Evening star., 1932-04-18

Secretary Of Agriculture Hyde's sup
port OF prohibition referendum i'm
mensely heartens the vets, and Repub-
lican vets in particular. 1t also lends
co-roborative evidence to the steadily
crystallizing theory that President
Hoover has become "open- minded" on
the subject. Secretary Hydes readiness
to have the voters reconsider 1t alignS
him with three other Hoover cabinet
enthusiastically of War Hurley,
Secretary OF the Treasury Mills and
Postmaster General Brown-who are
rated strong advocates of wet plank
In the 1882 G. o. P. platform. Messrs.
Hurley, Mills and Brown are Mr.. Hoo
ver's closest cabinet advisers in politi-
cal sense. Brown was the captain of
the Hoover pre-convention forces in
1928, and Mills was attached to the
high command at Kansas City. Hur-
ley is today the administrations princi-
pal public spokesman. With Hyde out
tor a referendum, nearly half the cabi-
net has gone wet. Predictions are now
rampant that the hour approaches when
the President will cause it to be known
that he does not seek to impose his
own views at Chicago in June, but like
a good party soldier will accept what
ever prohibition plank the convention
adopts. Things seems to be moving
all along the liquor line.
X X
Col Amos w. w. Woodcock, director
Of the Prohibition Bureau. now has
under lock and key the first oficial
census of New York City's Speakeasies.
He has just returned from a survey of
1t with his special force of Manhattan
enforcement agents. Sixty agents COM
pleted the census in just five days.
We're no longer guessing at the num-
Der of speakeasies in New York" the
colonel says, because we know" He
adds that the figures will not be made
public until after very mature con-
sideration," on the theory that 'if we
were at war, I'd hardly begin my work
by telling the enemy how much we
knew" That smacks of an impending
campaign against Gotham's most pop
ular and prosperous resorts. Former
Police Commissioner Grover Whalen es-
timated that in his time a couple of
years ago, there were 80 900 speakeasies
in what is now being called Blue
York The suggestion of forthcoming
raids is supported by the Circumstance
that while in the big city Col. Wood
cock held protracted pow-wow with
United States Attorney George z.
Medalie.
Organized labor, which was enthusi-
astic over the arrival of Justice Ben
jamin N. CardoZo on the Supreme
Court bench, is rejoicing that his maid
en- opinions fully justify confidence in
his liberalism. Justice CardoZo'S first
official act last week was to write
dissenting opinion, in which he was
joined by Justices Brandeis and Stone.
Before the day was over the court
divided on two other occasions, with
Cardozo. Brandeis and Stone on the
same side. In one of the cases the
baby member of the bench was with
the majority, which included Chief
Justice Hughes and Justice Roberts be-
sides BrandeiS and Stone. In another.
the minority diSsenters consisted of
Cardozo, Stone, Brandeis and Roberts
! Labor, organ of the railroad brother
hoods, SAYS: 1T was freely predicted.
that Justice Cardczo, like his prede-
cessor, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes
! another famous liberal and great dis
| senter,' would line up in most cases
| with Brandeis and Stone. He has GER
| tatnly started out that way"
y
Washingtonians are in receipt of
what looks like a reprint from the
| Congressional Record. but which turns
| out to be a pamphlet entitled 1.-The
| Confessional Record and q typograph-
ical fac sirnile Of the diary of Congress.