South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1919-05-21
MAY q, 1919.
WAR PROHIBITION.

Prest wilson's recommendation to congress that
{, repeal or the prohibition act with ref
erence to beer and wines along with the return Of
the railroads and wire services 10
ers and together with the proposal of a new sys-
tenn OF dealing with labor and industry places be-
fore the three big internal issues of the
present hour The League of Nations and the peace
treaty are international problems that will be placed
before the senate later The recommendation of re-
peal or amendment of the war prohibition law is
bound 10 bring a storm of protest from prohibition
sources As to the of the railroads. the tele
graph and telephone wires and something being
den 10 handle the labor situation there will prob
ably be quite general approval
We do not know the motive of the president his
recommendation concerning war prohibition. 1t is
possible that he feels that prohibition a war
measure should go the way other meas
ures: that it is a cold bIooded legal proposition not
alone a sentimental moral economic and
having been enacted for war purposes, it should in
no sense be priated another purpose.
original purpose having been served If congress
wants pass "a national prohibition the basis
OF now well and good but there is no more war de-
mand for prohibition now as a conservation meas
ure-and that was the reason given for it,-thar
there is keeping up the bars other conserva-
ton measures
Then. the president may have playing
strategic game The attitude OF congress is such
ward everything that the executive favors that he
may have concluded that the best way 10 forestall
the repeal, would be for him urge #. Partisan
politics plays that game quite necessarily 1t
rule laid down by Pres't Lincoln; out what
the enemy and then give him the opposite"
And there isn't much question but that this is to
be considerable of partisan congress. The 1920
campaign is since Monday noon. Congress with its
enti-administration majority may ude that the
thing to do is the president in. he hole by
not repeating amending the prohibition act
just might think to put him in the hole the
other way by repeating or amending the act had
he failed recommend IT, Then he might have to
veto it.
But this aside. the pretense was. ard the Of
congress we believe was honest about it, that the
purpose of prohibition was to conserve grain
and other food materials that go into liquors The
moral issue was only incidental: the one that held
that il liquor bad for the men in the army it
Just bad worse for the men outside the
army II was food conservation measure. The
argument was that while everybody was conserving.
producing. and doing all in their power sacrificing
here there yonder. to feed the army and the
allies the booze manufacturers might as we'll lend
helping hand since otherwise they might well
be sacrificing. conserving and producing in order
that those booze makers might not be disturbed II
was sane and sensible logic Liquor manufacturing
declared non-esseutial industry and on that
basis its output be curtaiIed For WHAT? To
help win the war. Well, the has been won
That is. the has been won congress will
let It stay won. II il spills the beans throws down
the treaty shelves the League Of Nations as Sen
Lodge is threatening that the senate will it
may only be paving the way TO more wars but
anyhow prohibition is delayed but six months or
hereaoouts and We probably won't need special war
War prohibition on any other theory than conserva-
would be maNeshir- and camouhaEe. II will
be interesting watch congress in the handling OF
the subject, opportunity oratoricaI
pyrotechnics here. YOU may assured