Salt Lake Tribune | 1918-03-06 | Page 2 | Dry Delegates Deadlocked on Merging Plans

if DELEGATES SLUED! MERGING HIS Charges of Disloyalty to the Party and Caustic Epithets Epi-thets Used by Speakers Speak-ers of Both Sides. ; t ANTI-MERGERS WIN MINOR SKIRMISHES Various Compromise Suggestions Sug-gestions Are Made; Both Factions Confident of Final Victory. t CHICAGO, March 5. After a (lay of titter debate, during: vdiich caustic epithets and charges of disloyalty to the Tarty were hurled from one side to the other, the delegates to the national prohibition pro-hibition convention were deadlocked tonight to-night on the question of merging with the new national party, formed at St. IvOuis by Socialists who disagreed with t bat party's stand on the war. Throughout the day the anti-merging faction had the better of the argument, three times winning minor skirmishes, but by night leaders of each side though predicting victory, were planning compromises com-promises to be introduced later. The first victory for the an ti -merging faction came when it forced through a motion to make the debate on the question ques-tion unlimited. Led by William A. Bru-baker Bru-baker of Chicago and Judge H. L. Peak, delegate from Ohio, the delegates favoring favor-ing the merger attempted to have the debate limited to thirty minutes for each side, but were overwhelmlnelv defeated after E. J. H. Prugh of Harrisburg, Pa., charged that an attempt was being made to railroad through the merger. Anti-Mergers Win. The anti-mergers won asain a few minutes later, when they succeeded in passing a motion making two-thirds majority ma-jority necessary to puss the merger resolution. reso-lution. It was said to be the first time the prohibit ionifits had required more than a majority to pass on any action. A third victory came when the merger faction was defeated in an attempt to have representatives of the nationalists, who convene here tomorrow, address the convention after the debate had been ciosed. The anti-mergers insisted that the nationalist s speak before the debate ciosed, thus giving them a chance for rebuttal. The resolution calling for the merger provided that a satisfactory platform must be adopted by the nationalists. The chief objections found to the national platform by the prohibitionists were that ! it favored the single tax and that its -main purpose apparently was not nation- j wide prohibition, though delegates fa- I . voring the merger insisted that prohibi- tion was the main thing for which the J nationalists are working. Suggest Compromise. Among the compromises sucsrested, one ' was that the prohibition party keep its : national committee intact to work for i nation-wide prohibition. Another was ! that an agreement first be reached tbt ! the prohibitionists have a certain number of representatives on the nationalists' national committee, A third, strongly j favored by the anti-merger faction, was that each party retain its own name, but j that committees be formed to co-operate In obtaining certain legislation. i The prohibitionists were exceptional Iv i bitter over the fa.-t that Mayor if. Thompson of Chir-airo anpar.jiitlv refused ' to deliver the address of welcome. He f was requested to do so, and 'i:iril Hin- j shaw, chairman of the national committee, commit-tee, in opening the convention, said that "prominent 'hica croans psked to deliver an address of welcome had refused." Herman P. Paris of Clinton, Mo., was elected chairman of the convention without with-out opposition.