentleman
yield ?
Mr. Ceiler. I refuse, to yield for a
few moments. The newspapers are
now conducting a very, important .poll.
The press during the war rendered a
very fine serviee to the. Government
and to the people. 1 had occasion t,o'
see. only .recently what Jefferson said,
namely. * “That, if .1 were given the
choice between a government without
newspapers or newspapers without a
government, I would choose the lat
ter,” I believe with Jefferson, hecause
not,only in the war..but at all times:
the. newspapers, have rendered a.-very j
fir® service for the weal and welfare(
of.the country and for the making of
a good citizenry, and when they un -1
dertake to find out the sentiment on !
rhe question of prohibition they are
rendering no. less service than they,
reudered during the world war. Now,1
the Washington Post, along with
others in the country, is conducting a
poll in this city. In the Washington
Post of the issue of Wednesday,
March 26, 1926, appears the result of
its poll to date. i
ft shows* for examply, that, in the
cit<y of Washington 1,887 voted in
favor of modification; that is, in the
interest of light wine and beer, and
only 214 opposed .it. Here in the very
Capital, of the country, ,>the cynosure
of all eyes in the political world, the
sentiment is “wot.” Everybody's eyes
..rg more or less focused- upon Wash
ington. It is the paragon, it is a pat.,
tern for therest of the country. And
yet, we find an. overwhelming senti
ment in favor of light wines and beer.
The Post also indicates that with
with reference to the polls that it is
conducting along with other news
papers, in New Jersey, for example,
there were 1,25.7 for, and 51 against
wines and beer: in Cincinnati there
were 1,300 in favor of light wines and
beer, and 87 against. In Boston there
were I3,697:Tor, .and 397 against. In
New- Orleans there were 601 for, and
34 against. In Salt. Lake City, 1,003
for, and 61 against.
I commend the. Washington Post for
its attitude in the conduit of this poll
and its willingness to serve not only
its readers, and the' people of . the
country, but particularly to serve the
member sof this House, in order that
they may vot ein strict consonance
with the sentiment of the rest of the
country and especially their districts.
And some members, of this House.1
who, very likely in all good con-j
science,, vote dry, might be wakened*
to a sense of their- real responsibility |
to their constituents by the benefit j
they might get from this poll in deter-*
mining what their constituents want
and what the country wants.
Mr. Blanton. Will the gentleman,
yield there?
Mr. Ceiler. Yds.
Mr. Blanton. Would the gentleman
in his district permit the Forum, for
instance, to prepare all the ballots for
his voters and receive all the ballots,
and do all the counting for him when
he is elected?.
Mr. <teller. Of Course I would not
allow that. The State election laws
fake care of our election.- Rut I am
n Candies
r-; Fruits >
I Soft Drinks
i
I: A Place to Meet
» Your Friends
| \
Geo. Mutchfer;
Proprietor 4
not afraid ta trust newspapers in this
polk
Mr. Blanton. That is the reason
why people will not permit the Wash
ington Post or Mr- Hearst’s papers or
the Denver papers to do their count
ing for them.
Mr. Ceiler. 1 am not one-of those
who see only one side of this prohibi
tion question. There are probably
some merits in prohibition. It has
done good things. But in all matters
of legislation you must weigh the
good with the bad, and if the disad
vantages outweigh the advantages, as
might he indicated by this poll.t hen
I expect you, and the gentleman from
Texas, and the gentleman from Colo
rado, and all other's, whether they he
wet or dry, to give this poll at least
fair consideration, and not make snap
judgment to the effect that these polls
lire unfair and unjust, and that we
should noto.care. a. tinker’s damn for
them. That is the judgment that I
want you to follow.
Mr. Cox. Mr. Chairman, will: the
gentleman yield?
Mr. Ceiler. Yes,
Mr. Cox. Do you mind giving the
House the reasons you have for quot
ing this poll?:
Mr. Ceiler. There are so many rea
sons that I would, not want to take up
the time of the House in enumerating
them. . 1 rose to give the gentlemen
of the House some information on
these polls. Prohibition,, to my mind,
has been a Mot, and I fear it like the
plague, because its handmaidens are
chicanery and deceit and fraud and
graft and utter disregard for law. If
these polls will help to do away with
it, 1 am content. That is a concise
statement of my opinion.
Mr. Cox. 1 do not want to press
the gentleman with the question if it
is his desire to escape an answer.
