New-York tribune., 1920-05-15
Drys in Fight
IOHOld Grin
On Congress
Carry Campaign to Every
District i'm the Country
Where Candidates Lean
to Even @'Moist'' View
By Carter Field

From The Trib,ne's Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON, May 14.-Not con-
tent with fighting moist planks and
damp candidates, the drys are organ
lzing an intensive campaign in every
Congressional district in the Union
where there is any possible chance
of defeating wet Congressman or
electing a dry one.
Their activities, it was learned to-
day, are directed against the hope of
the vets that the Volstead act may be
liberalized by the next Congress. The
drys have virtually a three-fourths
aJority in the House and Senate.
and they do not intend to let it slip
away from them.
They have no idea of permitting any
prohibition enforcement act to be en-
acted by the next Congress, which
might permit even two and three
quarters per cent beer or light wines.
ne legal maximum of alcoholic con-
tent IN beverages will remain at one
hal1 OF one per cent, if they can hold
IL there. The frank opinion of most
observers in Washington, despite the
unflagging optimism of the vets, is
that they can.
The first provision of its program is
to organize for the support of all Sen
ators and Representatives who voted
TOR the amendment and the enforce
ment code and to oppose wet Con-
gressmen or candidates, except in dis
tricts naturally overwhelminglv vet
where dry campaigning would be a
waste of effort. However, even in such
districts as these, should dry candi-
dates of weight and Importance enter.
the Anti-Saloon League will get he.
hind them.
At Work in Every District
The league is at work in every Con-
gressional district the country over,
practically speaking, where there is a
chance to stand by its friends in Con-
gress or to smash its enemies.
League leaders express satisfaction
IN the progress of Congressional fights
to date and are welding all the in
huence at their command to see that
dry sentiment dominates the two po
lltlcal conventions. Failing in that
they will try to assure that liberal
sentiment will be given no chance to
formalize itself in platform expression
or by the nomination of liberal candi-
dates
The drys will be on the job at Chi
cago and San Francisco with these two
propositions TO urge upon the conven-
ticns:
1. They are against anything even
remotely moist.
2. They believe the least each con-
vention can do is to declare for frank
and honest enforcement of the laws
and the Constitution of the United
States" Of course. each convention
will be given the opportunity to go
further if it desires and declare out
right for prohibition, with the best
wishes of the Anti-Saloon League.
The Anti-Saloon League, it is be-
lieved, has dry -docked" any chance
of wet declaration by the San Fran
cisco convention of the Democrats or
the nomination of wet Democratic
candidate.
League Counts on Bryan
The league counts on William Jen-
nings Bryan, whom it helped elect as
a delegate from Nebraska, to kill off
both possibilities. 1t expects Bryan
20 prevent the nomination of Governor
James M. Cox of Ohio, against whom
the Commoner turned his guns in a
Nebraska address last night, or of
Governor Edward I. Edwards of New
Jersey.
The part the league played in help
ing save Mr.. Bryan in the Nebraska
fight is not generally known. Anti
Saloon League workers were sent into
nearly every county in the state. The
women's vote was appealed to. The
drys count the success of Mr.. Bryan
as one of their big political achieve
n,ents Of this camnaipn
Instructions for the campaign being
sent to every state by the leagues ma
tonal headquarters here include
pamphlet by Wayne B. Wheeler gen
eral counsel for the league, giving
eight reasons why patriotic voters
should not support beer and wine can
didates"
The reasons are:
That "the position of such candidates