Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-02
FOUR ELECTION RESULTS
OF PRIMARY IMPORTANCE
Democratic House Might Foreshadow
Change in President, Tariff
and Prohibition.

program in New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Illinois, Connecticut, Wis
consin, Rhode Island. Maryland, New
Hampshire, Delaware and the State Of
Washington.
With so large portion Of the Demo-
cratic party. speaking in terms of geog-
raphy and population. committed to the
wet cause, it would seem to follow that
Democratic victory next Tuesday would
have an effect of accelerating wet SEN
tirnent. 1t would be said, whether &C
curately or not. that one reason for
Democratic victory was their favoring
the wet cause. To the same effect
Democratic leaders would feel that their
party fortunes had been furthered by
going wet in so many States. There
would be, in short, a strong impulse for
the Democratic party to go yet farther
and as rapidly as possible in the wet
direction.
Yet can we be sure? There remains
that Gibraltar of Democracy, the Solid
South, as earnestly dry as ever. Those
leaders now in control of the Demo-
cratic party nationally. who have deter
mined to take the party along the wet
read, will encounter stiff opposition
from that section of the party, the
South, which in every election since the
Civil War has provided most of the
Democratic electoral votes-and has
AOAAS AZ ASPNAAdoOAJy PAaNbANaAIy NAtAAOAt
interruption.
If the Democrats should next Tuesday
elect majority of Congress, that Con-
greSs would not be wet. Far from 1t.
Even the Democratic party of Congress
would not be wet. Assume the Demo-
Gratis gain so seats Assume the Demo-
Gratis have in the Congress to be elected
next Tuesday as many as 220 seats. Out
of that 220 fully 100 will be from the
dry solid South or from the almost
equally dry border States. Several more
from Western and MidweStern States
would be dry.
If it is difficult to estimate the effect
! on prohibition of a Democratic victory,
| it is even more difficult to visualize
what effect, If any, on prohibition would
ensue directly from Republican victory.
We know the election, whichever way
it goes, will be bound up with prohibi-
| ton. In three States there are refer
enduns on it. In at least three States
dry candidates for United States Sena-
tor are running mainly on that issue
against wet candidates. From the cleo.
ton on Tuesday deductions will be made
about prohibition, but 1t Is impossible
to outline them in advance.
Issues Are Numerous.
The issues, or the conditions or the
motives, or the what-nots, determining
the outcome of next Tuesdays election
have been discussed up and down the
country. They have been extraordinarily
numerous, strangely diverse, Theoret-
ically and in the true sense, this Is 9
national election having deep national
meaning, and having national conse-
| uuericeS Of the most formidable kind.
! Actually, however, this election as re-
spects the House, which Is the impor-
tant part of 1t, Is the aggregate Of 436
separate elections in ABS separate con-
! gressionaI districts, covering the entire
Country. More accurately, It is the ag-
gregate of about 80 separate elections,
for the districts which are In doubt or
i in which there are real contests do not
! number more than 90. As the aggre-
gate of 80 separate elections, the issues
or other determining factors m the va
rious districts are almost as numerous
as the districts.
Many of the issues have dealt with
one aspect or another Of prosperity. It
is about prosperity that most of the
speech making and arguing has been
done. Through it all there has been
practically no mention of one condition
affecting prosperity which in the tudg-
ment of some thoughtful men Is more
pregnant than any other.
Silver and Gold Conditions Affect U. 8.
If the interruption to prosperity in
| the United States had been confined to
what happened within the borders Of
| the United States, we should have been
out of the hollow and upward bound
several months ago. What was OBJ
served belatedly-and by many not even
yet-was that condition in Europe and
| Asia-indeed. worldwide condition
| involved us in its waves. ThS condt-
ton had to do with silver and gold.
The price of silver went down from
something like 80 cents an ounce to 80.
That almost destroyed the purchasing
power of countries having silver cur
rency in Asia and elsewhere. Along
with cheapness and abundance of silver
came condition affecting gold. There
has been a decrease in the annual incre-
ment of gold from mines. Drought OF
| gold from mines in its immediate effect
on prices. and on volume Of business Is
as certain and of the same kind as re
effect of drought of rain on crops.
To discuss this age-old economic pne-
nomenon is not within the scope of the
present article. There are many signs,
| however, which suggest that the, Con-
gress to be elected next Tuesday will
before it ends do a good deal OF talking
about gold and silver. True, this is not
now primarily an American problem, as
it was in the early 1905. when it pro-
vided the major part of our political
discussion. AS a world problem, how
ever it must affect America. Paradox
ically, it is possible it may affect us
favorably In any event the writer OF
this article has been interested to OBJ
serve the temperance in Washington
and elsewhere of elderly gentlemen who
wish to talk about silver and GOLD
men whose early emergence into politics
dates back to 1906 and the earlier parI
Of the great controversies about sil~
and gold.