Mr. Ceiler. I do not want to escape
at all. I have. only, a few minutes,
more or less, and I want in these few
minutes to address myself to this poll.
Mr. Cox. Do you advocate repeal
of the law because there has been ap
parent inability on the part of the
Government to bring about a strict
enforcement?. Is that the main rea
son ?
Mr. Ceiler. That is one of the rea
sons. That is only one of a good
many.
Mr. Cox. Would not that same rea
son apply, to the law against counter
feiting ?
Mr. Ceiler. No. There is a great
distinction between the law. against
counterfeiting and the law imposing
prohibition. There is no sentiment
anywhere against the: law against
counterfeiting. There is a universal
desire to punish counterfeiting. But
that is not the cast with reference to
prohibition. There is not a universal
sanction, there is not that public sen -
timent as is behind the law against
counterfeiting. 1 repeat the words of
a very eminent jurist whose name 1
am not privileged to divulge as the
author of the statement that—
"in order to make a law respected you
make it respectable, and prohibition is
not respectable, and therefore it is not
respected or observed."
Mr. Tydings. Will, the gentleman
yield ?
Mr. Ceiler. Yes.
Mr. Ceiler. I would like to say to
the gentleman from Georgia that I
heard a very eloquent appeal made
some time ago by the gentleman from
Florida that a state had a right to de
termine and exercise its domestic pol
icy. Why not let each State have au
thority to pasts prohibition laws for
itself?
The Chairman. The tim eof the.
‘gentleman from New York has ex
pired.
Mr. Ceiler. 1 ask my colleague
,from New York if he can give me five
minutes more.?
" Mr. Griffin. I yield to the gentle -
i man five minutes more.
The Chairman. The gentleman
jfrom New York is recognized for five
minutes more.
Mr. Ceiler. The Daily News of
New Yorkhas also i iken a poll. It is
• a paper having the largest circulation
| in the metropolitan -area, a circulation
of probably more than a million and
-a quarter. There is not a paper in
the world having a larger circulation
than the Daily News. They are mak
ing the poll with the Washington Post
.and the Cincinnati Knquirer and the
• Boston Traveler and the New Orleans
"Times-Pieayune and the Salt Lake
’City Telegram. Their poll for Greater
New York .is 14,864 for light wines
’and beer; against, 806. New Jersey,
1,257 for; 5V against; rural districts
of New Jersey, 701 for, and 85
against. Cincinnati, 1,300 for, 80
against. Boston, 13,097 for, and 3,307
against. New Orleans, G01 for, and
34 against. Salt Lake City, 1,003 for
liberalization of the Volstead Art, and
only 63 against.
The Hearst papers throughout the
country are also rendering a very
splendid service, and I am going to
put in the Record the poll of the vari
ous Hearst papers in. all sections of
the country, which will show beyond
peradventure that the country is over
whelmingly in favor of the modifica
tion of the Volstead Act. It prints
the following result as of March 10
in the Washington
Existing Law—
Washington . ..
Baltimore ..
New York ..
Boston ...
Rochester ..
Syracuse .
Detroit ... .
Chicago .
Milwaukee
Seattle
San Francisco
Oakland
Los Angeles
Albuquerque _
Denver
Atlanta . .
Reno . .
Arizona
Total
Wine and Beer—
Washington
Baltimore
New York
Boston
Rochester
Syracuse
Detroit
Chicago
Milwaukee
Seattle
San Francisco .
Oakland
Los Angeles
Albuquerque
Denver .
Atlanta
Reno
Arizona
Herald:
For Against
38G 2,884
104 1,081
450 23,040
3 57
71 1,564
543 3,764
370 2,883
1,153 10,377
3,088 21,753
208 16,226
80 1,003
2 05
00 1,998
1,156 1,856
20,756 79,700
65 887
21 451
4,113 1,7,81
30.470 161,183
For Against
2,988 184
1,101 94
23,611 256
71 2
62 1,564
3,900 521
7,288 682.
14,315. 538.
21,753 3,968
3,629 191
1,995. o;r
72 2
2,035 70
1.700 1,043
83,356 18,999
906 43
455 53
1,781 1,113.|
Total .171,168 20,075 j
Now, the New York World, a very]
fine and meritorious metropolitan j
(Tally, in conjunction with 375 news- j
papers throughout the length and j
breadth, of this country-—newspapers
with all shades of opinion on the sub-,
joct of prohibition—are to conduct a]
three days’ poll today, tomorrow and :
Friday—that is. March 10, 11 and 12
—and that poll will undoubtedly show,
touching as it will the residents of.
almost every section of this country,
that the country is moist; that the
country wants to have a return to
sense, to common sense, and wants to
turn its back upon the impossibility
of enforcing prohibition, and wants an
act that is enforceable and one that
will be backed by the sanction of the
entire people.
