Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-27
The Political Mill
BY C. Could Lincoln.

OF the six new Senator's who will take
their places in the Upper House during
the coming short session of Congress,
none is likely to be more observed than
Dwight W. Morrow OF New Jersey. Yet
Mr.. Morrow is not inclined to seek the
limelight, especially in this first session
of his in the Senate, which extends only
until March 4. According to close
friends in New Jersey. Mr.. Morrow ex-
poets to do lot of observing himself in
the short session. Always when he
tackles a new job, Mr.. Morrow spends
good deal of time preparing for 1t. After
he feels himself prepared, he wades
right in.
Whether he will get into the expected
debate over prohibition at the short
session remains to be seen. 1t is not
likely he will offer a resolution pro-
posing the repeal of the eighteenth
amendment, 1t Is said. For he realizes
that such a resolution has no chance
of being acted upon by the present
Congress But If the wet and dry ques-
ton comes to the fore in the Senate,
the new New Jersey Senator may feel
impelled to make his position clear
again. One thing which sometimes is
overlooked when considering the atti-
tude of Mr.. Morrow toward national
prohibition is that he believes the law
should be rigidly enforced while 1t re-
mains on the statute book. Further
more, he has declared himself for re-
peal Of the eighteenth amendment, not
for its notification. 1t is expected he
will support appropriations for enforce
ment OF the dry laws, therefore, and
that he may support measures looking
to better enforcement of these laws.
Mr.. Morrow Is not one of those vets
who argue that the Government has
no right TO clamp down the bars on
the use OF Intoxicating beverages. The
personal liberty argument is not the
impelling reason with him for demand
ing repeal of the eighteenth amendment.
He believes that Government has the
right, if it sees fit to use it, to prohibit
the manufacture and sale of alcoholic
beverages. His quarrel with the dry laws
rests upon the fact that the National
Government has undertaken to do q job
which should be left to the State gov
ernmentS in his opinion.
X X 4
If appropriation bills are to be the
order of the day, with a few measures
designed to help the unemployed, Mr..
Morrow may not get into the prohibit
ton debate until the opening of the
new Congress, whenever that may
take place. However, he will scan
the report of the Wickersham Law
Enforcement Commission with much
interest when it is laid before Con-
gress. II it fails in his opinion to
deal adequately with the liquor Gues-
ton, he may undertake to state his
views TO the Senate.
Because Of the election laws Of New
IpTCnl fnr <f
senatorial vote not before December
2, Mr.. Morrow will not be on hand
to take the oath of Office when Con-
greSs convenes December l. He may
be a few days late. A suggestion was
made that some means be found to
hurry the canvass of the vote so as to
permit the new Senator to be sworn
in on the opening day of the season.
but Mr.. Morrow vetoed the suggestion
himself.
There is another newly elected Senator
who is likely to be in the spotlight.
Robert j. Buckley of Ohio. Mr. Buckley
is the wet Democrat who won in sup
posedly dry Ohio-Ohio which has been
so strongly Republican in the past. Mr.
Bulkley's attitude toward the eighteenth
amendment is very much that of Mr..
Morrows. He stands for repeal of the
eighteenth amendment and the return
of the control of liquor traffic to the
individual States. Already there has
been talk of Mr.. Buckley as a possible
presidential nominee of the Democrats
in 1882. Much will depend upon the
showing he makes in the Senate, how
ever. A number of years ago he served
a term or two in the House. Outside
of that experience Mr.. Buckley has had
ut uith ha al
Government.
The Democratic leader of the Senate.
Senator Joseph T. Robinson of
Arkansas, is f1atfootedly in favor of the
retention OF the eighteenth amendment.
He announced his position on his re-
turn to Washington for the session of
Congress which opens Monday. But he
has declined to make any comment on
possible modification Of the dry laws.
Two other prominent Democratic Sena
tors, Caraway of Arkansas and Walsh
of Montana, while also declaring for
retention OF the eighteenth amendment,
are not committing themselves either
in regard to possible modification of the
dry laws. Senator Walsh, long a dry,
was reelected this year over a wet
Republican opponent, Judge Galen.
Senator Walsh, however, is certain that
the wet and dry question did not really
enter into the campaign, although he
is willing to admit that Judge Galcn
and his supporters sought to make
prohibition the sole issue in a State
which has twice voted wet in ref
erendums.
The attitude of Senator Robinson,
who has been widely mentioned as a
presidential possibility in 1892, toward
aY1u mr. Of he drHy la
quite naturally be of considerable inter
est. The very fact that he has declined
to discuss modification in any way
leaves the implication that he might
favor some kind of modification. The
same is true of Caraway and Walsh.
1t is. of course, possible that these
Senators with dry leanings are merely
postponinR new rift in the Demo-
cratic party over the liquor question |
when they decline to comment on mod
ifiCation.
Former President Calvin Coolidge, !
writing to the Republican leader of the
Senate, James E. Watson of Indiana |
ton of the relief of being out of public |
life. He said:
Il am enjoying very much the relief |
of not being in public life. 1t was a |
mystery to me when in Washington
how men like yourself are willing or
able to continue to bear the burdens of
public office for an indefinite length Of
time"
The attitude Of the former President
would appear TO be that he does not
choose again to enter public life. As
a matter of fact, MI. COolioge hsu
many long years Of public life and pub
lie service in his own State ri MasSa-
chusetts before coming to Washington,
first as Vice President and then as