GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE PROHIBITING THE MANUFACTURE AND SALE OF ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m., Hon. Ben Johnson (chairman) presiding. Mr. JOHNSON. The committee will please come to order. Gentlemen of the committee, the committee has met to-day for the purpose of considering Senate bill 1082, generally known as the prohibition bill for the District of Columbia. What is the pleasure of the committee now? Mr. MAPES. I wonder if it would be possible, Mr. Chairman, to get the two sides on this question, the proponents and the other side, to agree on the length of the hearings-to have them limited in some way? Mr. JOHNSON. I have no idea, myself. Mr. BARKLEY. Mr. Chairman, speaking for the proponents of the bill, 1 desire to say that we wish to expedite this hearing as much as is possible, because time is an important factor, as we all know, under the conditions that exist in this session of Congress, and I think we only want about three hours to make our opening statements as proponents of the bill, and, if the committee desires, we can cut that down to two hours and complete our opening statements to-day; but if the committee desires to sit longer than that to-day, we will be glad for the opponents of the bill to start as soon as we conclude. I have been informed that there are some here to-day who desire to go ahead, who wish to oppose the bill or make certain representations concerning it. We are at the service of the committee. We do not want to prolong our part of it long to-day, and did not intend to; but if the committee desires to sit long enough for us to conclude our statements and to begin with the others, we will be very glad indeed to have that done. Mr. JOHNSON. Do I understand that you want to go ahead this morning? Mr. BARKLEY. We are ready to go ahead. We understood last week that the committee desired the proponents of the bill to make an opening statement regarding it. Mr. JOHNSON. If there is no objection, you can go ahead. Mr. MAPES. How would it be to have an understanding to give each side one day to present the case? Mr. LLOYD. Mr. Chairman, that is hardly fair, because the proponents of this bill ask for one hour or two hours. The members of the committee may take up more than two hours in cross-questioning them, and probably will. They do not take that into account when they make that statement. I do not think there is any disposition on the part of either side, from what I have heard about it, to lengthen |