Omaha daily bee., 1920-07-02
Bitter Fight Over Prohibition
Question Being Waged in
Platform Committee While
Meeting Awaits Final Action.
PROSPECT OF SCRAP ON
LEAGUE PROBLEM FADES
Leaders of Administration
Said to Be Content to Let
Plank on Covenant Stand as
Framed by Committee.

dlIltu Wy CUIllliiilltt.
San Francisco, July l.-Furious
warfare over the prohibition plank
began late today in the platform
committee of the democratic nation
al committee with every prospect
that it would be carried later to the
convention floor, no matter what
the committee finally should decide.
While the convention waited for
the committees work to be COM
pleted, vets and drys were locked
in struggle which some members
thought it might take hours to term
mate.
Leaving the subject until last be-
cause it was the most troublesome
of all, the committee had made its
decisions on the Irish question and
the league of nations and had clear
ed away all of the lesser contro-
versies delaying its report But so
long as prohibition remained in dis
pute committee members agreed
that their troubles were far from
over.
Aside from the wet and dry is
sue, the biggest fight of the day was
centered in the Irish plank. Over
ruling its subcommittee. the COM
mittee threw out the administration
plank proposing to leave the Irish
problem to the league of nations and
adopted in its stead a declaration
of sympathy and pledge to take
whatever diplomatic action would
be in consonance with international
comfy.
League Fight Fades.
But while prospects for floor
fights on prohibition and the Irish
problem were increasing, all likeli-
hood that the league of nations also
would be subjects of open hostili-
ties virtually disappeared. The word
was passed around that most of the
administration chiefs here were con-
tent to let the league plank stand as
it was when it emerged from last
nights stormy committee meeting.
| he reference to reservations.
added at the insistance of antiad-
ministration leaders, was not in
consistent with the stand taken by
President Wilson, his managers here
believed, nor in conflict with the
party's record.
Among the other planks complet-
ed during the day was that relat-
ing to woman suffrage, the commit
tee, after long argument, follow
ing the advice of the subcommittee
by approving an appeal to demo-
cratic officials in Tennessee, North
Carolina and Florida for quick.
action on the suffrage amendment.
Many Favor Middle Course.
On the prohibition issue the sub
committee made no recommendation
at all and many members of the
committee were for steering the
same middle course in the final plat
form draft A dozen or 50 of pro-
posed declarations ranging frcsi
ultrawet to ultradry were broub +
in to the controversy. however, and
the whole scale of wet and drv ar
guments was rehearsed as the debate
progressed.
William ]. Bryan was the ST.
preme chief of the drys He told
the committee bluntly that unless
there was a positive declaration for
preservation and enforcement o. the
present prohibition laws he would
not hesitate to appeal his case to the
convention itself. The vets, who
suggested everything from a wine
ard-beer plank to a blanket per-
sonal liberty declaration showed an
equal determination to fight it out
before the party's final court of re-
sort
To make certain that the conf
mittee's disagreement should be
kept in absolute confidence, Senator
Glass OF Virginia, the chairman,
b7nished newspaper men and spec
tators to further and further
bounds as the day progressed.
throwing a Gordon of police across
the Railways and other approaches
to the committee ROOM He lsQ en-
joined all the members to strict Sc
crecy regarding the subjects dis
cussed and action taken.