Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-30
DRY TALK IS SEEN
. BASED ON POLITICS
1880 Elections, Involving
Many in Congress, Held
Background Of. Agitation.
BY MARK SULLIVAN.


everything else in or near Congress
from now on, must be read in the light
Of one fact about the year that begins
next wednesday. Nineteen-thirty is a
political year. It is major political
year In the sense that "a Senate seats
and the AS seats in the House. will be
filled In the general election next No
vember. This Is the same as saying
that "a Senators and ASS Representa-
tives come up for reelection, except
ing very tiny number who viii not
attempt to return.
The public thinks Of these elections
Is coming in November, which, In fact.
they do. The public, therefore, fails to
realize how much the politics Of the
situation counts in actions that are
being taken today, nine months in adj
vance Of the election. To the individual
Senators and Representatives the fac
tors that will return them or defeat
them are imminent today.
For one thing, the return or defeat
of many of them, especially in the
South, Is really determined, not in the
November election, but in the party pri-
maries that come much earlier. Some
of the primaries come as early as April.
Even earlier than that, it is right now
that potential rivals at home are max
ing up their minds whether the incum-
bent Is strong or weak with his constit-
uents. For that matter, 1t Is right now
that constituents are making up their
mass minds whether they like or do not
like the course Of their Senators and
Representatives.
Strongest Appeal.
With this fact in mind, the outburst
of discussion about prohibition can be
understood. In many States and con-
Rressional districts, the strongest APP
peal q Senator or Congressman can
make is to be conspicuouSly dry, even
Spectacularly dry. To a slighter extent,
and In q smaller number Of districts,
the same thing applies to vets. 1t is
the dryS, however, who have pre-
cipitated the present excitement.
With some dry Senators and Repre-
sentativeS from the South, there Is q
special situation and a special need OF
being conspicuouSly dry. Nearly all
these dry Democratic Senators, in the
presidential election last year, remained
regular and voted for Smith in spite OF
his wetness. BY that act, some of such
some disapproval or suspicion among
the more extreme drys in their con-
stituencieS.
A means by which such a Senator or
Representative could Offset such dis
approval now would be TO bring about
in Congress some opportunity to make a
particularly dry speech, or to vote for
q particularly drastic dry law.
Fact Proves Itself.
To say that this general motive ex-
lists Ia merely to state q fact that
proves itself. To say the motive exists
as to any one individual would be, Of
course, guesswork. It happens to be q
fact that the Southern Democratic
Senators who initiated the present agi-
ton in primaries now approaching. 1t
should be added as equally fact that
they are conscientious, thorough
going prohibitionists. Their present at
titudeS are completely consistent with
their convictions and their course dur
ing many years. yy-...--
The interesting question concerns not
any one individual or small group, but
rather the drys In Congress as whole.
The question is whether this motive
on the part Of the drys exists to such
&L1 CAtCht 10 WAL ACoo w aA 0eVSAPV OU
some exceptionally drastic dry action
during the next few months.
Support for the political theory here
suggested il to be found in the attitude
Of the political dry leaders. BY
mon political dry leaders" is meant
those who are not in Congress, the
leaders Of the Anti-Saloon League and
similar organizations. These leaders
have not participated in the recent agi-
tation. AS q group, they are satisfied
with the present course Of prohibition,
they have confidence in President
Hoover's commission, and they are con-
tent to await It's report.
Extremely Drastic.
Within Congress, however, some,
though not all, Of the prohibition
leaders are clearly disposed to bring
prohibition TO the front. Some Of the
suggestions made are extremely drastic.
One Is the measure which would make
the buyer of liquor equally guilty with
the seller and make every patron of q
bootlegger subject to punishment. That
Is the most extreme dry measure ever
proposed. During q period of 20 years
past, State prohibition laws have been
in force in all or part Of nearly every
State in the Union. Never before, how
ever, has 1t been proposed that the
buyer Of liquor sold under illegal condi-
tions should be made subject TO crimi-
nal prosecution.
Another form that extreme dry &C.
ton might take would be an immense
increase in the appropriation for pro-
hibition enforcement. II any drastic
dry action Ia pushed forward with
greSS. To vote for 1t would be made
to seem q test Of orthodox faithful
ness to the dry cause. The number of
Representatives and Senators who
would feel obliged to vote dry on o test
roll call is probably three-fourthS Of
each chamber.
Copyright, 1922