Evening star., 1920-01-14
''DRYS" HELD Up
COMPROMISE ON
TREATY, IS HINT
Some Senators See Connec.
ton Between Prohibition
and Reservations Fight.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

Did the fact that President Wilson
might lift the ban on wine and beer
in the period before January 16, when
the constitutional amendment on pro-
hibition goes into effect. have any
thing to do with the delay on the
ratification of the peace treaty?
This question is now being asked
here in view of the sudden enort ana
unuuestionably vitalized backing. now
promise on the peace treaty. II may
he a mere coincidence that William
Jennings Bryan didn't make move
for compromise when the trea!y
fAt4ed to get D two-thirds vote Jtest
November and the talk OF reacninE y
NAV be a coincidence also that noth-
ing was done when Congress recon.
yened in December, but II IS iacs
that not a single one OF the noted
"dry'' leaders of the Senate has peeh
especially conspicuous in the over
tures for compromise which have
been going on for the last rev months
nntil the last two weeks. when 1t pc
came apparent that reservations ~ ~
Guided in the treaty could not posSioiy
be agreed upon before January 10.
aDrv.. senator. Deny Idea.
"Dry" senators on both the repuo-
,ican and democratic sides say it is
absurd to connect the deiay on tue
peace treaty with any thought on
their part of continuously dry ma
tion in the interim before January
is Some of them have told me they
never have even heard the wet and
dry fight mentioned in treaty con-
ferences- But certain wet senators
are sublimely confident that there
could have been compromise on the
peace treaty ratification much earlier
II il had not been for the fear that the
President would Immediately lift the
Drohibition ban. They go so far as
to charge that the powerful interests
which have held club over dry
senators have been quietly at work
against compromise efforts because Oh
it's effect on prohibition. 1t is some
thing very difficult to prove and 1T is
interesting merely because the belief
is entertained and expressed by wet
senator's, who are themselves inter-
ested in the early ratification OF the
treaty. OF course. conversely one
might argue that the senators who
were working for compromise were
irving hard to get a wet" spell for
the country before the nation became
bone dry on January 16. But the ele-
ments of coincidence in the situation
are worthy of note.
stand of Senator's.
So far as the record goes, the votes
cast on the night the treaty failed of
a two-thirds vote in the last session
show vets and drys on both sides
Senator Owen, democrat, for instance,
who is dry. believed so strongly in
compromise that he even voted for
the Lodge reservations. On the other
hand. in the republican ranks not a
dry vote was cast for compromise ex-
cept that of Senator McCumber. But
it is in connection with the lack of
Iohf ,nf in fh.
voting last November - that the
charge is made that the 'drys' on
both the democratic and republican
sides might have shown themselves as
interested in compromise six weeks
ago as they are today. Senators
been prime movers in the compro
mise business, are "wets," and, it is
pointed out, Senator Kendrick, demo-
crat, of Wyoming, who is dry, has
fortnight supposedly on behalf of
william Jennings Bryan. in endeavor-
ing to bring about compromise.
say Bryan Gave Game Away.
Perhaps one of the most significant
utterances which has been seized upon
hy "wets" as basis for their theory is
the emphasis placed by Mr.. Bryan.
champion of prohibition, on the liquor
question in his Jackson day speech
Followed by his message of a few days
ago urging compromise and ratifica
ton by January Is, which is the date
the prohibition amendment goes into
effect. It is true that the first meeting
/! Of the council of the league occurs on
January 16. but the United States
could not, of course. attend that meet
ing even If the Senate acted. because
the actual process OF exchanging rati-
fications would take at least two or
three weeks. Therefore it has been
cnntended by "wets" that Mr.. Bryan
plainly gave the game away when he
Set January 16 as the date for the
nutting into effect of a compromise on
the treaty Why, they ask. was he
silent between November 27 and Janu-
It will always be difficult to say
| what were the forces delaying the
ratification of peace by the United
states The procrastination has been
variously attributable party politics.
| to alien elements in our population
| and to the prohibition controversy.
This much is true: President Wilson
would have lifted the wartime pro-
hlbit.on ban the moment the treaty