Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-24
ny WILLIAM HARD.

by WILLIAM HARD.
This rum referendum habit spread
this last week 10 the state Of Illinois
and included Ruth Hanna Mccormick
In the list Of statesmen and states
women now classified by political col
lectors not broadly as vets or drys, but
precisely o. referendrys.
These referendrys differ again in
character among themselves, just exc
actly o. the drys divide up IN the
political laundry into ironed bone dryS
and wet-waSh drys, and just as the
vets divide up into niodificationists Of
the volstead law and repealers OF the
eighteenth amendment with restored
State control or repealers OF the eight
eral control. These complications are
rapidly changing the prohibition prob
lem here in the National Capital into
q study Of crazy leopard with Is many
colors as he has spots.
Ak&
Mrs. Mccormick seems TO belong to
the referendrys of the Senator Walsh
rather than the Senator Jones school,
though sharing possibly some Of the
qualities Of both and exhibiting some
tendencies Of neither. She remains .
ton Of which way the citizen ought
TO vote on the rum referendum In her
state this Fall. This referendum Is .
public policy" referendum and soltcits
the views Of the citizens Of Illinois on
several aspects Of prohibition and OF
prohibition enforcement. Mrs. Nc
Cormick seems boldly TO decline to post
pone the revealment Of her own opinions
10 the date Of the revealnent by the
referendum OF the opinions Of her fell
low Iiiinoisans. She declares that she
dry throughout the campaign In an-
ticipation Of the peoples verdict and in
her expressed belief as to how that
verdict should run. IF, however, It runs
against her, she will not, 1t Is an
nouuced, reject and resist the peoples
will. This would perhaps place her
ut o more advanced stage Of the refer
endrying or dampening process than Is
occupied by Senator Jones Of Wash
ington.
Senator Jones, author Of the famous
hve-and-ten law for elevating prohibi-
ton iiisdemeanors into prohibition fell
onies, says that II the people Of his
State should In the properly constituted
manner proceed TO request national ac-
ton for the repeal Of the eighteenth
amendment he would vote in the Sem
ate 70 submit to the states for their
acceptance or their rejection an amend
ment whereby the eighteenth amend
ment would be amended or eliininsted.
He seems TO reserve to himself, how.
ever, the right TO oppose the acceptance
Of the amendment 10 the amendment
by hts state even after he had voted
Ia the Senate to submit the amendment
70 the amendment to State acceptance
or state disapproval.
y
Senator Walsh of Montana, some
what contrariwise, seems almost to In
timate. In 30 far ~ human ingenuity
can peel on ali the layers Of the onion
Of this political and constitutional In
Movement TO It's core. that II his State
he would more or less in some degree
no along with the wet desire thus ex-
pressed. In any case. there are referen-
drys who would vote to submit an
amending amendment 10 the States and
would thereupon labor against the &C.
ceptance Of the amending amendment
in the States, and there are referen-
drys who would vote to submit the
amending amendment TO the States
and would then in the States give the
amending amendment their favor.
Senators like Mr.. Allen Of Kansas are
against even having any referendunls at
all on this subject since they say that
they already know what the people
want and the people are dry and have
not changed their minds and do not
need any referendums to say whether
they have or not.
Senator Glenn of Illinois, whose coll
league Mrs. Mccormick aspires to be,
highly favors referendums. He says
that Illinois in 1922 went for light
wines and beers on q referendum by q
majority of more than half q million,
and he says that In 1926 1t went for
local State self-determination in the
defining OF the word intoxicating" in
the eighteenth amendment Of the Fed
eral Government by Q majority Of
almost 100000. He regards such mani
festations as important. II repeated In
Illinois this Fall they would change Mrs.
Mccormick from q dry petitioner for q
dry instruction into dry eXecutrix OF
o wet testament.
Senator shipstead Of Minnesota, like
Senator Allen Of Kansas feels no neces-
sity for referendums, but for an entirely
different conclusion. Senator Shipstead
holds that the peoples Of the States
have In q way an essential basic right
to pass upon any suggested constitu-
tional amendment which seems to be in
the forefront of general popular debate.
The late Senator In Toilette of Wis
consin likewise held this view and for
that reason, and that alone, voted in
the Senate TO submit to the States the
constitutional amendment now num-
bered the eighteenth. Mr.. La Toilette
did not love that amendment, but he
had the theory or principle that the
| peoples of the States were possessed of
the inherent unalienable right to pass
upon 1t. Mr.. Shipstead similarly, with
OF without referenduns. would appar-
emily vote In the Senate to submit TO