Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-05-02
Woodrow Wilson
AS | KNOW HIM
BY JOSEPH P. TUMULTY.

terminated, my power to act
without congressional action will
be exercised"
TUMULTY.
The president replied to my cables
as follows:
Paris, June %, 1919.
Tumulty, White House. Wash
ington:
Please issue following state
ment: II am convinced that the
attorney general is right in adj
vising me that I have no legal
power at this time in the mat
ter of the ban on liquor. Under
the act of November. 1918, my
power to take action is restrict.
ed. The act provides that after
June 80, 1919. until the conclu-
sion of the present war and
thereafter until the termination
of rehabilitation. the date OF
which shall be determined and
proclaimed by the president. it
shall be unlawful. etc. This law
does not specify that the ban
shall be lifted with the signing
of peace. but with the termina-
ton of the Rehabilitation of the
troops, and I cannot say that
that has been accomplished. My
information from the war de-
partment is that there are still
million men in the service under
the emergency call. 1t is clear,
therefore. that the failure of
congress to act upon the sugges-
fi010 onTfoirn5 IN 81
May 20. 1919, asking for a re-
peal of the act of November 81.
1918, so far as it applies to
wines and beers. makes it i'm
possible to act in this matter at
this time. When rehabilitation
is terminated my power to act
without congressional action
will be exercised"
WOODROW WILSON.
When the Volstead act reached
the president, he found. upon ex
aiming it. that it in no wav re
pealed wartime r. -,ition. and SC
he vetoed it.
Reasons For the Veto.
In vetoing it, he admonished con
gress, that Sin all matters havin,
to do with the personal habits ant
customs Of large numbers of people
we must be certain that the estab
lished processes of legal change ar
followed. In no other way can tn
salutary object sought to be accom-
plished by great reforms of thi
character be made satisfactory AM
permanent"
The house of representatives witt
it's overwhelming dry majority
passed the Volstead act over tn
presidents veto. The presiden
clealy foresaw the inevitable reac
ton that would follow it's passag
and it's enforcement throughout tn
country.
AS the days Of the San Francis
co convention approached, he fel
that it was the duty of the Demo
cratic party frankly to speak GU
regarding the matter and boldl
avow it's attitude toward the unrea
sonable features of the Volstead En-
forcement act. In his conference
with the Democratic leaders he too
advantage of every opportunity t
put before them the necessity TO
frank and courageous action. S
deep were his convictions about thi
vital matter, that it was his inten
ton, shortly after the passage of tn
Volstead act over his veto, to SEN
special message to congress re
garding the matter, asking for tn
repeal Of the Volstead act and tn
passage Of legislation permitting tn
manufacture and sale of ligh
wines, or at least modification o
the Volstead act, changing the alec
bolic content of beer.
Upon further consideration of tn
matter, it was agreed that it wodl'
be unwise to ask for any change a
the hands of congress that hal
so overwhelmingly expressed it
opinion in opposition to any sucl
modification. We, therefore
thought it wise to conserve our en-
ergies and to await the psychological
moment at the convention for put
ting forward the presidents pro
gram. +
A few days before the convention
the president delivered to a trustee
friend a copy of proposed wet
plank, and asked his friend to sub
nit it to the committee on resolu
tions at the convention in San Fran
cisco. The tentative draft of TIL
plank was as follows:
eve recognize that the American
saloon is opposed to all social, mora
and economic order, and we pledg
ourselves to it's absolute elimina
ton by the passage Of such law
as will finally and effectually ex
terminate it. But we favor the re
peal of the Volstead act and tn
substitution for it of a law permit
ting the manufacture and sale o
light wines and beer"
Evidently, the trusted friend VIII
had this matter in charge felt tina
the "dry" atmosphere of the con
vention was unfavorable and so tn
presidents plank, prepared by him
self, was not even given a hearing
before the committee on resolutions
(Continued)