The Washington times., 1930-01-15

There Is q real Ilare-up over
the wet-and-dry issue in the Capt.
tai this week, with President
Hoover asserting his leadership
in shaping program to i'm
prove existing enforcement con-
ditions.
To some q real crisis over
prohibition has arrived; 20 others,
the present situation appears as
nothing more than an indication
that. there are many nasty
hurdles to leap before the Vol.
stead act can be considered
really effective.
The one salient development
Of the week mas been the report
on prohibition sent to Congress
along with the recommendations
of the Presidents commission.
This is his answer to the ami.
madversions Of Senator Borah and
others. It is not revolutionary.
It deals largely with new legisla-
ton designed to lubricate and
tighten up the existing enforce
ment machinery. Probably it
will precipitate another prolonged
debate in the Senate on the
whole liquor issue.
There are specific references
to the District of Columbia in
the report. and President Hoover
submits recommendations in re-
gard to it similar to those al.
ready sent to Congress by At.
torney General Mitchell.
The eyes of the Capital also
are on the broad Atlantic this
week, for the American delegation
to the London Arms Conference
is aboard the George Washing.
ton. and radio messages are flash.
ing to the press Of the world q
revised American program for
the limitation Of armament, par.
ticularly with regard to the bat
tleShip replacement problem.
There are three phases Of the
dreadnaught issue which the
American delegation will stress.
One is the problem of q fur
ther limitation of requirements,
inasmuch as the present agree
ment expires in 1891. Another
is the lessening Of the size of
battle units. The third-and
possibly the most important Of
all--is to decrease the size of bat
tleships. the maximum Of which
under the Washington treaty Is
IS. 900 tons.
The American position is that
the battleship Is still the back
bone Of the navy and the core
CT its sea power. This is in con-
travention Of certain views ex-
pressed In official circles last
week. which proclaimed that The
battleship either is or is about
to become an obsolete arm Of
the nations fleet. It was con-
tended that submarines and air
planes have alike conspired to
make the battleship merely a gul-
nerable target when stripped for
battle.
None too reassuring Is the pre-
liminary news Of the conference
that comes from London. There
are differences between the Brit
ish and the japanese; further
squabbling between the Italians
and the French over the question
Of parity. Those of the big navy"
group in the United States are al
ready saying, II told you So" To
them a repetition Of the deadlock
at Geneva two years ago appears
to be inevitable. London, however,
awaits the buoyant optimism and
aggressive initiative Of the Ameri-
can delegation before thinking of
the coming conference as q poten-
tial flop.
Congress has been doing little
this week except to discuss prohi-
bition and sugar. The climax to
one angle Of the sugar issue came
yesterday in the Senate, when Sen
ator Borah, VINO has been a con-
siStent opponent Of the Admins
tration on the current tariff bill,
appeared as the advocate Of q di-
rect bounty to American sugar pro-
ducers. Borah points to the rapid
increase Of sugar imports from the
Philippines and Porto Rico as a
valid reason why the domestic
heet-Sllgar industry has been at q
StandStill since 1922. His proposal
Of a bounty is the first of its kind
heard in the Senate since McNary-
HaugeniSm died a year ago, and
is paralleled only by the indirect
subsidy granted to American ship
ping in the form Of mail contracts.
The League of Nations is this
week celebrating its tenth birth
day at Geneva. It's sponsors re-
gard it already as an assured per-