Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-01
HOLDS PROHIBITION
COMPLETE FAILURE
Former Senator WadsWorth
Makes Declaration at lnsti-
=! tute of Public Affairs.
BY THOMAS r.. HENRY.
star Correspondent of The Star.

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, July
a.-Prohibition staggered and strutted
around the campus today
1t was the annual free-for-a1 on this
question at the Institute OF Public Al
fairs. The chief opponent was former
United States Senator James w. Wads-
worth, jr, of New York. He urged
referendum on proposed amendment
to the Constitution repeating the
eighteenth amendment.
The conclusions in the re0ort Of the
wickersham Commission, Mr.. Wads-
worth said, "are in utter contradiction
to the deductions which must be drawn
from the body of the report itself ana
to the observations made individually
by a substantial majority OF the COM
nissioners. But I wish copy OF the
report could be placed in the hands
OF, every adult in the United states. IL
clarifies thought"
This report, he declared. itself bareS
che progress from the ratification OF
the eighteenth amendment to "a state
of corruption described as more extern
sive than any we have ever expert
enced" vivid picture is drawn. ne
continued. "of the Federal Government
attempting to reform the personal con-
duct of individuals and being left al
most alone in the attempt" The re-
port shows clearly, he insisted, that
the object of tie amendment was not
to close the saloon, as was generally
supposed by its supporters at the time,
"but to establish universal total abSti-
nence by legal fiat"
prohibition Is Failure"
Defenders of the eighteenth amend
hent," he said "have repeatedly as
serted by way of justification that some
30 States have adopted prohibition
prior to the submission OF the amend
ment and thus that this was a step
consistent with overwhelming PUBIC
opinion. This Is very far from &C
curate. Not more than IL States, and
they contained a very small minority
of the total population, had what We
know as bone-dry prohibition. The
rest had forbidden manufacture and
sale, but they had not forbidden trans
portation, importation and possession.
They were not total abstinence States.
They were not ready Tor national
universal, total abstinence.
The plain truth is that national
prohibition is failure. 1t has failed
to establish total abstinence as the
generally prevailing rule OF conduct,
but it has brought upon us evils greater
than those from which escape was In
tended. 1t Is a fundamental error IN
the structure Of our Federal Govern
ment. We have had trouble ever since
we put 1t in our Constitution and Will
not escape from this trouble until we
take 1t out completely"
Women Enliven Debate.
The prohibition debate was enlivened
BY the discussions of Mrs. Ella A.
Boole, president Of the national
w. C. T. u, and Mrs. Carroll Miller OF
Pittsburgh, representing the Women'S
Nrrro for National Prohibition
Reform. Mrs Boole insisted that pro-
hibition came as the result of $50 years
or experiment in various ways to regu-
late the liquor traffic. It was found
impossible, she said, to bring about
temperance by moral suasion.
At present, she said, there is a world
organization fighting against prohibi-
ton in the United States and against
temperance everywhere, with its head
quarters at an international wine Of
fee" in Paris, established by the wine
producing countries of Spain, France,
Portugal, Italy, Luxembourg and Tunis
Prohibition, insisted Mrs. Miller, Is
q denial of moral freedom. I'VE in
sist," she said, that we were born with
certain unalienable rights. The eigh-
teenth amendment has taken them
dren. We feel that never again Will
there be real building Of character and
true happiness in American life until
these rights are restored to us.
THE final test of a law Is not will
Rng obedience but the effect 1t has had
In making mankind better. Even the
most ardent supporters would scarcely
claim this for the eighteenth amend
nnent."
Economic Benefits Absent.
Prohibition, she said, has helped its
own in the past due to the claim that
It has made the country more pros
porous. But, she said, "if the pros
perity in the past had been due even in
q moderate degree to prohibition in
stead OF the advance in wages out
stripping the price Of commodities, then
some Of it would be apparent now.
The extravagant claims vanished over
night and today the so-called economic
benefits of prohibition are as dimcult
to find as jobs for our 100000 unem-
ployed.
The general property tax almost the
~Snly source of revenue available to
cities and towns, has become such
burden on real property that relief Is
imperative, DR.. F. G. Crawford Of SYRIA
cuse University told the institute.
The situation, he said, is that 80
per cent of the total wealth of the Ma
ton Is bearing IS per cent Of the total
tax burden, represented by the bulk
OF local taxes and a few State assess
ments. Real property, he pointed out,
must pay for the local streets, schools,
police and other municipal activities