The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-04-07
The Rasknh Program

Chairman Raskob OF the Democratic national COM
mttee demands that his party in the next campaign
take definite stand prohibition and other matt onal
issues Following the meeting of the committee last
month"; at which he made similar appeal, he now
requests committee members to consider ane submit
by next fall their recommendations for party plat
form
That is all to the good
The committee has no power to dictate to the
tional convention But it has the specific authority
and the duty to make recommendations. That this
practice has not been followed in the past makes it
no less essential now.
Far from trying to tie the partys hands in advance
Raskob is taking the only course which can prevent
dictatorial control by politicians at the convention.
While submitting his own platform suggestions,
Raskob does not insist that they be accepted. He
invites suggestions and wholesale discussion
Only through such wide discussion rank and file
opinion be matured and effectively influence the con-
vention
Raskobs keenest fear is that his party will stradde
the prohibition issue again. He objects to such evasion
and hypocrisy on theoretical and practical grounds
He says it is unworthy Of the Jeersonian tradition
And he says that the party must take sides if it
to win and hold power
With that reasoning, we are in hearty agreement
Evasion of the prohibition issue by both parties is
doing more than anything else to defeat representa-
tive government and to destroy the only valid
cuse for the party system No man, wet or dry, can
deny that American voters talk more and think more
about the prohibition issue than any other. Fortu-
nately or unfortunately, that is an undeniable fact
And, SO long as the two political parties continue
to use their machine power to prevent public polit
Real decision on this question: they guilty of
spiracy against the American form of government.
It happens that we are on the Raskob side of the
wet-dry controversy We believe national prohibition
has failed has multiplied crime We believe in home
rule for the states that dry states shall the right
to be dry and wet states to be wet We believe that
is the road to temperate of liquor and to effective
social control.
But that consideration, in our mind, is secondary.
The major consideration is the right of the Amer
lean people to pass Judgment for themselves on this
prohibition experiment The Republican and Demo-
cratic conspiracy to prevent such orderly mandate by
the voters for continuance discontinuance of ma
tioual prohibition has produced vast and dangerous
civil disobedience In many states most of the popu-
lation hout the law, which they consider unjust.
To deny these otherwise law-abiding citizens the
right to try to change the law through their party
platforms and candidates is to mperil entire
structure of government by law.
No convinced American-much less follower of
If today the drys are allowed to substitute for repre-
sentative government the methods of dictatorship,
then some other dictatorship may reign tomorrow.
For the same reason. therefore, we welcome
Raskobs effort to force the Democratic party to
take a definite stand economic issues We well
come his effort no less because most of the
nomc issues we happen to disagree with his sug-
gested platform
Nest Of Raskobs specific economic program in our
opinion Is either meaningless baneful His planks
on tariff and farm relief evasive writ
ten by the political straddlers whom he scorns
His support of the fve-day week and old age and
unemployment insurance. is somewhat vague and is
oyershadowed by his reactonary attitude toward gov
eminent regulation Of big business.
Here is his first platform plank
TAKE the government out Of business and relieve