Evening star., 1926-03-30
WET ISSUE FOUND
TO Be SECTIONAL
Efforts of Dry Law 0ppo-
nentS to Get Referendum
Expected 10 Be Failure.
Pv Consolidated Press.

By Consolidated Press.
The decision of the wet" moditica-
tionists in Congress to center their
fight this Fall in the west section of
the country illustrates anew the fact
that prohibition. after all, is a sec
tional issue, Just as ii is claimed the
tariff always has been. But as the
tariff is made to apply to ali sections.
So prohibition seems destined to con-
finue a national law and not become
a question of States rights.
/ The wet sections of the cou TRY
have resented the national prohibition
act, but they have had to bow to the
will of the national Legislature al
though the fact must never be over
looked that virtually all of the States
Of the, Union. through their LeglSla'
lures gave adherence and ratiflcation
10 the prohibition amendment to the
Federal Constitution. This is fact
which confronts the wet modification
lists at every turn. The so-called wet
States of New York, New Jersey,
PENNSYLVANIA. Massachusetts ana Ii.
lincis all registered their approval OF
the national prohibition amendment.
Even MARYLAND. which has remained
enbdurate In refusing to enact 2 dupH-
Scate of the Nolstead law, ratihed the
amendment
Little Change in Sections.
The wet sections of the country
have remained pretty wet under pro-
bibition. and it is in these sections,
where the demand for liquor has been
5 so great. that corruption OF PUBIC
servants and defiance of the law nave
kept pace with the thirst of the peo-
pie. In the long dry sections OF the
{ l.,
little that was new. although the vets
claim that even in those sections
there has been more bootleSSing
under the national act than existed
under the State statutes.
The wet modification program as
outlined today calls for activity TINS
Fall in the congressional campaigns
@in Massachusetts. New York, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and
Illinois. with more or less activity IN
Missouri Even the drys admit that
this is fertile ground for the vets,
generally speaking. although in Penn
sylvana the modifcationists are apt
To Get a shock Two of the three can
6didates for the United States sena-
.torial nomination in Pennsylvania al
-lpadv have come out on dry plat
forms These are Gov. Clifford Pinchot,
who is as dry as dust, and Senator
George Wharton Pepper, who says he
Is dry of the Calvin Coolidge type.
believing in strict law observance and
law enforcement The out-and-out
vet candidate is Representative Will
liam s Ware of Philadelphia, who
claims to have the Republican ma
chine at his back. Nevertheless. it
must he remembered that Mr. Plnchot
was elected governor in Pennsylvania
IrH- 1at "a
claims there has been no change of
sentiment and says Pennsylvania Is
like the Nation--it has its wet and
damp spots, but the majority of the
commonwealth is dry.
Failure of Referendum Expected.
The efforts of the vets are to get
sufficient representation in Congress
to pass a resolution calling upon the
States to arrange a wet" and dry"
referendum at the presidential cleo
ton in 1928 1t is admitted no such
resolution has chance of passing the
smesert Congress.
But even If the modificationists
could by some miracle win solid wet
sdeegations in the six States where
sthey are to make their fight this Fall
the total of the votes would be but
las out of membership of 435 in the
House, Win Solld deleSdLlOn IEom
Missouri the total would rise to but
1S4 votes. The "wets' are hoping, of
course, TO make their campaign non-
spartisan, for they want both Demo
cratic and Republican support. On
the Democratic side they can count
but very few votes from the South,
where the prohibition sentiment has
been overwhelming. Nor can they
count for many Republican votes
from the Far West, where even Cal
ifornia. is reported to have gone dry
because of the overwhelming Senti.
ment in the southern half of the
State. Prohibition even is sectional
in this coastal State. 1t was made a
sectional issue in the old days of
local option. But it is under national
law now and promises to remain there
for several generations to come.
E copyright. 1920