Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-12
Mrs. Mccormick viii Abide by
Referendum, While Lewis
Is Pledged.
DRY FORCES HELD SURE
TO LOSE ISSUE VOTE
Anti-Saloon League and W, c,
T. U. Split Over ACCESSIBILITY
of Balloting.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN,
stan Correspondent Of The Star.

CHICAGO, ILL.,, October 11.-Illinois
will be represented at Washington by a
wet-voting Senator, Democrat or Re-
publican, as the case may be, as a
result of the election in November, it
now appears.
Mrs. Ruth Hanna Mccormick, the
Republican nominee for the Senate, has
agreed to abide by the result of the
referendum which Is to be held on the
liquor question at the same time as the
senatorial election. Former Senator
James Hamilton Lewis, candidate Of
the Democratic party, is pledged to the
wet cause, no matter how the referen-
dunn goes.
The wet and dry issue was still
further accentuated in, the Senate race
tonight when william Randolph Hearst
came out with an announcement that
he favored the election of Senator
Lewis over Mrs. Mccormick,
The effect of Mrs. McCormick's
promise to vote on repeal or modifica-
ton Of the dry laws in accordance with
the outcome of the referendum Is re-
garded here as tantamount to promise
to vote wet. No one, not. the most
ardent dry, expects the referendum to
go any other way than wet.
One Possible Catch.
There Is one possible catch in this
statement of the case, however. The
Illinois referendum on prohibition this
year presents to the voters three sepa-
rate questions First, do you favor re-
peal of the eighteenth amendment?
Second, do you favor modification OF
the Volstead act so as to permit the
manufacture, sale etc, Of alcoholic
beverages which are not In fact intoxi-
eating as determined by the laws OF
the States? Third, do you favor repeal
Of the State prohibition enforcement
act? 1t Is possible that the total dry
vote, opposing all change, may exceed
the vote cast for repeal, for example,
while 1t might be less than the COM
bined vote for repeal and for modifi-
cation Senator Lewis is trying to learn
from Mrs Mccormick II. under such
circumstances. Mrs. Mccormick would
hold that she had mandate from
the people to vote dry on a proposal
to submit the eighteenth amendment
to the States for repeal or modification.
The dry organizations in Illinois, the
Anti-Saloon League and the Women's
Christian Temperance Union, have
split over the advisability of having
the dry voters take part in the refer
endum. The league is urging its men,
bers and the other drys to leave the
referendum field to the vets; that such
referendum is in no way binding
legally upon any one, and that If the
drys remain out of the race, the vic
tory will be an empty one for the vets.
The union on the other hand, has
taken up the wet challenge and is de-
manding that every dry voter cast his
ballot against any change in the eight
zenith amendment or the Volstead act.
Privately it is admitted that probably
IS per cent even of those drys who
follow the Anti-Saloon League in the
State will take part in the referendum.
Hammer and -Tongs Fight.
The drys and the vets are at it ham,
mer and tongs, therefore, over the ref
erendum, with the outlook pointing to
victory Of one kind or another for the
vets. 1t seems entirely probable that
all repealers will also vote for modifica-
ton OF the dry laws. Whether all the
modifcationists will stand for repeal is,
however, very different matter.
AAAiOAS HAS ileIQ Two OCner re1efen-
dums on the wet and dry question since
national prohibition became the order
of the day, the first time in 1922 and
the second in 1926. In both instances
the State voted wet" But also In
both instances the Anti-Saloon League
urged the drys to pay no attention to
the referendum. The league has placed
its bets If the league may be said to
have done anything so sporting. on the
dry nominees for Representative-at-
lCn.ati.aIied Es..s 81.