Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-15
Raskob Plea on Liquor Issue
Is Productive of Confusion

| Raskob advocates voting against the
Republican party as q protest against
| its conduct of Government affairs he
not only jumps into the Morrison boat,
but picks up one of the oars"
| Believing that the Raskob position
will eventually attract to his banner
thousands OF Republican votes and
much Republican money" the New
! York Evening Post declares that these
men probably wouldn't cross party lines
for Roosevelt, but good many thou
sands of them hereabout would surely
do 1t for Owen D. Young, Richie or
even Newton Baker,
| Whatever their personal opinions on
! questions of the hour" advises the At
cratic National Committee could hardly
presume to set them up as the party's
! platform for 1882. That duty and
power belong to no lesser body than the
/ National Convention itself, chosen by
the party's electorate and acting only
after full discussion of the issues as
| they then and there may be presented.
The delegates to that convention will
have ideas and convictions, as web as
responsibilities, of their own, and will
be IN no wise accountable to the Ma
tional Committee. ANY attempt, there
| fore, of the committee to dictate to
them would be, in the Journals tudg-
ment, offlcious and altogether Ill adj
! vised'
cit is unprecedented" asserts the
Chattanooga News, land for this
scheming prostitution of the chairman
ship of the National Committee the
monopoly minded former Republican
ought to be deposed from the high
| councils of the Democratic party" The
Raleigh News and Observer advises
that he should pay up the debts he con-
tracted and get out of the chairman
ship" The Abilene Reporter Is coz
WINGED that his bald-faced attempt to
force the delegates to next years con-
vention to swallow a predigested plat
form and a predigested presidential
candidate Is doomed to failure" That
the matter should be left to the con-
vention Is ths opinion of the Jersey
City Journal and the Kansas City Star.
The Newark Evening News observes
that che gets rather chilly response"
The Worcester Telegram finds that his
position lacks genuine clarity" The
Charleston (W va Daily Mail holds
that he would like to make in advance
a platform which would logically call
for the nomination of Mr.. Smith" The
Harrisburg Telegraph concludes that he
would like to compromise on a ques-
ton on which there Is no compromise"
His letter is well designed to worry
the life out of politicians too numerous
to mention" AYERS the Baltimore Eve
ming Sun, with the conclusion that
speaking generally. any proposition
that worries the politicians is likely to
be good for the country" The Chicago
Daily News states that 1.-The outcries of
Senator Norris may serve a good pur-
pose. for it is true that a national
campaign fought out solely on the pro-
It'll - .,~ls
narrow affair" The Omaha World
Herald argues: SIT looks just little
as If Mr.. RaSkob would like to elini-
nate as many differences as possible
between the two parties. If there is to
be any hunting done at all in the eco
nomic jungle, let the Republicans do 1t
with slingshotS and the Democrats
with popguns. But for the real aRd
bloody battle, let both parties unite In
a glorious Nationwide squirrel hunt,
with the Democrats bent upon killing
the squirrel and the Republicans upon
saving 1t. This has all the appearance of
burlesQue. It seems like an ill-timed
joke. But there is no joke about it.
Mr.. Raskob Is in deadly earnest. And,
because he is their chairman and Yields
great power, Democrats may as well.un-
derstand now as later that unless they
take an unylelding stand for sanity Mr..
Raskob Is very likely to have his way"
Commenting upon Mr.. McAdoo's de-
tense of prohibition, the Roanoke
Times says: "McAdoo'S own political
day is past. His opposition to Raskob's
plan to commit the Democratic party
irretrievably to the wet side of the pro-
hibition question year in advance Of
the next presidential campaign is well
founded, however. and is in line with
the expressed ideas of an impressive
number of influential party leaders who
believe that economic issues should be
paramount in the 1882 contest for the
presidency
The Morgantown Dominion News
contends that neither Mr. McAdoo nor
any one else can say authoritatively that
the eighteenth amendment is here to
stay; that 1the majority of American
citizens persist in regarding prohibition
as paramount issue" and that I'VE
have never heard Of rule that compels
the party Chairman to keep his lips
tight closed on matters Of grave ma
tional concern"