Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-18
WET SEES HOOVER
DRY VIEW CHANGING
Stayton Letter Expresses
Belief President Begins to
Doubt Enforcement.
BY the Associated Press.

ment, that President Hoover lis begin
ming to doubt whether prohibition can
be enforced" was received today BY the
Senate lobby committee.
The opinion was contained in letter
written last February by Stayton to
Charles s. Wood Of Philadelphia, vice
president of the wet organization.
1t said:
MY own feeling, as I talk to Sena-
tors, members Of Congress and public
officials here, is that Mr.. Hoover is be-
ginning to doubt whether prohibition
can be enforced"
1t added that Mr.. Hoover wants to
| take plenty of time to consider 1t, but
| he Is being abused a little too much"
The Stayton letter was introduced into
the voluminous lobby committee record
while Henry H. Curran, president of the
Association Against the Prohibition
Amendment. was testifying for the third
! day. Curran had said while before
| that the tide is turning" against pro-
hibition in Congress.
Refers to Graham.
The letter by Stayton said Chairman
Graham of the House judiciary commit
tee, which has been holding prohibition
hearings had urged him to ask w. w.
Atterbury, Republican national COM
mitteeman from Pennsylvania, and a
wet, to testify before the committee.
II believe" the letter added, that II
Gen. Atterbury should take the stand it
would cause great many people to be
more generous as to Mr.. Hoover's at
titude.
Il think there are thousands of peo-
ple-and especially prominent people
| here-who would at once say that, II
Gen. Atterbury, with his strong con-
victions on this subject, is willing to
wait for Mr.. Hoover's calm considera-
ton, then the rest of us ought equally
to be willing to wait, and believe that
a real service would thereby be done
to the Republican party"
Curran was not questioned concerning
the references to President Hoover in
the Stayton letter.
Marked Letter Confidential.
The letter from Stayton to Wood said,
in part:
Failure to enforce prohibition dur
| ing the last 10 years (Which failure
was inevitable from the beginning) has
been accompanied by an orgy of graft,
| corruption and lawlessness such as our
Nation has never seen before. In my
| opinion, this can only be ended by an
adequate expression of the will of the
| people impressed upon Congress by
votes"
A similar letter was sent by Lammot
du Pont to 240 Republican campaign
contributors and 1t brought in 5 con-
| trtbutions totaling SIPS.
Senator Robinson, Republican, Indi-
ana, read from records of the asso-
| ~,
Massachusetts recently by the Liberal
! Civic League.
The records included SIS 900 for a
meeting addressed by Gov. Richie Of
| Maryland
This is absolutely confidential
Judge Graham, who is, ! suppose,
thinking not only of the wet and dry is
sue, but also of the Republican party,
| which he very dearly loves, has shown
| that these matters are so close to his
heart that he has personally urged me
to do three things:
| - To ask Gen. Atterbury to come
down and go to the stand for a few
minutes on Wednesday or Thursday.
Way will be made for him instantly and
he will not be detained
20. To put Judge Graham himself in
touch with Mr.. Pierre du Pont, in Flor
ida. Mr. du Pont went there yesterday
&
Judge Graham Is going to ask him to
come back here and testify on the 10Th
or goth.
80 The judge is also going to reach
Senator Wadsworth, in Cuba, by phone
and ask him to break up his vacation
and come back for the same purpose"
| Important to Cause"
"I cannot ask you too strongly to i'm
press upon Gen. Atterbury that Judge
Graham thinks the three above men-
toned things OF vast Importance to the
cause"
Questioned about newspapers which
| used publicity of his organization, Cur
ran named two in Montana-the Butte
| Miner and "the Anaconda something .
The Butte Miner went out of exist
ence several years ago, Senator Walsh
Democrat, commented.
Several in the audience applauded.
Curran also named a number Of pa
pers along the Atlantic seaboard which
used the publicity.
Many of the small town papers
"ditched' the publicity, he said, adding:
THE editors would have to leave
town if they used it."
Curran predicted that the Sheppard
bill to make the purchaser of liquor
equally guilty with the seller and the
Wickersham proposal to abolish trial
by jury in contravention of the bill OF
rights" would not be passed by the
present Congress.
Two years ago, he added, the Jones
bill to increase penalties for prohibition
violations passed with a~whoop."
Senator Blaine. Republican, Wiscon-
sin, the only wet on the committee
asked Curran If his organization had
taken any action on the prohibition
bills now before Congress.
I'VE haven't lifted finger" the
witness replied.
After reading a news story published
in 1927, which said the country was
dry, Walsh asked the witness:
DO you still think the tide is turn
ing against prohibition"
J There Is no doubt Of it," Currar
|, insisted
The pendulum has long. wide
swing" he added. land it is a tide Of
opinion that cannot be stopped"
Raskob Letter Entered.
Robinson placed in the record a let.
: ter sent by John ]. Raskob chairman
: OF the Democratic national committee
and a director of the association, last
December to 494 persons who contrib
, uted to the Democratic campaign fund
1t brought IL contributions totalline
$875 the records showed. The letter
said in part:
Il am writing under the assumption
that with many others of our citizens
you are in favor of a change in the
prohibition laws and in sympathy with
the sound, progressive, energetic anC
highly successful measure that our asso.
citation is taking to remove them.
Prom my observation of condition.
throughout the country it is my opin-
ion, and probably yours, that there ex.
lists clear majority of voters opposed
to the cruel and absurd laws on the
statute books.