The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1932-06-29
One More Evasion

Roosevelt, forced TO abandon MS attempt
to change the nominating rules Of the game
has only one more major convention issue
left to iuggle. That is prohibition.
On this issue, as on others, Roosevelt is
shifty. Belatedy he declared for repeal.
But when it was apparent last year that,
wet or dry, he could not win the wet in
dustria states of the east, he began to play
with the drys.
In this Roosevelt was successful. Though
nomnally for repeal, he persuaded the dry
drys fought the candidates. of Smith,
Richie and others on the wet ISSUE but &C
copied Roosevelt.
So, in the national committee fight over
prohibition several months ago. Roosevelt
and his dry forces blocked consideration of
the slightly moist Raskob plank.
Roosevelt went into the Chicago conven-
tion as a nominal wet, but as the actual lead
er of the dry forces
A Scripps-Howard poll shows that the
Democratic drys, following the hostile pub
lie reaction to the Republican straddle plank,
have decided that the most they can hope
is to hold the party platform to a mere
Submission" plank
i Less than 100 of the delegates are for a
Done dry or a straddle plank. About $50
want outright repeal, 275 want "submis-
sion, and about 300 delegates are controlled
in this question by Roosevelt many of whom
want repeal
That means there is more than a ma
jority actually favoring repeal, but suffi-
cient number controlled by Roosevelt give
him the power to decide the issue. The
Democratic convention wants to pledge the
party to repeal of the eighteenth amend
ment and immediate modification of the
Volstead law, pending repeal.
But Roosevelt-in line with his dry al
lance and of his repeal words-has tried
up to now to prevent the convention from
registering this majority repeal demand.
Roosevelt picked and controlled most of
the resolutions subcommittee which turned
down repeal pledge plank and which wrote
a mere Submission" plank This Roosevelt
plank commits the party to submitting the
issue to the states for vote on retention or
repeal. 1t does not commit the party either
for or against repeal.
Roosevelts plank, in other words, would
have the Democratic party evade this grave
national issue.
The wet sentiment may roll up so rapidly
that the repealists pledged to his candidacy
will bolt Roosevelt Or, maybe, seeing such
a danger Roosevelt will turn and run away.
But whether he fights or runs away,
Roosevelts record does not arouse hope
that he will play fair on the prohibition
issue
On the issue of Tammany corruption,
virtually every test in the convention he has
tried by unfair means to profit personally at
the expense of the party.
In breaking faith on the convention
Craftsmanship, he showed his willingness to
split the party-without taking personal re-
sponsibility for doing so-he gave the con-
vention a dizzy experience its members
never will forget.
This Democratic convention may or may
not accept the type of tortuous leadership
that Roosevelt has shown The Democratic
party may or may not accept it.
But of one thing there must be reason
able certainty. The people of the United
States, crying out for real leadership in this
time of national crisis, will demand some
thing different.