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Show GOMPERS SI mi CLASH 01 W UN Former Secretary of State Leads Fight for Prohibition Prohibi-tion Amendment in New York Legislature. LABOR LEADER IS OPPOSED TO STEP Heated Five-hour Argument Argu-ment Draws Attention of Large Crowd in Capital Cap-ital at Albany. Al.liANY. N. V.. Feb. IN. - For more than fi e hours today a civwded audience au-dience m the room and ga.Het tes of the asembly chamber of t-e state capital heard men of International reputation ar-gue ar-gue for and ayah jt the ratification by the New York legislature of the fedrrul ptohil'iiiou amendment. William J. Fry an led the prohibition forces. His pun-eipa! pun-eipa! o; ponei: t w as Samuel CiOtr.pers, president of the American Federation of Labor, who was seconded by former 1'nited States Senator Ki'ley of Teas. Tiie hearing was he hi before Joint legislative committees to winch the ratification rati-fication resolution had bt'en refer red. At the clo-io cf the hearing co Indication w as give ti as to what the commit tee men wnu'd decide to leporl. Frohibitlcn ar.d its re;ation to the war was one of the principal arguments. Mr. Fi a u declared that it was ital to the success cf tiie Fnite 1 States and us allies that th.is couutiy send men clean In body and mini to the battle front. Mr. Confers assorted that in the present crts: the poop'o of the country i-ad ciocii to iio in tae lighting line by 'rrsi.c t'ie central lowers ard t':at j t '' ' r a Hr'"i ;ou : rvvn thi m.t 1 c ortdiit ub.' : I s ..oa'd n kh. bo di erted by an n.e.is'.ire l-'s ital. I ii-ip.'iiert-i of the ratification asserted j that tl tedcal au'eudment was uncon-j uncon-j stitutamal in l ut it would give both r'ed-; r'ed-; er.d and slates concurrent Jurisdiction in en oici;-g Cie prohibitory clause. T-ie riviuiu'n's sponsors were eo.tally as em-I em-I luetic In their de.-laratum that the en-, en-, !':' v:ve::t p:ois:ons contained in tc.e a-nendmeut were !eg-at and alid. Mr. Gompers's Plea. , In accordance with legislative cu?totTi. thce tn t. ppcM tion s:'oke first. Austen C. Ko. as representative cf the state ha r as.-ocia tio:. said the assx-iation had I luiopte 1 a resolution hchiifg th.e enforcement enforce-ment provision to he unconstitutional and on that giour.d alouo had opposed it rnti- j fication. Mr. Compers said that while he alo eor.-ddorvd the amend me tit unconstuu-' unconstuu-' tion.il. he won'd speak of the more hu-j hu-j n an side of the resolution a viewed by oiamze l l iN-r. Th.at body of men. he j said, considered the attempt to regulate their habits as a violation of pers.uial hb-; hb-; erty. Organised labor, be ussertevi. he. l I doi:e more than any other atojicy to make i men lenii crate, but thoy resented efforts ; to vietmixe them of their rights. " Fro'-nbif km by ccmstitutjoi-.al amendment amend-ment is not only Injurious, but dan terms ter-ms in the extreme." he declared. "Constitutions "Con-stitutions are charters of guaranteed rights. Thev aje not documents of denied de-nied rights." Cheers from the wets and laughs from th.e drys greeted Mr. Coinpers's assertion of his belief that "the conditions in Uus-sia Uus-sia today hij prtmarlly due to enforced prohih.tion." "A re n't we asking- about enough of Ccrmau and Austrian fellow citizens."' Mr. C.omoers asked, "to be local und give Hie it support to this government against the coanti te of their own birth or the birth of their parents without injecting at this time a question of regulating or prohibiting- their normal habits':"' !Mr. Bryan's Speech. j Mr. F-rvau was luicUy cheered when he pioso to speak. There was a uuerv from the saMerv of -Why did you quit the cabinet'.'" cabi-net'.'" but this ho ignored. The former : secretary of state besan by declaiing that ti;c arguments offered by opopnents of , racificatuMi were not teal ones. The real : reason for opposition was financial, he de- hired. "It's the money back cf this business that wo have to fight."' be asserted, i I -If forts ot the liquor and brewing interests in-terests to obtain a referendum on the subject", ho characterised as merely moves ; for delay. Keplyinir to one of Mr, Com-! Com-! pers's arguments, Mr. Kryan said: "Our distinguished labor leader has I told you that wise men drafted the con-isiitution con-isiitution and put In no thought of ptv-hibitiou. ptv-hibitiou. He also told you that onco the constitution is amended to provide for prohtb:t;on it will be hard to change it back. Well, fortunately, the wise men . who drew up the fundamental law real-! real-! ized th.at It w as a document to gov ern i live ami not dead men. and that there-i there-i fore, they provided that it could be changed. For Mr. Com pers's Implication Implica-tion t hat once prohibition is constitutionally constitu-tionally adopted, it will remain forever, we of the dry forces thank him." The question of compensation for lienor lie-nor dealers who migh t be deprived of their means of livelihood. Mr. lryan said, should be settled on th.e same "basis as the saloon keepers compensate for the lives of men and women for whose moral and phvstcal breaking down they are responsible." |