Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-30
HEARINGs WILL AIR ILLs.
Dry Question Are Held Possible.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

The decision of the House judiciary
committee to open hearings on Lin
coins birthday on various proposals to
repeal or modify the prohibition laws is
significant of the desire of Congress 70
give full opportunity to debate what has
become the most perplexing issue In
American politics.
Measures ranging from proposals to
obtain 2.75 per cent beer to a general
referendum to determine public senti-
ment have been proposed, and while IL
is hardly likely that any report would
be acted on by this session Of Congress
the committee hearings win do several
things.
Weaknesses win BE Revealed.
First, they will afford an opportunity
for some Of the wet congressman to
demonstrate to their constituents in
large wet areas that the subject Is
being agttated aggressively.
Second, they will reveal weaknesses
in the existing law particularly with
reference to the conduct of raids and
other legal difficulties in connection
with the use Of the injunction and the
paddock.
Third the hearing will take up what
the Wickersham commission has an
nounced it will avoid, namely, a dis
cussion Of the merits of prohibition
apart from enforcement.
The House committees determination
to have hearings, which will be the
first since the days when the eight
zenith amendment and the Volstead act
were passed, is direct result of the
fact that President Hoover opened the
subject with the appointment of the
Wickersham commission and that the
latter. with the Attorney General. has
passed back to Congress responsibility
for more effective enforcement ma
chinery.
There are indications that the House
is ready to tackle the prohibition ques-
ton vigorously.
Strange Political Line-ups.
The Democrats from the South are
very critical Of the Hoover administra-
TONS attitude toward the dry laws.
The Eastern Republicans who incline
toward modification might ind them
selves voting against the administra-
ton for reasons that have to do with
the wet side of the debate. Some of
the Democrats from the South are be-
ginning to see the political poSsibili-
ties in the confusion resulting from the
whole prohibition controversy. North
ern Democrats particularly are usually
on the anti-prohibition side of the ar
gument. The existence Of groups which
are likely to differ with the aSlministra-
ton has made it somewhat diificult for
the drys to operate with the same
snoothness as in the days when the
dry bloc held together irrespective OF
political consideration.
The drys today have q safe majority
on any clear cut issue. Most OF the
vets, however, insist that they would
not favor q return - the saloon and
1t Is doubtful whether q canvass of the
vets would reveal any substantial num-
Der at this time In favor Of returning
to q whisky basis. The drive at the
moment on which the vets are con-
centrating Is first to bring about an
admission that the present situation is
satisfactory to nobody. And that
temperance and q modification would
develop q friendly public sentiment.
Dry Leaders Are Cautious.
The dry leaders on the other hand
are cautious about making any conces-
sion, fearing that any change in the
existing limitations on alcoholic content
would be moral defeat and would lead
to increases in alcoholic content OF
beverages.
Meanwhile, the judiciary committee
Of which Representative Dyer of Mis-
souri, a prominent wet, is chairman,
will bring several prominent physicians
md psychiatrists to testify that AIS per
cent beer is not intoxicating. It will be
recalled that the Supreme Court of the
United States did not attempt by its
decision to prescribe what are the limits
10 which Congress might 60 in defining
IN intoxicating beverage. The court
merely said that Congress was within
It's rights in prescribing one-half a
per cent as q safe limit
What the Supreme Court would rSE
Il Congress enacted q law permittir.SS-
ITS beer is. Of course, open to cont~.
ture and while the vets are tryirss
10 prove that some people would no1
become intoxicated on ATS beer, the
irys would merely attack the argument
by pointing out that so long as some
people could become intoxicated, Com
yresS would not be justified in raising
the limit to AIS.
Outside Of the extreme drys who
would prefer not to have the prohibit
ion controversy agitated in Congress.
here Is general disposition to allow
lebate on the theory that 1t will mate
tally aid in developing public senti-
nent and In educating the public az 10
ne legal problems involved in pro-
libition.
(Copyrght, 1897