Evening star., 1932-07-18
The Political Mill
By G.. Could Lincoln.

quit and gone nome. SenhLOrlal and
congressional tempers were strained al
most to the breaking point before the
final gavel fell in both houses, and for
q time 1t looked as though there would
be no adjournment because of the Bit
ter feeling engendered. When a Re-
publican Senator, even Senator who
has been; generally speaking, anti
administration, in open debate in the
snls ,ne,nn + tell pil' ,earef ., the
Republican side of the Senate that he
noyes Uup AeAlo..a1S III Tile RepublI-
can le-Sc--'s hoa-e 'tete-Indiana-w
defeat him for reelection next Novem-
Der, things are getting bit rough. It's
not a chubby thing, either from the
standpoint of the G. o. P. or. indeed,
|, of the Senate itself. But that is what
happened Saturday night when Sena
tor Couzens Of Michigan wished the
Indian, or Indiana, sign on Senator
Jim" watson. Senator Couzens. by
the way, has seen the Democratic tide
rising In his own State. He does not
have to run for % re.slection himself this
inc Democrats anyway. ~ Will
Senator Watson, however, has a real
battle on his hands in the Hoosierdom.
| The signs of revolt against the Repub-
lican party have been many in recent
years in Indiana, and four years ago,
even in the days of the great prosperity,
the State might have gone Democratic,
because of local conditions, had the
Democratic ticket been headed by an
other than Alfred E. Smith. This year
| the ticket of the Democrats has a
Roosevelt at its head. During many
years, however, Senator Watson has
campaigned up and down his State and
he has a host of friends. Furthermore,
the old factions which fought him in
the past have come round to supporting
Watson What the Senator from Michi-
gan said about Mr.. watson on Satur-
day may be more helpful to the In
diana Senator than hurtful out in that
State. But any way you look ct it, if
Senator Watson wins this year it will
be by narrow margin, and with the
odds apparently at this writing against
him.
Senator Watson is one Of many men,
bers of Congress who are going home
now to mend their fences and who face
hard fights in the coming campaign.
Just how these returning Senators and
Representatives will be received Is a
question-whether they be Republicans
or Democrats. There has been a lot
of criticism of the Congress In the last
six months because of its slowness and
obduracy. One-third of the member
ship of the Senate has to be reelected
and the whole membership of the
House To win control OF the Senate
the Democrats have to pick up only
two seats now held by the Republicans.
Ii it be Democratic year, this will
be an easy thing to do, with senatorial
contests coming in Indiana, Colorado,
Connecticut, Illinois, Washington, Ne
yada, for example, where Republican in
cumbentS must fight to be returned.
X
The blow has fallen. The Senate
on Saturday voted by considerable
majority to take up for consideration
the Glass resolution calling for the re-
peal of the eighteenth amendment.
Nothing that has happened in these
last months, and plenty has happened,
is a better indication of the great wet
sweep of sentiment The vote was 81
to 81 to take up the resolution, and
undoubtedly had it come to a vote in
the Senate the resolution would have
received majority vote, though wheth-
er it would have received two-thirds
vote, the necessary vote to put through
resolution proposing a constitutional
amendment Is another thing. 1t missed
having two-thirds on the motion to
take 1t up by a couple of votes only.
The Glass resolution, it is true, follows
more closely the Republican platform
than the Democratic on the liquor Ques-
ton. But nevertheless the Democrats
rallied to it pretty thoroughly, with 20
Senators voting for taking up the reso-
luton and only 4 against it. The Re-
publicans, on the other hand, were
much more evenly divided, with 16 for
the resolution and II against it. If the
Democrats wished, as they probably
did, to show the country that they were
really in favor OF doing away with the
prohibition amendment and that the
Republicans were not, they helped to
paint that picture on Saturday. Per-
haps they felt it necessary to do some
thing about it in view of the refusal Of
the Democratic Senators to support the
Bingham beer bill a few days earlier,
although the Democratic platform
promises the people beer Immediately.
Among the 20 Democratic Senators
who voted for taking up the Glass re-
peal resolution were plenty of Southern
Senators. Indeed. Senator Glass him
self is Southerner and rated for
years a confirmed dry Voting with
him were other confirmed drys, includ-
ing McKellar of Tennessee, Barkley of
Kentucky, who used to make speeches
for the Anti-Saloon League; Black OF
Alabama, Ashurst of, Arizona, Nicely OF
West Virginia and Fletcher and Tram
nell of Florida. A prohobitionlst must
rub his ewes in wonder when he reaos
this array Of Senators voting for repeal
of the eighteenth amendment.
Senator Pat Harrison of Mississippi,
on Friday lashed into the Republicans
and ridiculed Senator Bingham'S beer
bill. offered as an amendment to the
home loan bank bill and to almost every
other piece Of legislation considered.
Senator Harrison had explained to the
Senate and to the Republicans that the
Democratic wet plank, adopted in Chi
cago, was intended to be guide in the
coming National campaign, and that 1t
was not intended to pledge the men,
hers of the present Congress at the
session just closed to vote for beer or
repeal of the eighteenth amendment.
On Saturday, however, his Democratic
colleagues seemed to take a different
view of the matter and valliantly went
to the front for the wet cause. This
made Senator Bingham inquire what
Senator Harrison had meant when he
said that the Democrats were not
bound at that time by the platform
plank on prohibition.
Senator Harrison. however. in his
address to the Senate, made it clear
that he expected the Democrats to carry
out the pledge in their prohibition
plank if they win at the polls next No
vember He said:
mo one ever dreamed that the ques-
ton would come up in this session OF
Congress, and from q Democratic
standpoint it would be foolish thing
for us to try to take action now. Let
those who want to modify. whether 1t
be in Connecticut, or up in Rhode
Island. or in New Jersey, those who
want the Volstead law modified. vote
the Democratic ticket, vote for the
platform that insures that; and after
the 4th of March, if they will give us
enough votes here, we will put 1T over
for them"
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