VICTORY FOR BEER.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 643, 22 December 1932, Page 1

VICTORY FOR BEER.

U.S. House Votes for Liquor After Long Debate. FIRST WIN FOR THE WETS. United Press Assn. —By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. (Received December 22, 2 p.m. WASHINGTON, December 21. The Beer Bill was carried by 230 votes to 165. In a crashing finale the House of Representatives went on record for legislation favouring beer, containing 3.2 per- cent alcohol by weight, which is equivalent to 4 per cent by volume. The final roll came upon the heels of an overwhelming refusal to send the •Bill back to committee, and this action, which topped an all-day procession of votes to beat back every single amendment offered, marked the first time since the adoption of the Volstead Act that either branch of Congress had held a vote directly on the issue of relaxing the fundamental Prohibition enforcement law. The Chamber was crowded during the progress of the call, and the galleries were sprinkled with representatives of Wet and Dry organisations. The Bill now goes to the Senate. A tentative draft of a resolution to repeal the Eighteenth Amendment emerged to-day from a United States Senate judiciary. Drafted as a basis for discussion, and not necessarily representing the views of the committee, it would give Congress the power to prevent the return of saloons.