Evening star., 1923-06-17
NEITHER BIC PARTY
OFFERS WET HOPES
Even Gov. Al Smith Admits
Country Still Continues
Dry in Sentiment.
BY ROBERT T. SMALL.


The tide of "wetness" which many
persons thought would sweep the
country on the heels of Gov. Al
| Smiths action in signing the dry law
repeater in New York state, has
signally failed to materialze.
| Even Gov. Smith himself has found
it necessary to drop the intimation 10
some of his more enthusiastic fol-
| lowers that "the general sentiment
of the country still seems to be dry"
| An attempt to rush a dry law re-
pealer through the Illinois legisla-
| ture came to grief. A similar at
tempt in supposedly wet Wisconsin
has been met with a significant de-
lay.
Gov Smiths arrival at French
Lick, Ind, has not found any violent
movement in progress to make him
the wet candidate for President OF
the United States on the democratic
ticket. On the other hand, even so
damp" an enthusiast as Tom Tag
CART himself has issued statement
saying that Indiana is for Senator
Samuel L. Ralston first. last and all
the time-and Senator Ralston is
dry.
Indiana's Attitude.
Indiana has been hospi-able TO Gcv.
Smith, but it has let him know in
several significant ways that Indiana
democracy will not join in The MAX
ing of wet presidential candidate,
nor in any attempt to nuilify the
| eighteenth amendment.
When a man like Tom Tagsart
let's it be known that he Will have
nothing to do with a movement to
lliberalize the democratic platform, it
ha nf he
pronounced "wets" i'll this direction
are doomed to the direst sort of failure.
Although Taggart for years has
been regarded as a liberal Of the
liberals it is recalled that when In
diana frst voted dry it was due to
Taggart's influence in throwing the
democratic members OF the legis
lature to ti,e arid side that brought
about the states first prohibition
may have different views on the
modification OF the Nolstead act. but
If he has ne has never disclosed
them publicly. 1t is certain that he
does not balieve the democratic
party can afro rd to Chamber aboard
! a wet band wagon at this time.
The developrn ents Of the week in
Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin are
both significant and interesting.
wet wave cannot A-et very far from
the northern Atlantic seaboard.
Therefore, the fnely made pre-
dictions OF the last few days that
the next presidential campaign will
be fought out on tine wet and dry
question, leaving other national and
international issues ip the discard.
are not based upon a knowledge of
conditions in the country at large.
G. o. p. TO He BolSe Dry.
It IS conceded that thes republican
party will be bone-dry ilf the next
! campaign. President Harding and
various other leaders have' said so.
The G.. o. p. will stand on a plat
form for prohibition enforcement up
to the hilt.
1t is also certain that various wet
elements within the Democratic
party-and some of these elelTents
have great infiuence-will maka an
effort to capture the democratic tAon-
vention of 1924, both in the mat%er
of platform declarations and t&e
naming Of candidate OF exceed
ingly liberal views.
But. disappointing as 1t may be toA
the wet adherents. even the most
casual survey shows that the demo-
cratic party nationally will repulse
Iall wet onslaughts. and will come
before the people almost, if not quite,
as dry as the republicans.
It Is all very well to say that a
wet democratic candidate. carrying a
few of the populous states of the
east ana the soma south, could be
elected to the presidency; II is all
very well to assume that the south
will vote for democrat, be he wet
or be he dry, but the amateur poll
ticians, who are fixing things up so
beautifully, have first got to figure
out how an avowed wet can win the
democratic nomination over the pro-
test of the dry west and the still
dryer south.
It requires a wo-thirds vote to
win the democratic presidential
nomination.
There is absolutely no possibility
of two-thirds of the delegates to the
next democratic convention being
wet, or even moderately damp. 1t ;s
doubtful If even one-third will be
wet or damp. Therefore there will
Issue from the convention neither q
wet platform nor a wet candidate.
This situation is thoroughly under
stood by the old hands at the demo-
cratic wheel.
It is admitted that if he were
physically capable, Woodrow Wilson
might win a third democratic nomina-
ton, but he is the only moderately
wet person who could. In Wilson's
case, the larger policies to which he
would be expected to devote himself
would outweigh his liberal views on
prohibition.
Cold Analysis.
The wet enthusiasm of the east
waxes warm every now and then as
New York, New Jersey or Massachu-
setts does some wet thing, but all OF
this enthusiasm fades when met by
the facts OF a cold analysis