Evening star., 1932-07-14
The Political Mill
By G. Gould Lincoln.

ton repeating the eighteenth amend
ment. His resolution proposes. however
to fix a constitutional ban on the saloor
the consumption of liquor at am
place where 1t is sold. The States ane
the Federal Government are given con.
current authority to see that the prohi
bition against the saloon be enforced
Further, the Glass amendment woulc
make it the duty of the Federal Gov.
ernment to see that the States which
wished to be dry" should be protected
against Importation of liquor.
As a matter Of fact, the Glass pro-
posal, although it starts out with tn,
bold declaration that the eighteenth
amendment is to be repealed, follow
more nearly the Republican plank OF
the prohibition question than it doe,
the Democratic. What 1t does is II
retain in the hands Of the Congress.
and the Federal Government contro
over certain phases Of the liquor traffic
the saloon and the interstate ship
ment Of liquor. That Is just what tn,
Republican plank proposes, although i
is more general in its terms. TIL,
Democratic plank, on the other hand
while it pledges the party to oppos,
return of the saloon, makes no effort
to prevent the saloon by constitutional
enactment 1t would leave to tn,
States the final control of the liquor
traffic except that it would safeguard
dry States against importations o.
liquor. as the Glass and the Repub-
lican proposals do also.
After all. the saloon constitutes the
real difference between the Republican
and Democratic plankS on prohibition
The Republicans proposed to give the
Federal Government power to prevent
the return of the saloon. The Demo
Gratis, on the other hand, leave that
matter to the States. with prayerful
plea to be made to the States to keeI
out the saloon.
Senator Glass and his Democratic
colleagues who voted against taking up
the Bingham proposal to modify i'm
mediately the Volstead act so as to per-
nit 2.75 per cent beer have been ac-
cused of ditching the Democratic pro-
hibition plank, which calls for such
modification without delay. Whether
Senator Glass introduction Of his reso-
luton calling for repeal of the eight
eenth amendment, with certain powers
retained in the hands of the Federal
Government over the liquor traf1ic, is
intended to offset this criticism or not
it seems clear that the Glass resolution
does not conform exactly with the
Democratic plank. which does not de-
clare for a constitutional prohibition
OF the saloon. Probably the Glass pro-
posal would stand a far better chance
of adoption by the country than would
the Democratic proposal for fiat re-
peal. 1t has been clear for some time
that the real fight between the two
parties over prohibition-unleSs the
Democrats adopt the Class plan rathc.
than that included in the Democratic
platform plank-would narrow down tc
the saloon. The Republican plank
really promises the wet States a right
to 60 wet, but without the return of
the saloon. The Democratic plank
promises the same thing except that it
is not SO specific against the return of
the saloon.
Although the dr.. members OF pro-
hibition organiZ,ticl-. ere not enam-
ored Of the Republican plank on pro-
hibition. they ar, inclinInT u suppor:
Of the RepublicGn national tic.;et as thc
Lessee of two evils. They see no chs nee
for the success of a third and inde-
pendent dry ticket. Furth rmore. they
regard President Hoover as more
is Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt OF New
York, his Democratic opponent for the
presidency. At the same time, wec Re
publicans, having caught their second
wind, are not so displeased with the
prohibition plank written into the G..
o. p. platform at Chicago as they were
two or three weeks ago. The effort. fo-
example, of the woman'S arti-prohibi-
ton organization headed by Mrs. Sabin,
former Republican national committee
woman from New York, to place all its
members in the Democratic column
this year has failed dismally. More
and more Republican women, some of
them leaders in the anti-prohibition
movement. declined to have themselves
shunted INTO the D ,mocratic party, in
support of Roo5cvclt.
The Democrats Of tn. East are becom-
ing more and more restive over efforts
to make their parry and their national
ticket look radical. For a long time
the attempt has been made-by scme
OF these Eastern Democrats them
selves-to pin the radical label on
Roosevelt. And now their vice presi-
Dental candidate. Speaker Garner. is
looming up as more of a radical than
Roosevelt. Take the situation by and
large, and the Democrats of the great
industrial East are worried. They do
not see how it will be possible for the
Roosevelt-Garner ticket to be elected
without the support of some OF the
Eastern States, and they do not see these
Eastern States supporting a ticket that
has a radical tinge
woodrow Wilson in 1916 carried the
country without the support of New
York. New Jersey, Massachusetts, and
other Eastern States. But his victory
was little short of a political miracle
and due to the 'he kept us out of war"
issue, which had its effect in the West
ern States. Roosevelt this year may
need the votes of New York State. Of
New Jersey and Massachusetts, to be
elected. Furthermore, Roosevelt is
running against Western man, a Cali
fornian, and In view Of the huge vote
Cast IN the Hepuolcap presidential pri-
mary in California this Spring, Califor-
mia, which cast its electoral votes for
Wilson in 1916, Is likely to vote for
Hoover this year. Wilson carried Kan
sas, too, In 1915 and Ohio, too. Out
In Kansas things are looking up a bit
for the Republicans this year, accord
ing to reports from the Sunf1ower
State. The live stock business is i'm
proving and oil business, which is a
great industry there, has improved. So
far as Ohio is concerned, it promises
10 be real battle-ground. True. two
years ago the Buckeye State elected
Democratic Governor and a Demo-
cratic Senator. 1t may cast its electoral
vote this year for Roosevelt, but there
were a lot of Democrats in the State
who did not look with favor on the
Roosevelt nomination.
~
The Democrats are banking yery
greatly on the desire of the voters for
a change" for a new deal" for
something different. This sentiment
has been in evidence in many states
and in many sections of the country,