Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-12-05
The Political Mill
By C. Could Lincoln.

The Democrats today are to be called
upon to show their loyalty to their plat
form pledges. Speaker Garner has put
the question squarely to them. Either
they meant what they said when they
promised in their platform uncondi-
tional repeal of the eighteenth amend
ment. or they didn't. A great deal was
made during the campaign of the
lucidity of the Democratic platform as
it applied to the prohibition issue. The
Republican pledges regarding prohibit
ton were held up to derision Now, it
appears, the Democrats in the House
are to be put to the test. The
Speaker is perfectly right in his stand,
which Is entirely unequivocal. The
resolution for the repeal of the eight
zenith amendment which he has had
prepared and proposes to get a vote on
in the House carries out the party's
pledge.
Less courageous, perhaps more prac-
tical, men in the Democratic party are
shying away from the acid test put up
to them by the Speaker. They are say
ing that provisions should be written
into the repeal resolution making re-
turn of the saloon impossible and prom
Using adequate protection to the States
which remain dry. They insist that it
Is impossible for the vets to get a
resolution through Congress for uncon-
ditional repeal of the prohibition
amendment to the Constitution, and
that 1t would be even more impossible
for them to have such an amendment
ratified by SO of the 48 States once it
had been submitted to them. 1t is even
pointed out that the Committee on Reso-
lutions which drafted the plank pledg-
ing repeal of the eighteenth amendment
was made up almost entirely of men
who did not hold either legislative or
executive Office, and who, therefore,
did not understand that dry constituents
have votes as well as the wet constitu
entS. Otherwise. it is suggested, the
Platform Committee would have gone
little further than did the Republicans
in dealing with prohibition.
X x <
It looks as though the Democratic
party, having promised outright prohibit
ton In its campaign for election to
office, may have gone too far 1t looks,
too, as though the party itself may split
over this question. The Democratic
leaders in the Senate say very candidly
that they see no prospect of putting
through a straight repeal resolution at
the short session of Congress now OPEN
ing. II the effort for such a resolution
is to be made, it must be made when
the new Congress assemblies But even
then the Democratic leaders do not
believe that such a resolution can get
through the Senate. In other words,
they say that some kind of a COM
promise must be made Otherwise the
fanatic vets will prevent, they say, any
change in the Constitution dealing with
prohibition. In view of the overwhelm-
ing votes needed in Congress and in
the States to put through prohibition
repeal, there may be something in what
these Democratic leaders are saying.
But as Mr.. Garner has said, it was
straight repeal and no compromise that
the Democrats promised the people in
their platform
Before many days the country will
near even more about beer and the DOS
sibility Of its Equalization at the pres
ent session of Congress than it has
heard in the past. It is proposed that
the Volstead act be modified so as to
permit the manufacture and sale of
30 per cent beer. That is beer con-
tanning 30 per cent alcohol by weight,
or about 4 per cent by volume. The
proponents Of this measure would con-
fine the manufacture and sale of bev-
erageS containing SO much alcohol to
malt drinks. They intend to specify
in their bill, If they can, the beverages
shall be of that character, beer, ale,
porter and the like. 1t seems rather
ridiculous that a drink of this kind
containing 80 per cent alcohol should
be permitted while the law should place,
q ~ IN NrriY1 So.
PIE, containing a similar amount of al
cohol. But there Is little rhyme or rea-
son in the proponents of beer at this
stage of the game. They talk, too, of
legalizing beer, declaring in effect that
it is nom intoxicating beverage if it
contains 80 per cent of alcohol by
weight and no more, and at the same
time of having the Federal Government
say how it shall be sold, whether in
bottle or on draft or both, and where
it shall be sold. They have dug I'D
decisions Of the Supreme Court which
seem to hold that the Congress, be-
cause OF the eighteenth amendment,
has right to control the sale of nom
Intoxicating beverages which contain
alcohol. This may be correct, but it
will seem like lot of nonsense to the
ordinary run of the mine citizen.
There is one Of the States in the
Union which is reckoned still dry. al
though the Democrats carried it in No.
vember. This is the Sunf1ower State,
Kansas. In proof of the dryness of the
State it is said that all the candidates
for Congress, Democratic and Repub-
lican alike, ran as drys, except one
Democrat, who was beaten. Senator
Arthur Capper, who knows his Kansas
as well and probably better than any
man in public life today, insists that
the people of the State are still welded
overwhelmingly to the cause of pro-
hibition. Mr.. Capper Is one of the few
members OF the Senate and House who
are still ready and willing to lift up
their voices and talk publicly in favor Of
continuing the eighteenth amendment
just as it is. If there is doubt in the
mind of any one regarding the weak
ening Of the drys in Congress, let him
go out and try to get speaker among
them to discuss prohibition in his own
district or State, or in a national forum,
and take the position that there must
be no change in the prohibition laws,
unless the change Is for stricter en-
forcement.
Senator Cordell Hull of Tennessee IS
one Democrat who has not changed his
mind regarding the need of doing
something about the tariff He wants
this country to take the lead in bring
ing about an immediate 10 per cent
horizontal reduction of the tariff duties,
in the hope of stimulating international
trade. The Tennessee Senator is con-
WINGED that permanent improvement in
the oP0nnFoiP nnV1difiOv,c If
and the world cannot begin until steps
are taken to break down the trade bar
riers which have been raised here and
abroad. There are other Democrats in
Congress, however, who shy away from
tackling the tariff issue right away.
They do not look forward to a special
session of the new Congress next Spring
dedicated to general revision of the
tariff. They do not, indeed, want a
special session at all. But If one must
come, they prefer to let it deal with
taxes prohibition and farm relief, and