The importance of a poll that the
World is taking with 375 papers un
der the auspices of the Newspaper.
Enterprise Association, is quite mani
fest when you realize that the ten i
tory embraces! by these papers con
tains a. population of more than 35,
000.000.
One hundred and forty-live news
paper sassociated with the World j
have already beer taking their local j
pols. The territory covered by the
newspapers has a population of 15,-:
103,812. The combined circulation of!
the newspapers is 2,736,193, and at (>!
o’clock last night they had received j
300,000 ballots.
Mr. Blanton. Will the gentleman,
yield?
Mr. (seller. Yes.
Mr. Bianton. Is the gentleman in j
favor of the return to the open sa-.
ioon ? j
Mr. Celler. Of course not, and the
gentleman knows that.
MMr. Blanton. How are you going
to sell beer and wine?
Mr. Celler. I will sell beer and
wine through' the Government, and l
fntend to speak again on that sub
ject. 1 think the. Government has the.
right to enter into the business, and .
.the Government shoud adopt a dis-i
pensary system, such as was conduct
ed some years ago in one of the Caro
linas, and as is now being conducted
in the Province of Ontario, in Mon
treal, and other Canadian cities. The
Government should buy all distilled
spirits and wines in bond and all floor
stocks. Hard liquor should he sold by7
the Government through dispensaries
! for medicinal purppses. Light wines
and beer up to 8 per cent alcohol
could likewise be.sold in such Govern
I ment stores, but to be consumed off
I the premises where sod. That would
| avoid having the open saloon again.
Mr. Blanton. Does the gentleman
want to permit any cafe or restaurant
! to dispense these liquors?
I Mr. Celler. That is a matter that
[can be determined later on. First, let
; the Government dispense it, and then
; if the people want a change in that
! regard, then let wines and beer bo
sold by private individuals, but for
j consumption off the premises where
1 sold, and that, as I say, will prevent
the return of the open saloon. Fur
! fhermore, each state should have the
right to determine what kind of en
forcement fit wants. That, roughly, is
my position.
Mr. Blanton. As I a ingoing to an
swer the gentleman in a few minutes,
1 would like to ask him one other
question. The gentleman is one of
the shrewdest and most ingenious
members on this floor.
Mr. Celler. I do not care for bou
quets. I want light wines and beers.
Mr. Blanton. 1 was referring to
his ingeniousness and shrewdness the
other day when he worked into his
facetious speech a beer recipe and put
it in the Record, f want to ask the
gentleman what was his real motive
in putting that beer recipe in the
Record ?
Mr. Celler. If I have the time I
shall be very glad to answer the gen
tleman.
The Chairman. The time of the
gentleman from New York has again
expired.
Mr. Griffin. Mr. Chairman, I yield
the gentleman five additional min
utes.
Mr. Celler. I will say to the gen
tleman from Texas that I put that
beer recipe in the Record—
Mr. Blanton. The gentleman's real
purpose.
Mr. Celler. And I put something
else in the Record that the gentleman
has overlooked.
1 inserted the following:
“One of the stories that Thomas
Jefferson repeated at Monticello was
the one on Jefferson’s boyhood chum,
Ben Harrison. While a member of
the Continental Congress at Philadel
phia, Ben Harr son was joined by a
friend as he left the Congressional
Hall. He took him for a bumper to a
place where supplies were furnished
members of Congress. They called
for two glasses of brandy and water.
The man in charge replied liquors
liquors were not included in supplies
furnished Congressmen. Ben Har
rison said, ‘Why not? \\ hat are those
New England members drinking over
there?’ The answer was, ‘Molasses
and water, which they charge to sta
tionery.’ Harrison replied, ‘Very well,
give us hrandy and wuter and charge
it to fuel.”’
Mr. Blanton. But what was the
real meaning of the gentleman
Mr. Celler. Now I will tel the gen
tleman.
Mr. Blanton. I asked the gentle
man that, but he has not answered
the question.
