New-York tribune., 1918-12-09
Liquor Interests Reported in
Alliance to Gust Cover
nor Whitman 'sAppointees
W alters Is Croomed
Majority Leadership To Be
Decided After Hard
Race With Thompson


the prediction that a battle will be
fought by the drys and the vets both
in and out of the Legislature during
the next six months for the control
Of the Republican state organization.
The proportions of the impending
contest and the probable trend of de-
velopments are indicated to some ex-
tent by the following outstanding
facts:
The Republican party, generally
speaking for a generation has been
leaning in the direction Of hostility
to the liquor traffic.
The liquor interests, as a rule, fight
their political battles with the aid of
the Democratic party, especially in
the Northern states-and this applies
particularly to the political conditions
in New York
Whitman Titular Leader
The control of the New York Republi-
can state organization at present is in
the so-called Whitman machine. al
though the Governors potentiaity, in
view of his retirement from Office
January /. is problematical.
Ten days before election the Hotel
Mems Association, at the Hotel An
sonia, raised fund of 1000 for the
election of Alfred f. Smith, the Dem
ocratic candidate for Governor.
Governor Whitman's plurality of
more than a quarter of a million above
The Bronx was wiped out by larger
Smith plurality in the city of New
York
On Monday, November 19, after the
full significance of the success of the
liquor people in electing, on the face
of the returns, Mr.. Smith, of Tammany
Hall, had had time to soak in," Sena-
tor George f. Thompson, of the
Niagara Orleans district, in formal
statement declared that the ratification
Of the Federal prohibition amendment
would be the issue in the Legislature
this winter.
Whitman Backs "Drys"
On November 21 at Columbus, Ohio,
at the World Prohibition Conference
Governor Whitman made a red-hot 100
per cent prohibition address,
In Albany last week Miss Mary Gar
rett Hay, head of the New York State
Woman Suffrage party and member
OF the New York State executive conn
mittee, came out squarely for prohibi-
tion and the ratification of the Federal
amendment.
All these things were in the open,
but things not in the open, but vitality
connected with the issue, have been
going on simultaneously within Repub-
lican circles.
The friends of J. Henry Walters. Of
Syracuse, a candidate for the Senate
leadership, and generally regarded as q
wet have been canvassing the SEN
ators, with the result that they will
soon announce that Senator Thompson
cannot marshal the necessary votes to
elect him majority leader.
Wide Breach Expected
1t is at this particular point that a
split is threatened in the Republican
organization. Both Thompson and
Walters are on a friendly footing with
the Governor and with the Whitman
organization in the state. But the
integratng and dcmoralizng this same
Whitman organization. With the Gov
ernor out of office, many of the Whit
man men say that the Whitman organ
lzation will cease to exist.
The vets declare that a majority of
the state committee are unsympathetic
toward prohibition. Some of the
Whitman men in the state committee
are trying to persuade him that it is
political folly to fight on the dry side
The Governor however, adheres to the
100 per cent bone dry stand he took at
the Columbus conference
Sage May Help Walters
In Albany it is said that Senator
Henry NJ. Sage, one of the most in
fiuential men in the upper house, is for
Walters for leader. Sage could be the
leader if it were not for the fact that
he halls from Albany, the baliwick of
William Barnes. 1t looks at this time
as if the wet forces would be led by
Walters and Sage, and the drys by
Thompson and Senator Frederick NJ
Davenport, of Utica, the Progressive
port defeated Senator Wicks on the
wet issue in the recent election.
In the shadow is the affable Cover
nor-elect "Al" Smith, under deep obli-
cations to the liquor interests for his
election, and supplied with a consider
able amount Of patronage
In answer to the suggestion that the
liquor men are nearly at the end of
their rope. and that they do not care
much what happens to them, is the
fact that they Furnished $50 900 in one
lump for 'he Smith campaign and that
their property interests are safer, in
their opinion, if the drys are beaten at
every point.
Woman Influence Watched
Also in the background is the new
woman voter. The dry leaders saw
that when fully enlisted in the support
OF ratification there is enough drv
sentiment up the state among the Re
publican women to overcome ANYTHING
and everything that can be mustered
against them, and that their full
strength was not rallied in the last
campaign.
That Governor Whitman has cast
his political future with the dryest Of
the drys was manifest 20 all who heard
or read his recent utterances at Colum-
bus. He urged the Anti Saloon League
OF America to see that only conscien-
tious and consistent prohibitionists are
elected TO public office. and urged that
the league cooperate with similar
organizations in other countries TO
tight for Worldwide prohibition.
The Republican Club of this city on
Friday auth orlzed the appointment of
committee to consider the calling of
a state conference of the Republi