Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-02
ThePOlitical Mill
By C. Could Lincoln.

tional election, is likely 20 have some
thing to do with the selection of the
next Speaker Of the House. Not only
may It have its effect on the political
majority of the House when that oody
meets here, but the views of the candi-
dates ON national prohibition may be
taken into consideration In the actual
nomination and election OF the new
Speaker. Out in Michigan, the Demo-
cratic candidate in the eighth congress
sional district, Hart, for the vacancy
caused by the death Of the late Repre-
sentative Vincent, is a wet, while his
Republican opponent. Eldred, Is q dry.
The Democrats are hoping that the
wet issue viii help them out in TINS
district.
There was q good deal Of speculation
as to the reason that the late Speaker
Nicholas Longworth, who represented
the wet first congressional district OF
Ohio and who was known TO Sympa-
thize personally with the anti-prohibi-
tionists, kept mum on the wet and dry
issue after he became Speaker. His
failure to declare himself for repeal of
the eighteenth amendment in recent
years not only puzzled his friends in
the district, but lost him many votes
on election day in 1890, it is said. 1t
appears that Mr.. Longworth had to
take two things into consideration while
he presided over the House as the Re-
publican Speaker With strongly dry
majority in the House, the leaders CT
the dry cause threatened to pr0vent Mr..
Longworth's election If he was to be a
militant wet while he was in the Speak
er's chair. The late Wayne B. Wheeler,
general counsel Of the Anti-Saloon
League of America, saw to 1t that this
was made clear to Mr.. Longworth.
4
The second factor in causing Mr..
Longworth to keep away from the public
discussion of the prohibition question
while he was presiding officer of the
House was the strongly dry position
which his party, the @. o. p, assumed
nationally. AS Republican Speaker of
the House, he would have only en-
barraSsed his party had he been pro-
nouncedly wet in his statements and
had he favored wet legislation.
Whether the present general super
intendent of the Anti-Saloon League,
DR.. Scott Mcbride, will undertake to
put the prohibition issue up to the
candidates for Speaker in the coming
session OF Congress remains to be seen.
Wayne Wheeler did that thing. It
seems likely, however, that the Anti
Saloon League and other dry organiza-
tons, following their usual tactics, VIII
endeavor to see that no wet, or at least
no member of the House who will be an
outSpoken wet, shall have the speaker
ship of the H.use, one OF the most i'm
portant posts in the Government Of the
United States. If the Democrats or
ganize the House, Representative Jack
Garner of Texas will be entirely salts
factory to the drys. He comes from
State which has repeatedly proved its
allegiance to prohibition and which
produced the author of the eighteenth
amendment, Senator Morris Sheppard,
a Senator whom it has repeatedly re-
elected. Just how the wet, Tammany
Democrats, for example, and the Demo-
Gratis from Massachusetts, and other
anti-prohibition States will regard Mr..
Garner is another matter. They are
likely to vote for him, however, en- party
grounds despite his dryness.
x X y
The two Republicans who have been
the most prominent candidates for the
Speakership are Representative John
@. Tilson of Connecticut and Repre-
sentative Bertrand Smell Of New York,
Tilscn halls from q wet district. But
he, too, in recent years has kept mum
In his public statements about the pro-
hibition issue. The same reasons that
impellad Mr.. Longworth, when Speak
er, to keep of the wet and dry issue in
his public statements worked on Mr..
Tilson, who was Republican leader of
the House under Mr.. Longworth.
When representatives Of wet organiZa-
lions have sought Mr.. Tilson to obtain
anti-prohibition statements from the
majority leader of the House, he has
told them that because of his position
he did rot care to say anything about
the issue. 1t has been generally under
stood in his district that If opportunity
arose for a real stroke at national pro-
hibition Mr.. Tflson would be there to
do his part.
Representative Smell who comes
from a dry upstate district in New
York. would undoubtedly be satisfac-
tory to the dry organizations and to
the drys in Congress Possibly his dry
stand may help him in the final show
down in the contest for the Republican
nomination for Speaker. The new
House is strongly dry, probably three
to one or more, In its membership. 1t
does not seem likely that it will put at
its head a militant wet, or one who
will continue to be militantly wet while
he is the presiding officer of the House
The suggestion has been made that
Tilson and Smell may kill each other
off in the Republican caucus to pick
a candidate for Speaker, and COM
promise candidate. probably from the
Middle West would be nominated in
the end If compromise candidate is
the answer to the duel between the two
leaders, that compromise candidate will
not be militant wet.
X n
In Progressive Republican circles
things are beginning to hum. With
Gov. Pinchot of Pennsylvania, old Bull
Mooser and confidant of the late
Theodore Roosevelt, threatening to OPP
nose the denomination of President
Hoover in the East, and Senator Will
liam E. Borah of Idaho and Senator
Hiram Johnson Of California showing
signs of throwing their hats in the
ring for the Republican presidential
nomination next year, interest in the
nation of President Hoover grows
apace. The news that Senator Borah
was considering, at least, a proposal
that he become a presidential candi-
date followed fast on the heels of
statement in California by Senator
Johnson which was interpreted as in
dicating that he might enter the Cali
fornia primaries next year against Mr..
Hoover.
not even Senator George w. Norris of
Nebraska. is as widely known to the
American people as Senator Bill"
Borah at present chairman of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
He has spoken 10 audiences in all parts
of the country He has been in the
limelight during his Senate career prob
ably more often than any other Senator
But Senator Borah has always felt that
geographically he was weak when it
came to a contest for a presidential
nomination. His State, Idaho. has only
votes in the electoral college, which