Evening star., 1932-05-23
ROOSEVELT A DRY,
PICKETT INSISTS
Methodist Official Declares
Declaration for Repeal
Was InsinCere.

Gov Franklin D. Roosevelt Of New
York stood charged today with being a
wet for political purposes only" and
his declaration in favor of repeal Of
the eighteenth amendment was simply
"a sop to the vets"
The charge that Roosevelt is not a
sincere wet was made by Deets Pickett,
research secretary of the Methodist
Beard of Temperance, Prohibition and
Public Morals, writing in the April issue
Of the Voice, a publication distributed
among Methodist clergymen.
Pickett's article, which may have
serious repercussions among Roosevelt's S
really wet supporters, resembled an
Endorsement of the New Yorker by the
powerful dry lobby. In effect, Pickett
wrote, Roosevelt came out for repeal
only because such statement would
hold the wet vote in the North and
East, and if he wins the nomination
and election, the drys will have no
reason to feel that prohibition has been
repudiated"
The nomination of Gov Roosevelt
by the Democrats appears daily more
probable, although it is not yet certain"
the article said. Gov. Roosevelt. in
view of the two recent wet statements.
can certainly not be the first choice of
the drys in his party, but it should be a
mistake to consider him to be what is
known as a soaking wet When he
was in Washington, we knew him as
dry. His wife, unless she has very
recently changed her opinions. is a
prohibitionist, and indeed has made
prohibition speeches. Gov. Roosevelt is
a man who has no natural sympathy
with the saloon element.
Furthermore when the drys in his
party were faced by the necessity of
combating Raskob's atrocious proposal
to put the National Committee on
record as wet they defeated Raskob SO
decisively as to humiliate him. and it
is putting the fact automatically to say
that Gov. Roosevelt did not hinder
them in that fight. The conflict be-
tween Roosevelt and Smith at the pres
ing behind it. 1t has not served to
ALLEVIATE Gov. Roosevelt from the drys
of his party. who, indeed, constitute his
chief support, inasmuch as Roosevelt
strength has been principally in the
South and West"
Liberal Plank Forecast.
Representative Smell of New York
the House Republican leader, who is
slated for permanent chairman of the
convention, expressed the belief that the
Republican platform would contain @
liberal plank on prohibition.
Making clear he did not know group
of Republicans reported to be preparing
a draft of the prcpoced wet plank, Smell,
who has voted a dry, said he was sat
isfed something liberal on prohibition
will be in the platform adopted"
What it will be I don't know he
added. ut is pretty hard to take
position that the people cannot express
their sentiments on vitally important
economic and social problem"
Beer Bill "Grotesque."
Smell said the r-for-revenue vote
to be taken in the House today "is the
most grotesque kind of a gesture as
far as doing anything with prohibition
is concerned"
The vets and drys know the beer
vote does not mean anything as far as
handling the prohibition question is
concerned" he said Il do not believe
in trying to fool the people, for every
one who thinks knows you cannot have
3 to 4 per cent beer under the present
Constitution
Every one who thinks also knows
that before there is any degree of lib
erallzation, either the eighteenth amend
ment must be amended or repealed. I
think an amendment to the eighteenth
amendment would be the most salts
factory"