Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-10
DRY DEBATE LOOMS
BIG FOR CONGRESS
Climax of Several Years
i Foreseen in Expected
| Wickersham Report.

Definite word that the National COM
mission on Law Enforcement will have
something ready to report to Congress
~ its December session Is taken to
mean that probably the paramount
subject of debate when the two houses
meet will be the eighteaath amendment
and the Volstead law.
FOR several years the prohibition dis
cuseion has been gradually coming to
= climax. The present campaign in
which 1t Is certain that there will be
wet elected from the Republican party
M NE North as well as Democrats who
are c9mmittsd to a program Of modifi-
|. cAtpq indicates clearly that even If the
: Wickersham Commission did not report
IL would ind 1t difficult to get extended
appropriations. This is because the
vets are particularly impatient that
the results Of the survey should be
made public because they feel it will
I reveal official information on the abuses
force the prohibition laws.
1t Is likely that whatever the Wicker
eham Commission does say win be the
oasis OF President Hoover's own recou1-
mendation and 1t is already apparent
that the 1882 campaign will force the
Republican party to modify somewhat
the platform pledges of 1928, which re-
lated solely to enforcement and did
not approve or disapprove prohibition
itself, except by implication.
Change Of Attitude.
Meanwhile certain changes are going
IN almost unnoticed. The administra-
elon no longer adopts the attitude which
the And-Saloon League has insisted
upon IN the past, namely. q literal in
serpretation OF every provision of the
tAw. There are indications that some
~ the drys themselves realize that con-
SESSIONS have to be made so as to
minish the popular resentment against
Bnethods Of law enforcement. To this
end two important changes have been
made.
First. the prohibition administrator
pas announced that petty violations will
Dot be prosecuted and that he viii con-
Hentrate his men on the actual trafic
p liquor. Second, the making of beer
md wine In the home Is not being dis
eOunged. The California grape grow
ing industry has been instrumental In
Persuading the governmental author
tsies thst 1t had o right to sell its grape
Juice for home use The chief obstacle
ut the moment to the expansion of that
industry has been the difficulty of carry
how to make wine in the home. Under
the Volstead law even the furnishing of
q recipe Is illegal.
II the administration should finally
take the view that manufacture for
commercial purposes is what the eigh-
teenth amendment really means, then
It would be possible for the grape
growers to 60 in on % house toulouse
canvas In order to encourage the
manufactnre ut home. The theory of
this Is that the customers OF the boot
logger win therefore diminish and that
commercial traffic as q whole will be
reduced.
Many OF these changes win undoubt-
eddy be discussed at the next session Of
Congress, and the drive to get some re-
port from the Wickersham Commission
win probably be led by q general state
menf from the commission as to the
scope Of its investigation, leaving It to
Congress to decide or infer what It
pleases from the language Of the re-
port itself. Indications are that the
commission Is divided, and II not likely
20 be ready yet for definite recommen-
daticns, though it may be willing to-
publish its report rs fact-finding body.
tFt tcopyFisht. 1879