Evening star., 1932-03-15
REPUBLICAN VETS
SEEK VOTE PLANK
Many See Resubmissjon as
"a Way Out" for Party
in June.
Continued From First Paee)

party to place in the party platform O
referendum plank. At that time Sena-
tor Fess secuted the idea. Senator Fess
has long been an ardent dry.
But the chairman of the Republican
National Committee realizes that a real
struggle Is to come in the national con-
vention over the wet and dry question
and the proposal for a resubmission OF
the eighteenth amendment.
May Be Better Now.
Some Of the drys in the Republican
party are saying today that perhaps il
would be better to have the referendum
on national prohibition now, when ap-
parently the drys are in command of
the situation, rather than put it of and
have it forced at later date. On the
other hand, there are drys who believe
that prohibition, with continued and
stronger efforts for enforcement, will
grow in popularity and that resubmis-
sion may never come.
1t is no secret that Postmaster Gen.
eral Walter Brown and Secretary Ogden
Mills OF the Treasury, both members of
the Presidents cabinet, are strongly in
favor of resubmission plank. Post
master General Brown is like Senator
FesS from Ohio. which has become a
wet and dry battle-ground in the last
year or two, when in the past it was
considered one of the strongest dry
States in the Union.
There seems little likelihood that an
effort to commit the Republican party
to an out-and-out repeal plank on the
prohibition issue will be seriously under
taken. Many of the wet leaders in the
party believe that the resubmission of
referendum course would be preferable,
far less offensive to the drys generally
speaking and acceptable to the vets
They do not believe that the Demo-
Gratis in their national convention will
place a straight-out repeal plank in
their platform. II the two platforms
conform in great measure on this sub
ject Of prohibition, both pledging a
referendum, prohibition as an issue be-
tween the two parties. may be largely
eliminated. But the fight in congress
sional districts and in senatorial cleo
tions over this wet and dry issue. even
under such circumstances, would be
waged as briskly as ever, with the vets
and the drys seeking to commit the
candidates individually for or against
resubmission.
May Reach Convention Floor.
The Republicans continue to hope
that President Hoover will keep aloof
from this contest and let the convention
decide for itself. So far there has been
no intimation from the President what
his attitude is or will be.
Clarence C. Hamlin, Republican ma
tional committeeman from Colorado
has prepared a referendum plank for
the platform which he brought with
him to Washington for discussion with
his committee associates. It would COM
NIT the party to the proposal of the
Wickersham Commission, leaving 1t to
Congress to say whether the present
scheme Of things was to continue OF
whether there was to be resubmission
or whether Congress would adopt some
other system Of liquor control.
While the proposal for resubmis.
sion plank may not command a ma.
jority of the SO members of the Com.
mittee on Resolutions at the nationa
convention, it will have the support OF
nearly half Of the members of thai