The Washington times., 1931-04-21
PROSPERITY
. AGAIN HOPE
Of G. O.P.
Administration Senator Sees
Hard Fight for Party Un'
less Business Is Improved
fCopyright, 1881. International
Features Service. Inc.l

Copyright, 1881. International
Features Service Ine,(
The major issue in the 1893
campaign will be contempt
rary economic conditions. Will
neither prohibition nor the tariff
occupying the spotlight, it was de
clared today by Senator DAME
o. Hastings (R) Of Delaware, al
Administration spokesman in thI
Senate.
Contradicts Raskob
In sharp contradiction Of join
j. Raskob, Democratic nationa
chairman, who predicted prohibi
tion and the tariff as the grea
issues for the next campaign
Senator Hastings said the Repub
ncan party would win or lose OF
the basis Of national prosperit!
at the time the voters go to thI
polls. Said Senator Hastings:
"The only issue in which the
American people will be really
interested next year will be the
economic situation. Unless that
improves, the situation for the
Republican party will be Sc
riOuS. We will have a hard
fight on our hands. II cOndi-
tions continue to improve and
the nation is enjoying reason
ably fair prosperity, the Demo
Gratis will be left in a hope
less minority.
"N0 party will make the
prohibition question the dom
inant issue unless it be the
party that is reasonably salts.
fled it has little chance to win
and then adopts that issue as
. gambler might, taking its
hopes ON a hundred-t0-one shot
for victory.
Prohibition No Issue
prohibition is a social ques-
tiOn. 1t is not truly an
economic or political issue, so
far as a presidential campaign
is concerned. The effort to
blame agricultural depression
on prohibition seems prepOster.
Gus to me, when the wits in
the same breath assert the
nation is spending between
three and eight billion dollars
annually on c0ntraband 'IiuU0rS.
The two statements are in
direct conflict.
"The real cause of agricul.
tural depression is Over.prOduc-
tiOn, or the production of q
greater supply in particular
farm products than the people
can consume. This is attribut-
able to the fact that the Amer.
lean people are eating less
bread-which means wheat
and less corn products per
capita than when agriculture
was prosperous. The people
simply are eating different
foods. 1t is significant that
In the very period, in which
wheat and corn consumption
shows q decline or the per
capita basis, the consumption
Of fruit and green vegetables
has increased.
Hints Doctors to Blame
ut may be that doctors are
the cause Of our farm depres-
sion. But whatever the cause,
the people are not eating as
much wheat or corn as before,
and that is the main reason
for the Over-prOduction."
Senator Hastings cannot SCI
the tariff as a major issue mex
year. He recalled that Demo
cratic leaders, one after thu
other, endorsed a protective tariff
In 1928 and the Democratic con
vention subsequently adopted {
plank advocating a tariff tt
equaliZe the "costs Of production
at home and abroad" He added
"To my mind it is absurd to
insist the tariff has affected
our foreign trade. In truth,
in this day of world depression,
If we did not have the tariff
protection granted by the
SmOot-Hawley bill. foreign ma
tiOnS would have stolen our
home markets with their
cheaper products, manufactured
under European wage scales.
and under.sOld our own mer-
chants, paraIyZing American
industry and commerce. We
have been prevented a grave
panic by the tariff wall and
I believe the American people
realize it,"
Record is an Asset
Senator Hastings regards thu
Hoover's administrations recor'
In foreign affairs as a distinc
asset for the 1882 campaign
though he does not expect it II
become an important issue. HI
explained:
There will be no real issue
on foreign affairs. 1t never won
any political party anything
and the party that tries to
make foreign affairs a dOmi-
nant issue usually loses that
election. OF course the Admin
istratiOn'S record in handling
foreign affairs has been ex-
tremeIy pleasing to the great
mass of our people and is bound
to attract sympathetic cOnSid.
Grafton in the next campaign.
If the Democrats try to attack
that record, they will lose the
election - particularly If they
seek to make it a dominant