Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-26
The POlitical Mill
By C. Could Lincoln.

Democratic leaders-except the dry
ones-are continuing to fiirt with the
prohibition issue. They might as we'll
make up their minds to one thing. If
they put an anti-prohibition plank In
their platform. or plank calling for
reSubmission of the eighteenth amend
ment to the people, which is the same
thing as a proposal for repeal. the wet
issue will be the dominant one In the
coming campaign. AS AL Smith has
said, prohibition is an issue all the peo-
pie can understand. 1t is up to the
Democrats, therefore, to determine
whether this campaign is to be fought
over prohibition or over economic issues.
Efforts have been made to keep the de-
preston and the economic issues grow
ing out of it the main fighting ground
Of the campaign. But once let prohibit
ton be intertected definitely. with the
Democratic party or the Republican
party taking the wet side, and millions
Of people who might otherwise have
been controlled In their votes by eco
nomic problems will be controlled by
this issue, which has gripped the coun-
try now for years.
There Is plenty of dynamite in the
u.
of the Democratic National Committee
that the party platform pledge all
Democratic members of Congress to
vote to submit the eighteenth amend
ment to State constitutional conven-
lions elected to deal with the question.
Mr.. Raskob's assertion that he is OPP
posed to having the Democratic party
go on record for or against prohibition
in its platform, when 1t Is taken in
conjunction with his demand for this
referendum on the eighteenth amend
ment, means exactly nothing The ar
gument advanced by Mr.. Raskob that
drys can we'll vote for the referendum
does not appeal to the drys. 1t is only
those political drys, however. who have
become alarmed at the proportions of
the wet vote in their States or con-
gresSional districts who listen TO this
argument The dry who knows that his
constituents are in a dry frame Of mind
would never even play with the idea of
resubmitting the eighteenth amend
ment
When the Democratic leaders from
every section Of the country assemble
here January 8 and 9 for the Jackson
day dinner, to be given at the May
flower Hotel, and for the meetings of
the National Committee, this prohibi-
ton question is going to be aired thor
oughly. Three speakers for the Jack
son day dinner have been announced.
AL Smith. Jimmy Cox and John w.
Davis, the three living Democrats who
have in the past been nominated for
President, but not elected, are to make
speeches. If Gov. Smith Is as intent
upon making the wet issue a party
issue in the coming campaign as he
has been credited with being. he will
have an excellent opportunity to de-
liver himself of some thoughts on this
occasion.
Mr.. Raskob, issuing a statement in
reply to an editorial in the New York
Times, declared among other things
that he had been assured by former
Gov. AL Smith that Gov. Franklin D.
Roosevelt had not protested against
Mr.. Raskobs appointment to be chair
man of the Democratic National Com
mittee, back in 1923. A recently pub
lished biography of Gov. Roosevelt
gave a rather circumstantial story of
how Roosevelt had told Smith that he
was opposed to Raskob for ational
chairman, on the ground that would
accentuate the religious issue and the
west issue and that Raskob had been
considered a Republican and hat
anyway, he was too rich a man to PIT
az the head Of the Democratic cam
paign. Mr.. Raskob's statement with
regard to this matter is the first that
has come from any of the three men
mentioned, Roosevelt, Smith and Ras-
kob. Despite Mr.. Raskob's statement.
however, the story persists that the
chairman is row strongly opposed to
the nomination of Gov. Franklin D.
Roosevelt for President next year. It
seemS clear, however. that If Mr.. Ras-
kob is opposing a Roosevelt nomina-
ton he does not wish to have it as
sumed that he is opposing on personal
ground and because he himself was
opposed by the New York Governor for
the party craftsmanship.
Texas has given Jack" Garner the
necessary additional Democratic Repre-
sentative to make Gamers election as
Speaker of the House sure. That's as
it should be, since Mr.. Garner Is Texas
shining Democratic star today. The
election Tuesday of Richard M. Kleberg
to f1ll the vacancy caused by the death
of the lone Republican member of the
House from Texas, the late Harry M.
Wurzbach, has given the Democrats a
clear majority of one over all opposition
even if the two vacancies still existing
should be filled by Republican,. Despite
the fact that several Democrats were
on the ticket and only one Republican,
the Republican was so badly beaten
that he might as well not have started
Kleberg, the successful candidate and
now Representative-elect, has been
manager of the great King Ranch, the
largest ranch in the world, a million
acres in extent, which runs for miles
IL p
when Mexican bandits were making
raids into American territory and be-
fore the Pershing expedition was sent
into Mexico by President Wilson, the
King Ranch had an army of protectors
of its own, 1000 in number, with
artillery and machine guns, cavalry and
infantry. Kleberg in his younger days
was long, rangy cowboy.
X
The winning of the control of the
House by the Democrats brings no Joy
to the insurgent Republican group. con-
sisting of Representative La Guardia of
New York and a number of Representa-
tives from Wisconsin, the Dakotas and
Nebraska. The fact of the matter is
that the Republican insurgents now
become a very small minority of the
minority party. They no longer are the
DdldHCc VI POMCA' 1Alcy dIc IlOL Ill d
position to make terms. with any one
1t is true that they may still vote with
the Democrats against proposals of the
Hoover administration if they wish
But the Democrats can take care of
the Hoover proposals themselves. with
out the aid of the insurgent Republic
ans. This rather takes the edge off
the situation for the insurgents. Nor
does it appear that the Democrats are
inclined at all to be generous to the
insurgents The Republican insurgents
of the House however, continue to make
plans for a legislative program. In the
Senate, since the Democrats do not
publican insurgents led by Borah,
Norris and La Toilette, continue to hold
i If r.a.l.ar DA.l..... =.