Mr. Celler. That story is hi.-toiy,
and I put it in the Record also, and I
will say that that story is just as im
portant from a historical standpoint!
as Washington's beer recipe. The
Washington beer recipe is found in
every proper biography of General
Washington; it is a part of his life;
it is a part of his history, and you
can no more take out of the biog
raphy of Washington that beer recipe
than you can destroy Parson Ween’s
story of the cherry tree. It is just as
important, one as the other.
Mr. Blanton. And what was the
gentleman's purpose?
Mr. Tydings. Will the gentleman
yield ?
Mr. Celler. I yield to the gentle
man from Maryland.
Mr. Tydings. Does the gentleman
mean to say that in 1U20, after Bid
year sof unpa alleled prosperity, that
on the floor of oCngress he would in
sinuate that that great patriot,
George Washington, drank that vile
stuff called beer?
Mr. Celler. Not only do I insinuate
that he drank it, but he drank it often
and probably not too wisely.
Mr. Upshaw. Will the gentleman
yield ?
Mr. Celler. Yes.
Mr. Upshaw. Does the gentleman
believe that the Father of his Conn-1
try, who helped to establish the Con
stitution, would violate it if he were
living now?
Mr. Celler. If General Washington
were here at this time I am positive
he would be opposed to prohibition,
because he liked his beer and he want
ed to make his own beer. He was a
man’s man. He also drank lots of
Maderia. More power to him. He
was no milk sop. Surely men like
Washington do not win battles on
barley water and pop.
Mr. Blanton. And what was the
gentleman’s purpose?
Mr. Celler. The gentleman’s pur
pose was to indicate to the gentleman
from Texas and to the whole country,
in putting Washington s beer recipe
in the Record, that Washington would
oppose prohibition if he were living
today.
Mr. Hill of Maryland. Will the
gentleman yield?
Mr. Celler. Yes.
—i—i iii 111 iimiwi—I———i ii i hi 11 iimiinii
J. H. McLEAN..
‘ Fresh Fruits Fresh Vegetables
: Plenty of Nuts
I Choice Canned Goods Meats
Fresh Garden Seeds
I _
Mr. Hill of Maryland. Does the
gentleman think that if Washington
were here today he would accept a
seat in this House in direct violation
of the fourteenth and fifteentth
| amendments to the Constitution?
I Mr. Celler. Well, I think the gen
| tleman is somewhat unfair about that.
I However, that may be, we will not go
into that question now. It might be
j ehmbarrassing to some of our col
j leagues.
| Mr. Oliver of New York. Will the
i gentleman yield ?
Mr. Celler. Yes.
Mr. Oliver of New York. Does not
the gentleman know that Washington
was considered a well known rebel in
his day?
Mr. Celler. Indeed he was; and I
am glad the gentleman said so. He
surely would have rebelled against a
diet of near beer. He would have
wanted something with more “con
versation" in it.
Mr. I'pshaw. Will the gentleman
yield further?
Mr. Celler. Yes.
Mr. Upshaw. Just long enough to
say to the gentleman who interrupted
him that 1 challenged the gentleman
from Maryland on the floor of this
House two years ago to find one sin
gle instance in the State of Georgia
where the fourteenth and fifteenth
amendments have been violated, and
further- listen—that any man—
Mr. Celler. Mr. Chairman, I refuse
to yield any urther to discuss that.
Mr. Upshaw. Any man who hides
behind the fourteenth and fifteenth
amendments shows he can not discuss
the eighteenth amendment.
Mr. Celler. I refuse to yield any
further to the gentleman. I hope I
have answered the gentleman from
Texas as to why I put into the Record
Washington's beer recipe.
Mr. Blanton. Now, his real pur
pose ?
Mr. Celler. The real purpose is to
get the record printejd and sent
broadcast throughout the country.
Mr. Blanton. That is the idea. We
all know that.
Mr. Celler. There is no doubt
about it. It is in the Record.
Mr. Blanton. We wanted it from
the gentleman.
Mr. Celler. 1 did not know the gen
tleman from Texas did not have
knowledge that the Congressional
Record circulates throughout the
country.
The Chairman. The time of the
gentleman from New York has again
expired. _
Matrimony, says a Roman official,
is a professional. We’ve certainly got
some seasoned professionals in this
country.—Tacoma Ledger.
CHARLIE’S
LAUNDRY
McGrath, Alaska
A Bath in a Real
Bath Tub
Shoe Repairing
Sign Writing
Paper Hanging
!
S Charles Rebhun j
The Handy Man
i