Evening star., 1932-07-24

in this campaign is not yet
realized. The lines it will take
i are Just forming. Some OF those
lines are likely to be pretty sur
pSIsing. .,., ~, o,n,
enlightening persons who wish to
figure out for themselves just where
the country is going on prohibition:
To any one who follows the actual
developments and the actual docu-
ments, as distinguished from the loose
expressions of emotion on both SIDES,
will have little difficulty In seeing the
end of the road.
Persons who. whether wet or dry,
take the 100 per cent repeal plank in
the Democratic platform at its lace
value-in the sense that it will bind the
Democratic party-are going to be
seriously disappointed Persons who.
whether dry or wet, think the eight
eenth amendment is going to be re-
oealed absolutely and without qualiflca-
ton are going to be disappointed, the
vets disagreeably, the drys agreeably-
more or less.
The action of Democratic Senator
Carter Glass in proposing formally IN
Congress modification-not repeal
of the eighteenth amendment, is the
most meaningful thing that has hap
pened about prohibition in the cam
paign so far. 1t is far more important.
more decisive about the next phase OF
prohibition than the 100 per cent re-
peal plank which the Democratic ma
tional convention adopted, Senator
Glass proposal reflects the true posi-
ton of more than half the Democratic
party-not more than half the voters.
but more than half the Democratic
party as it is now represented in Con-
gress especially the House,. 1t reflects
the Democratic party as it will be rep
resented in the next Congress, as 1t
will be represented in whatever actual
action is taken about prohibition. What
Senator Glass has proposed is pretty
close to the thing that Congress will
ultimately do about prohibition and
close to what the country will do.
Opposition to Repeal.
The vets may as we'll forget the idea
that by getting a 100 per cent repeal
plank into the Democratic platform
they got the willingness of that party
to work for unqualified repeal. They
did not get that. They did not even
get willingness to not to resist repeal.
full half of the Democratic party
in Congress is opposed to 100 per cent
repeal This does not mean that this
half of the party insists on doing
nothing at all about prohibition. The
party as whole is willing to make
change AS it happens, the change
which the Democratic party in Con-
gress is willing to make is practically
Identical with the Republican plank.
Within a few weeks, a full half of
the Democrats running for Congress
and more than half Of the ones likely
to be elected-Vill have disavowed the
Democratic plank on prohibition and
u-in ho y1arcnna1 nIQnkS nf
their own. The personal planks will be
roughly identical with each other. All
will be roughly Identical with Senator
Glass proposal, and all will be roughly
identical with the Republican plank.
Their action will not help the Repub-
licans in the national election-but
most decidedly it will affect the course
of prohibition in Congress.
Let us look forward to actualities.
When the Congress about to be elected
meets, the Democrats will hold a Cau-
Gus on prohibition. In that caucus just
about half will come from Northern
cities and will be wet. The other half.
coming from the South and border
States and from rural districts OF West
ern and Northern States. will be dry.
1ike Senator Glass-dry in the sense OF
opposing repeal though willing to
modify
Agreement to Be Lacking.
That Democratic caucus will not
agree to put forward a formal pro-
posal in terms of the 100 per cent wet
Democratic plank Introduction Of such
a proposal will split the Democratic
caucus into two hostile camps, prac-
tically equal There is nothing that
can coerce the Democratic drys into
supporting 100 per cent repeal. Moth
Spo Carter Glass
Carter Glass is so are most OF the dry
Democrats in Congress. They will take,
and they already take the position. that
the Democratic national platform does
not bind them. If Franklin Roosevelt
should be President he cannot coerce
them; no President situated as he will
be would try to coerce them.
What will happen will be this In
Congress as a whole someone, whether
Democratic or Republican, will intro
duce a bill for 100 per cent repeal.
Someone else will introduce a bill for
modification, following roughly the
lines of Senator Glass proposal and of
the Republican platform. AS between
these two bills the Democrats will di-
vide almost equally. To certain ex-
tent the Republicans will divide also,
because just as Democratic drys are
disavowing their 100 per cent repeal
plank, so are some wet Republicans dis
avowing the Republican plank for mod
ification. The disavowals in the Re-
publican party. however. are less nu-
merous than those in the Democratic
party. The Republicans in the next
Congress will in general support the
Republican modification plank.
The result when action in Congress
on prohibition really comes is easy to
foresee. Most of the Republicans and
about half the Democrats will be Just
about enough to max" I'D the necessary
two-t thirds. They will support qualified
repeal. The 1C0 per cent repeal plank
won't have chance. The proposal
that will actually come out of Congress
will be a modification plank roughly
identical with Senator Glass proposal
and roughly identical with the RepubE-
can plank That is the direction the
change will take when it comes to the
actuality of statutory action.
Party Not Reflected.
1t is true the Democrats in conven-
ton at Chicago adopted the 100 per cent
repeal plank by ma icrity Of more than
four r-fifths-934 to 213 That did not,
does not and will not reflect the Demo-
cratic party in Congress. Senator car
ter Glass of Virginia has already sald IL
does not bind him and as Senator Glass
has gone publicly so will scores OF other
Southern Democrats go publicly or
tacitly.
The drys at the Democratic conven-
ton did not put up powerful opposl-
ton for reasons too complex to recite
here. In part, they feared that
Knockout resistance by them to repeal
might injure their chance to give the
presidential nomination to Roosevelt.
An hour after that plank was adopted,
a leading Virginia Democrat, high IN
public life, said in private converse
ton: "On that repeal plank we cannot
carry Virginia for many OF our con-
gressional candidates and might even
fail to carry it for President We are 60
ing to have in Virginia prohibition
position of our own. which will be for
modification but not for repeal, and We
sttit..Ia s.la isa