Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-31

Even among strong supporters of the
cause of prohibition there Is q division
of opinion concerning the additional
$24 .0000 for dry law enforcement
which was initiated in the Senate.
Many observers would defer the employ
ment of such funds until the President
elect can look into the situation through
his proposed commission. and some fatty
charge that the whole thing Is q move
ment to embarrass the incoming adj
ministration.
The very reverse of the latter thought
Is the suggestion of the Detroit Free
Press independently that the action
will stand in the record Of the Senate
as a $24. o00,0 900 vote of confidence In a
President before he has taken the oath
Of Office" and that paper exclaims,
What leader of a parliamentary gov
eminent in Europe would not sell his
soul for such an Endorsement"
THE logical thing to do, of course"
In the opinion of the Baltimore Sun
independently, however. would be to
leave the whole business, including the
additional sum that may be needed for
enforcement, up to the incoming Presi-
dent. There seems also to be
very general agreement that Mr..
Hoover's plans for making a survey of
the whole subject should be awaited
before any largely important step is
taken in Congress" Other papers
which advocate the idea of awaiting a
report from the Hoover commission in
clude the Chattanooga Times Ondepend-
ent Democratic) and Philadelphia Eve
ming Bulletin independent Republican, :.
while the New York Evening World
independently believes there is some
thing to be said for that view."
The incident seems to the Springfield
Republican independently to have 1.-The
appearance of political shadow boxing"
while the Indianapolis Star (independ-
emit Republican, offers the opinion
that the Senators motives may have
differed somewhat In detail. but they
were mostly political" The Columbia
Tribune independently remarks: ut
Is generally understood that the senti-
ment in the Senate, expressed by the
comfortable majority, is of political
nature. and does not find its source in
any sincere desire for real prohibition
enforcement"
Those citizens who seek orderly
processes of government and are neither
radical vets nor radical drys will look
upon the present phases Of the battle
with new misgivings," says the Bing-
hamton Press independent Republic
CAM. The Louisville Times Ondepend-
ent) declares: Enforcing prohibition
is not the only task of the United States
Government. and could not be the
whole or the major duty of the Presi-
dent But, aside from that, vengeful
politicians who gayly vote for an appro-
priation of $24,O00,000 in the hope of
embarrassing the incoming President
display spectacularly their moral unfit
ness for the ONCE to which their con-
stituents elected them"
Federal prohibition has been the
cause Of many spectacular follies, as
well as unmeasured evils, but this &C.
ton of the Senate caps them ALL" AYERS
the ST. Louis Dispatch (independ-
ent), with the added thought: I'm
agine the embarrassment Of Mr.. Hoover
II he Is handed this large sum for ex-
penditure in the enforcement of pro-
hibition laws without knowing what to
do with 1t. Secretary Mellon does not
want u. andstn he cannot expend 1t