The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-07-05

fight. a vigorous campaign in the.
second and third districts of that
State to elect wet Congressman in
November.
Democrats, who have just got
back home from the Houston cons
vention will be interested to know
that while they were pussyfooting
about prohibition the voters of the
dry State of North Dakota came
within an inch of throwing prohi-
bition out of the window altogether
said Henry H. Curan, president of
the association.
THE associations against the pro-
hibition amendment have been
working hard in the North Dakota
referendum campaign for the last
three months.
This State has been bone-dry by
constitution since 1889. People talked
about North Dakota's dryness the
way they talked about Kansas and
Maine and yet our latest returns
from the Statewide referendum
show that while $4,000 men and
women we're voting to keep prohi-
bition in their State constitution
$4,000 were voting to throw it out
AT the same time we carried two
out of three congressional districts
and we are going right into both Of
these districts this fall to elect
Congressmen, who will oppose proc
hibition and thus play fair with
their constituents"
The fact that the total referendum
vote was larger than the vote for
Governor in 1926 shows the wide-
spread public interest in this ques-
ton, even if the State has been dry
ever since it became a State forty
years ago.
AS North Dakota's population is
over IS per cent rural, this
referendum has caused much
speculation regarding the accepted
political axiom that farm districts
and rural communities are over
whelmingly dry.
DUT the politicians are still TAR
d from accepting the extreme wet
Interpretation Of the North Dakota
referendum by the Association
Against the Prohibition Amend-
ment.
They argue that the best national
referendum" on prohibition is Com
eress. Congress is probably two
thirds dry. 1t is the business OF
a Congressman to keep his ear to
the ground and be sure how his
constituents are thinking. He is
not apt to be dry. or to remain so
long, unless he has good reason 70
believe that "the folks back home"
are dry.
The average neutral observer in
washington is apt to put much
weight on this evidence, for he
knows how we'll Congressman like
to keep on the winning side.
But the wet propagandists are
not convinced. They admit that
most Congressmen-some of whom
drink wet-think the country as a
whole is dry in it's convictions. This
is a misrepresentation caused by the
very clever and always vocal pro-
hibition and church organizations,
the vets reply.
So the argument swings around
to the wisdom of Smiths post-con-
vention statement favoring modifl-
cation of the Volstead act.
A DMITTING, what most per-
IN sons believe, that national
referendum today would give the
drys a majority, it is still possible
to argue that Smiths stand is not
only honesty. but politically expedi-
ent. For Smiths chance of cleo
ton depends not on a national ma
jority of the popular vote, but upon
majority of the electoral vote.
Few deny that the solid South is
predominantly dry. Yet for reasons
Of Democratic party loyalty, all of
the solid South--or certainly most
of twill go for Smith If pro-
hibition third party is formed in
the South, it is not expected to
achieve much. More Smith OPP
ponents probably will express their
protest negatively by staying away
from the polls than by positive
vote for another candidate.
If Smith is to win the election he
must carry the Eastern States with
the large electoral votes. These,
added to the solid South, will put
him close to victory But these
States, such as New York, New
Jersey and Massachusetts, are nor
mally heavily Republican in presi-
Dental elections.
Onswhat issue can Smith convert
the Eastern Republican lead into a
Democratic majority?
Obviously Al has decided that if
this can be done at allait must IS
done by appealing to the wet senti-
ment in these industrial urban
| States
In addition, Smith probably
figured that he has a chance Of
winning as a wet candidate in Iii
nois Wisconsin and Missouri. If
these hopes hatch along with the
Northeast and South. it might very
we'll be that the country would be
singing THE Sidewalks. OF New
York the morning after election
All of which is arousing the
powerful dry organizations to res
newed efforts, suclS as the Ashaville.