Evening star., 1932-08-19
PLATFORM ALLOWS
CURTIS DRY VIEW
Every Member of Party De-
Cides for Himself Attitude
Toward Prohibition.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

Vice President Curtis has taken ad'
vantage of that provision IN the Re-
publican national platform which per
nits members of the party to decide
for himself whether he will favor the
retention of the eighteenth amendment
or its repeal or its revision.
When this clause was inserted, party
leaders felt that it would save many
embarrassing situations, especially II
congressional elections.
When the voting in Congress occurs
on the question of changing the eight
eenth amendment. the Vice President
could not possibly have a vote, ever
though he presides over the Senate ano
occasionally has an opportunity to vote
when there is a tie. Since any change
in the Constitution must have two
thirds vote in both houses, the Vice
President does not have an opportunity
to register his approval.
May Aid in Dry States.
In this respect the position taken by
Mr. Hoover and that taken by Mr.
Curtis has no legal effect, though. OF
course, both men carry considerable
weight with rank and file Of the Re-
publican party. In the West, especial
ly, where Vice President Curtis will dc
ID
publicans will have the benefit of mis-
support of the dry SIDE of the issue
The Democrats, on the other hand
have a vice presidential candidate who
favors repeal and who comes from
Texas. which would cast its electoral
vote for the Democratic nominee this
time, irrespective of prohibition.
Mr. Curtis is a seasoned campalgner
He will make many speeches in dry
States. 1t is doubtful whether he Will
touch on the prohibition issue very
much. as Republican leaders are anxious
to keep it out of the campaign as much
as possible. Recently Kansas by its
vote showed that it was still dry, and
this probably influenced Mr.. Curtis,
whose background, however, has always
been on the dry side.
Just what effect the declaration by
Mr.. Curtis against repeal may have in
Eastern States is difficult to deter
mine. though the Democrats. of course,
will use it to emphasize that their
ticket is wet through and through
whereas one-half of the Republican
ticket is dry and the other half is
only to a certain extent wet.
VETS in East Affected.
In the Eastern States the Democrats
WHO are NCI NOOCo W AZ AAAS~A'e
that the Hoover Curtis ticket is not
going to help repeal the eighteenth
amendment, whereas the Roosevelt
Garner combination is committed TO
repeal.
This means that the Republican vets
will find it difficult to support their own
candidate unless economic and other
rsueS are more controlling with them.
Certain Republicans hereabouts, how
ever, declared today that Mr.. Hoovers
declaration in favor of change in the
eighteenth amendment would be all the
more effective in the Eastern States be-
cause it shows he is ready to discard
prohibition as it exists today, and that
personally he went farther than the
Republican platform and also did not
attempt to dictate to his own vice
presidential running mate.
The upshot of it will be that the
Democrats will get that part Of the wet
vote which is primarily interested in
the choice of a President on the pro-
hibition issue-something, however,
which the Republicans say they could
not expect to get anyway unless their
platform had declared for outright re-
peal.
(Copyright, 1922
COMMENT VARIES WIDELY.