Evening star., 1924-05-31
DROUTH IN PROSPECT
AT commandments
General Movement Among Eastern
Schools to Change Condi-
tions This Year.
BY ROBERT T.. SMALL.

NEW YORK, May 3l.-Efforts TO
dry up commencement week at the
eastern universities and colleges are
meeting with success almost daily
now, as June arrives. and the chances
are that less intoxicating liquors will
be drunk at the graduation exercises
and the class reunions than at any
time since the Volstead act took
effect.
The move to make the commence
ments dry is a tacit confession that
they have been anything but that in
the past, despite the fact that the
constitutional prohibition amend
ment came into full force more than
four years ago.
Found Reunion Wet.
There has been a fairly well au-
thenticated report in circulation FOR
some time that at one prominent uni
versity commencement last year, the
revenue agents made a descent and
did not find things at all to their lik-
ing. The agents threatened to stop
all the reunions, arrest all the alumni
and possibly put a paddock on all
further proceedings.
Affairs were Smoothed out, however
without drastic action, but there was
promise that this year every pre-
caution would be taken to make the
Consequently, there will be no cock
tails, or beer or punch or any other
kicking substance served In the class
tents or marques which may be
erected for the accommodation of the
visiting "old grads"
Attention ON Butler.
In the fight to make the eastern
safe for prohibition,
many eyes naturally have turned to-
ward Columbia University here in
New York City, because DR.. Nicholas
Murray Butler, revered head OF the
big educational institution, recently
has been hitting some hammer blows
at prohibition as it is practiced in the
present day and time.
DR.. Butler frankly has let 1t be
known that he regards no prohibition
at all as better than the evil condi-
tions which he says have grown out
Of the attempts to enforce the Vol
stead act as written at Washington.
What DR.. Butler really has advocated
is a government monopoly or control
of alcohol as practiced in some prov
inces in Canada.
Columbia, however, promptly has
fallen into line with the dry move
mont, the commencement day COM
mittee issuing an appeal to the old
grads not to bring their own" or to
permit any others to supply them
"on university property" The com
mittee has argued that it does not
matter what the individual may think
of prohibition, there should be strict
compliance with the law during COM
mencement week and that each alum
nus personally should discourage
anything like a breach of the laws
on commencement day. The commit
tee is seeking ''to protect the good
name of Columbia"
Resented at Columbia.
1t has been made known at Column
bia that the action Of the commence
ment day committee, of course, has
the sanction and support of DR.. But
ler. The students at the university,
while supporting DR.. Butler in their
college paper and class discussions,
have resented the inferences of some
Of the more drastic Of the dry advo-
Gates that Columbia had become as
wet as the Atlantic Ocean. They have
insisted that perhaps there has been
dent, than in any of the other large
universities.
officers OF some of the classes
which are planning reunions this
year at the various eastern institu-
tions. while deprecating any public
use of intoXicants, are frank enough
to say they are not attempting to
exercise any censorship or control
over the actions of individuals. They
want to make certain, however, that
there shall be no countenance of the
use of liquors by the class organi-
zation.
Just before prohibition became ef-
fective some university alumni or
ganizations bought their booze" and
stored it away for future use at re-
union festivities. They thought at
the time this would be perfectly
proper, and all apparently went well
until last year. Now the wet end
of the festivities is to be cut out for
all time