Evening star., 1932-01-07
The Political Mill
BY C.. Gould Lincoln.

made discovery. He says that th'
South is not so dry after all. Fol
that reason in part he believes that
his home rule" plan for the control oi
the liquor traffic is likely to go through
and h ratified by the requisite num-
Der 6Y States, although there are those
who do not believe that such an end
can be accomplished in a hundred
years"
His prohibition proposal for the
Democrats MIR. Raskob denominates a
referendum But it differs from the
original submission of the eighteenth
amendment only in method as a ref
erendum Mr.. RaSkob's referendum
calls :Cr tkc submission: of his hons
rule plan to the voters through State
constitutional conventions, elected par
tlcularly to consider that question. The
eighteenth amendment was submitted
TO the voters through the State Legis-
latureS. whose members were elected
by the people, though not merely foi
the purpose Of passing upon the prohi-
bition question.
X X X
Once the "home rule" plan of Mr.
RaSkob is submitted by Congress to the
State conventions, the question before
the people who elect the members of
the State constitutional conventions as
| proposed becomes Immediately a wet
and dry affair. Those voters who be-
lleVe in national prohibition will nat
urally oppose it, for it does away with
national prohibition and permits the
individual State to legalize the man.
ufacture and sale of alcoholic bever-
ages. Those voters who favor the man.
ufacture and sale Of liquor will vote for
II. MI RaSkob contends that drys and
vets alike can we'll afford to vote in
Congress for the submission of the
, nome rule plan constitutional amend
i ment advanced By him because they
should be willing to have the people
speak on the question of national pro-
hlbltlon. AS matter of history, how
| ever, 1t was only those members OF
congress who came to support the pro-
hibition cause who voted for the sub
mission Of the eighteenth amendment
to the people through their State Legis-
latureS. 1t was referendum which
the vets in Congress and out took very
good care to oppose.
x x x
| However, Mr. Raskob may be able tc
| get his plank, or one very similar to it
INTO the Democratic national platform
In the first place, there will likely bt
as many wet" delegates to the Demo
cratic national convention as will bt
| "ory, perhaps more. The platform i
adopted by majority vote in thu
| national convention. Also. there is 6
great demand that some common
| ground may be found en- which the
vets and the drys in the Democratic
party may stand or at least move about
| IN friendly kind of way. They do not
wish great break between the tw;
wings Of the parry the Southern dryy
and the Northern vets, over this issue.
X X X X
| The vets in the Democratic party art
turther encouraged toSay by the vic.
| tory Tuesday Of a wet Democrat in tht
| first New Hamp-hire congressional dis.
| tr1ct, where Rogers, the Democrati.
nominee, won in the by-election ovel
| Bartlett, the Republican dry. However
the hard times had far more to do with
the victory Of Rogers on Tuesday thar
| did the liqucr question, and many o.
| the Democrats are quick to realize tha
| fact, even the vets. 1t was the same
thing in Michigan, where the eighth
district was carried in November by
| wet Democrat over a dry Republican
| Some people ere seeking to make i
appear that these victories have beer
won because of the wet and dry issue.
X
| Gov Albert C. Ritchie IS to be tn
guest OF honor at the annual Jackson
| day dinner OF the Concord Club in Bal
| timore tonight. 1t is reported that Gov
Ritchie will state his position with re-
! gard to the Democratic presidential
nomination very clearly at this dinner
| which is to be the real launching o
! his campaign for the presidential nomi
nation. No one has doubted that Gov
| Ritchie would be in the ring when tn
| battle started. But there has been
reluctance Of candidates for the presi
/ Dental nomination to come forward
Indeed, the comments SO far hear,
! from men who have been mentione,
| prominently for the nomination hav
been dlScouraging in tone. Newton Z
Baker and Owen Young have declares
their wish not to get into politics. Gov
Roosevelt of New York, though it ha
! long been realized that he was a can
| didate for the nomination, has sal
only that he is attending to his Job a
Governor of New York, lntimating tha
| he is not thinking of the presidency
And now Gov. Ritchie is about to breaI
the ice. Before long some of tn
States will be holding presidentia
preferential primaries. They, too, Wi
help to bring the presidential candi
! dacieS out in the open. The only Re
| publican who SO far has announce,
as a candidate against President Hoo
Ver's denomination is former Senate
France of Maryland, who has opene,
headquarters in Washington. But tina
| does not mean that other Republican
from Hiram johnson of California L
| Calvin Coolidge of Northampton, Mass
have not been importuned to get int
the race. Indeed, they are being urge
to do so right now. Former Presiden
| Coolidge, however, has continued t.
turn deaf ear to all those who ar
/ urging him to become a candidate O
at least permit the National Conven
! ton to nominate him. He has sen
one or two of them away with a fiea il
| their ears.
A new chapter, dealing with Sena
| tor William Z. Borah OF Idaho, ha!
| been added to THE Mirrors of 1882,
first published anonymously, but who's,
authorship has since been announced
with Ray T. Tucker of the Scripps
Howard newspapers as the author. Tn,
Borah chapter is to take the place o,
! the chapter on the late Dwight w
Morrow of New Jersey. Mr.. Tucke,
| pictures Senator Borah as much hap.
pier in the Senate than he would be il
the White House. The Senator"
imagine, would prefer to be a perpet.
ual puzzle than President" said Mr.
Tucker, who adds: The presidency
would afford less opportunity for hi:
peculiar genius than does the Senate
He is attracted by causes, net by poll
| cies." However, in the opinion of Mr.
Tucker, Borah may openly oppose Mr.
| Hoover this year in the presidential
race, and the author said: Certain i
is that he will not again campaign
| for Mr.. Hoover" An amusing anec.
dote of Borah and Coolidge Is given
in the chapter, as follows:
Toward Taft and Coolidge he wa,
| ever cold. He never lifted his hand O,
voice for either one in a presidential
campaign. In fact, he was unable tc
restrain his feelings for the little Yer.
monter When Coolidge asked him t.
! Straignten cut the vice preSidentia