Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-12
Politics at Large
By G.. Gould Lincoln.

The Republicans have drawn first
blood. They have carried Maine by the
greatest plurality ever given in a State
election in that State. Maine is a
strongly Republican State. Every one
expected it would go Republican, but
few believed the margin between the
two candidates for governor would be
so great. approximately 10000. The
outstanding fact In the Maine election,
however is not that 1t was carried by
the Republicans. or even that 1t was
carried by the greatest plurality ever
given IN State election. 1t is that
the Republicans showed their ability to
get their vote out and to the polls They
came out In great numbers. II the
Republican organization can perform as
well In Massachusetts, next November
that State. In which there is now
strong Smith sentiment and in which
the Democrats are organizing AS they
have not been organized for years, may
yet be In the Republican column. The
lesson of the Maine campaign to the
Republicans. as we'll as to the Demo-
Gratis. is one of organized effort to get
out their vote.
*
Up in New England. where the wet
and dry issue is considered help to
Gov. Smith in his drive for the
presidency. except in Maine. the Re-
publicans are striving to prove that the
election of Smith will be of no real aid
toward getting beer wine and whisky,
and that if he is elected and undertakes
to carry out his promise to enforce the
laws strictly, the vets will be no better
off than they are now.
The only thing that Gov. Smith can
c
Congress the modification of the Vol
stead act and the amendment of the
eighteenth amendment. as he has out
lined In his speech accepting the
nomination. The rest is up to Congress.
Smiths victory in Nationwide fight.
however. would give heart to the wet
side of the issue. and might influence
some of the votes in Congress. In a
measure the national election will De
considered a national referendum IN
the liquor question, although it is clear
that many dry Democrats will vote for
Smith and many wet Republicans will
continue to support Hoover. Every State
in the South which Smith carries for
example, will be making use of dry
territory to support the wet idea. anu
States In the North and East. il carried
by Hoover, will be the reverse.
Prohibition has had it's ups and
downs in this country for 80 years.
It has, however, been attached now to
the organic law of the land. and
amending the Constitution is no easy
job. There was an era of prohibition
in New England, years ago, part OF
the country which is looked upon In
the main as wet today. Maine led
of with the first prohibitory law in
1849. Names lead was followed by
New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Is
land, and even Connecticut. The last
two States are the only States which
amendment. But years ago they went
New York, Delaware Indiana. Michi-
gan. Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska, or
IS States all told. went dry" All but
two of these States later repealed their
prohibition laws-Vermont and New
Hampshire.
BY 1876, only four States had dry
laws. Kansas, Vermont. New Hamp-
shire and Maine Rhode Island went
dry during the next quarter century.
but its period of dryness lasted
only three years. Iowa tried the expert
ment for 10 years and South Dakota
for T.
Prohibition in the South was yet
to come But finally the States below the
Mason and Dixon line turned to pro-
hibition for purposes of their own, eco
nomic. social and racial. North Caro-
lima. Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi
and Tennessee adopted prohibition in
the years from 1907 to 1909. inclusive.
Alabama gave 1t up, but West Virginia
was added to the dry ranks.
The outbreak Of the World War, 1914,
found only nine States of the Union
under prohibitory laws. But in the next
four years II States leaped aboard the
water wagon. The Anti-Saloon League
and the w. c. T. u, aided by other
temperance organizations, were hard at
work in all parts of the country to aid
in drying up the Nation. And finally
the eighteenth amendment was put
through Congress and ratified by the
States. Some OF those ratifying are max
ing the greatest cutlery today against
it, including New York. New Jersey.
Illinois and Wisconsin. But the vets
missed their step in the last big dry
drive. When prohibition was written
into the Constitution it was given a
status which, it would appear, only
years could change. If ever. There was
no chance for single States to back
slide and become wet" All of the
States are tied together in this matter
of prohibition until three -fourths of
them agree to sever the string. Gov.
Smith alone cannot sever this string,
and the Republicans are emphasizing
this fact in all the So-called wet terri
tory. But there are many Republicans
who will vote for Smith as protest
against prohibition, if for no other
reason.
La Toilette is still name with which
to coniure in Wisconsin. Senator Rob-
ert NJ La Toilette, jr., was swept into
denomination for the Senate by ire
mendous plurality. His victory was by
no means due alone to the popularity
which his distinguished father had and
continues to have in Wisconsin. The
Younger La Toilette has won his spurs
in the Senate and in his own State.
But there was demonstrated again in
WiSconsin's primary the fact that
leader, even as potent as La Toilette
in Wisconsin, cannot throw" his entire
vote to another candidate. Beck. the
La Toilette candidate for the Republican
nomination for governor. was defeated
by Kohler. the Republican "stalwart"
candidate 1t is true that Zimmerman.
the present governor. who has claimed
to be Progressive and an original La
Toilette man. helped to divide the
strength of the Progressives in their
contest for the gubernatorial nominal
ton. But LA Toilette failed two wears
ago to put across his candidate for
governor against Zimmerman and the
senior Senator La Toilette. when he
attempted to defeat former Senator
Lerroot In race for the Senate by
backing a Progressive candidate. also
failed.
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