Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-24
DRY ALTERNATIVE
TO Be c. 0. P. ISSUE
Borah Indicates Convention
Fight Over Amendment
Substitute.
BY MARK SULLIVAN.

AS the WlcKerSnam commission 1Or
the study of prohibition and allied sub
jects reassembles, a renewed outburst
Of conjecture deals with the probable
report Of that body. A similar quantity
of surmiSe SINNERS hotly about what
the Republican party will do about pro-
hibition in its national convention, q
year and nine months away. In all
this speculation a few things stand out
that are concrete. One tangible start
ing point is to be found in q sentence
uttered by Senator Borah. The Idaho
Senator, speaking of the Wickersham
Commission, says: 1.-THE real fight Is
over the eighteenth amendment-shall
it be repealed and If so, what plan Is to
take its placer"
Senator Borahs thought Is more
upon the Republican National Conven-
ton than upon the Wickersham Com
missions report. In any struggle in
the Republican National Convention
over prohibition, Senator Borah, on the
dry side, will be one Of the principal
leaders and the one outstanding orator.
Not necessarily as a conscious prepara-
ton, but nevertheless certainly, Senator
Borah's course about prohibition until
the convention meets will have the pur-
pose indicated by the last few words of
his comment. This purpose goes upon
the assumption that the prohibition
controversy has reached q stage where
a clear and decisive struggle over the
existence Of national prohibition Is in
evitable. It Is plain Senator Borah does
not expect and does not wish that the
controversy in the Republican National
Convention should be merely a debate
over. for example, beer and light wines.
.. Granting the struggle is to be funda-
mental, it is apparent that Senator
Borah'S purpose will be to bring out
from the vets some one outstanding
alternative proposed by them to be sub
stituted for the eighteenth amendment.
Comparison Of Methods.
The debate about prohibition in the
Senate so far as it looks forward to the
Republican National Convention and
the presidential campaign will seek to
make a comparison between the exist
ing method of dealing with liquor,
namely, the eighteenth amendment,
and on the other hand, the method put
forward by the vets as an alternative.
At present different vets announce DIFF
ferent plans. The effect Of the COM
ing discussion should be to cause some
one of the wet formulas to emerge as
the one to be presented to the Repub-
lican National Convention.
An alternative now entertained by
some vets is very simple. 1t Is merely
to repeal the eighteenth amendment
and do nothing else. The number OF
vets who advocate this formula has in
creased since the wet victories in the
recent election. The principle upon
which they rely is that 1t Is mistake
to have anything whatever about pro-
hibition in the Constitution.
Senator Borah and the drys win in
sist, however, on examining this pro-
posal In terms Of what kind OF con-
crete method of dealing with liquor 1t
would mean in practice. Obviously, re-
pealing the eighteenth amendment, II
accompanied by nothing else, would
have the effect of restoring the method
of dealing with liquor that existed be-
fore the prohibition amendment was
adopted. The drys as rule would re-
gard this as the easiest wet proposal to
6efeat In the Republican National Con-
vention or elsewhere.
= Several CONSPICUOUS wet leaders have
other programs for dealing with liquor.
Nearly all contemplate repeal OF the
eighteenth amendment or drastic
change in 1t. Most of these wet pro-
posals go on to describe in varying de-
tail some new way of dealing with
liquor. Many of the most important
wet proposals seem to point toward out
having the private distribution of liquor
for private profit. From this 1t follows
that these wet proposals contemplate
permitting any State government which
so wishes to adopt the system OF gov
eminent distribution now pract1ced In
Canada. This would probably be a
slightly more difficult proposal for the
drys to defeat than the simple repeal OF
the eighteenth amendment.
Party Leaders Differ.
As Of today, however, the drys have
little doubt that they can prevent the
taking of any fundamental wet step by
the Republican National Convention.
Local party leaders from the various
States, when they discuss the idea In
terms of party expediency, differ BIZ
zarrely. A consensus of their Judgment,
however, would say that on the simple
question Of repeating the prohibition
amendment the drys in the next Repub-
lican National Convention would win
easily. A rough estimate would say
that out of approximately thousand
delegates between six and seven hun
dred would be dry. This estimate Is
as of the present time.
All that is here said may be modified
by the emergence of the Wickersham
commissions report. 1t is conceivable
the commissions recommendations, If
they should be sufficiently definite and
constructive, might become program
upon which many Republicans could
agree. It Is plain, however, that Sen
ator Bora. and most Of the drys do not
anticipate this. Senator Borah evi-
IDENTIFY thinks the Wickersham report
will be immaterial. Report or no re-
port, he expects the struggle in the Re-
publican National Convention and else
where to be a fundamental one lover
the eighteenth amendment-shall it be
repealed, and If so, what plan is to take