Evening star., 1932-05-30

! With the defeat in both the Senate
/ and House of Representatives OF bills
providing for taxation of beer, the
country looks upon the proceedings as
an interesting preliminary to the meet
ingS of the party conventions and the
elections in the Fall. In some respects
the roll call results are viewed as a
test Of wet-and-dry sentiment.
'Wets, drys and neutrals," In the
opinion of the Roanoke World-News
ARE alike disguised with the spectacle
Congress makes of itself in turning
aside from the serious business of the
session to make of the wet-and-dry issue
a personal and political foot ball. The
Boston Transcript holds that no prog
ress in the direction of any reason
able solution of the liquor problem can
be attained by measures which are
either unconstitutional or unsatisfac-
tory" The Transcript suggests that
the people might find 2.75 beer so poor
a substitute for what they want that Its
sale would prove very limited"
The truth is" according to the New
, York Sun, that public dissatisfaction
with prohibition does not rest on any
such insubstantial basis as the amount
of alcohol in legally potable beer. Beer
parades and beer roll calls do little to
Anti-Saloon League, which lately has
seemed to be losing its g-ip, wanted to
defend the eighteenth amendment and
the Volstead act in subtle fashion, 1t
might accomplish something by en-
couraging frequent roll calls on beer OF
every conceivable alcoholic content
Such votes would take lot of attention
away from the main subject
X X ~
"The event will be lightly regarded"
thinks the Indianapolis News, against
a BACKGROUND Of revenue and tax leg
islation on which the peoples attention
is concentrated in the hope that they
will get such action" The Duluth Her
aid, remarking that there ceases to be
doubt that even the Republican Con-
vention, long bulwark OF prohioitlon,
will demand reSubmisSion In form
that will test public sentiment" con-
cludes that most discussion Will pe
more or less fruitless until that test Is
made" The Cleveland News feels that
with prohibition live subject await
ing possible consideration by the party
conventions, and with the more pro-
gressive leaders of both the vets and
drys favorable to a referendum, Con-
gress waits until the people shall have
spoken a little more definitely on the
matter
both Houses Of Congress will be less
dry after the next election" .in the
opinion of the Columbus Ohio State
Journal, which adds that "the Senate
is likely to remain definitely dry for
at least two or four years longer" The
New Orleans Tfmes-Picayune comments
on the results: THE roll calls in both
Houses brought practically the entire
memberships out into the open. Speaker
Garner was not called upon to vote and
refrained from exercising that right.
There were some others, bound by
standing pairs and few absentees:
But the main body Of Senators and
Representatives stand publicly commit
ted for or against legalization and tax
ing Of a beverage that an impressive
body of scientific opinion has pro-
nounced non-intoxicating' Their con-
stituents will have that unacceptable
record for their guidance next Fall"
Between the long struggle to bring
the subject to q vote and the celerity
with which the proposal was rejected"
suggests the Charleston (S. Co. Evening
Post, there Is curious contrast, espe-
cially In view of the many evidences
that the sentiment of the country Is
moving strongly toward modification Of
the prohibition law" The Milwaukee
Journal argues that adoption would
mean the return of many Of the evils
of the old days without the loss of any
Of the evils Of the present." while "as
a revenue producer 1t would be bound
to prove disappointment to the Gov