Evening star., 1932-12-12
"ALL-PARTY" PLAN STUDIED
BY LEADERS OF DRY GROUPS
Anti-Saloon League May Frown on Pro
gram Calling for Organization of
Progressive Third Party.

body to stand on the firing line in this
great warfare.
Calls for Organization.
THE duty Of the hour is to organize
once again the dry sentiment of this
country-the opponents of repeal. the
enemies of the saloon, of the earthly
sensual liquor traffic. We must have
county and State conventions within
the next few months which will render
in thunder tones opposition to repeal
or modification of our prohibition laws.
And this coming Winter the dry forces
must serve notice on the men now in
| Congress that they will nominate and
vote for men who will stand for our
prohibition laws unchanged, and that
the men now in Washington will be re-
sponsible for their action. What applies
to Congressman applies with equal force
to our State officials.
Belittling the claims that proposed
beer taxes would raise billion dollars,
Bishop Cannon asked: I'm this time
when millions cannot secure the neces-
sites of life, who will spend the five
billion dollars for beer? Certainly it
will not be the high society cocktail
| crowd. Any bill passed by Congress
to secure revenue from beer is a
direct attack upon the homes of labor
ing men, their wives and children, and
an attack upon the meat, shoe, hat.
clothing, dry goods, dairy, soft drink
and other forms of helpful, not hurt
full business The legalization Of beer
no matter how it may be sold, and the
repeal Of the eighteenth amendment
would stab in the back every other
legitimate industry, and of necessity
those employed therein"
1T is generally admitted by the man
on the street." said the bishop. that
| if beer is not intoxicating to the
average person, does not have a kick,
it will not satisfy the drinking public.
If it is Intoxicating to the average
person it would clearly be unconsti-
tutional"
Assails mellon Regime"
Charging that one reason for the
agitation for repeal and modification
has been lack of efficient Federal en-
forcement," the bishop charged that
the prohibition law was hamstrung
almost beyond recovery under the
Mellon regime"
Making a bitter attack on what he
called false propaganda" the bishop
declared, "the most dangerous enemy
| of prohibition Is the wet press OF
America" He complained of greater
display given to wet than to dry news.
1T is generally admitted by fair
minded persons" said Bishop Cannon,
that in the recent election prohibition
was not the major issue. There was
great mass movement of unrest, dis
satisfaction, and protest against exist
| ing economic conditions. While both
political parties in their national con-
ventions deliberately put prohibition in
the foreground, actually in the cam
paign prohibition was submerged by
economic issues. Not beer, but bread
was the outstanding issue Of the
campaign.
Representatives and Senators were
elected or defeated regardless of their
prohibition views. Under the cond1-
tons, it was impossible in most sections
of the country to deliver the dry vote
directly and effectively. Dry voters
could not approve platforms or utter
ances of candidates of either political
party on prohibition, and dry votes 1or
| either candidates were cast With a
positive protest on that point. Under
these circumstances, the great Demo-
cratic lnajority Is not a sweeping ap-
proval BY the voters Of an unquallfleo
repeal pls nix, and the unseemly hyster-
ical haste of the Democratic House
| leadership to rush through an unquali-
fed repeal resolution and the beer bill
recalls the stampeding, hoodfum gal
| leries of Chicago, and is not warranted
| by the actual fact. 1t is true that both
national platforms favored submission
resolutions, but both platforms and both
! candidates declared in most positive
, terms against the return of the saloon
and for the protection of dry territory.
In his Seagirt speech, Mr.. Roosevelt
declared:
The Democratic platform expressly
and unequivocally opposes the return
| of the saloon, and with equal emphasis
demands that there be Federal control
of the liquor traffic to protect dry
States President Hoover also declared
| for absolute guarantees in the Consti-
tuition to protect each State from inter-
, ference and invasion by its neighbors,
and that in no part of the United States
| shall there be return Of the saloon
system with it's inevitable political and
social corruption II 1t is claimed that
the vote was for beer and repeal, 1T
must be also declared that 1t was equal
ly against the salocn and for the pro-
lection of dry States. ANY congress
| sional action, therefore, that fails TO
prevent the return Of The saloon and
protect dry territory can claim no
mandate from the people. 1t has been
demonstrated that the eighteenth
amendment has smashed the saloon,
and that it has protected dry territory"
I'VE hold that Congress is under
obligation to retain the eighteenth
amendment unchanged unless and until
it can present to the States for action
a practical effective substitute amend
ment which does carry out the pledges
of the political platforms and OF the
candidates; otherwise we would not
only have the bootlegger and the speak
easy, which we had before prohibition
under varied names, but we would have
once again the licensed saloon, or its
equivalent, which the eighteenth
amendment did destroy, in addition as
in other days, to the bootleggers and
the speakeastes."
Hold Congress Bound.
at is the experience Of pre-prohibi-
ton days makes it certain that, If the
brand of the criminal is taken of the
distilleries, breWeries and wholesale
liquor houses in the wet States, 1t will
be impossible to protect dry territory.
The Webb Kenyon law, although con-
stitutional, would be unenforceable, a
dead letter in this day of automobiles,
air and water craft. If, as is. loudly
declared, bootleggers and speakeasies
are uncomfortable under present Fed
eral prohibition, it is certain that il
Federal prohibition is repealed, saloons
or drinking parlors, or whatever they
may be called, as well as bootlegging
and speakeasies, cannot be prevented
Moreover, the repeal Of the eighteenth
amendment admittedly will reopen the
distilleries, the breweries, the wholesale
liquor houses, which will once again
endeavor to control the city, State and
national politics, as they did in pre-
prohibition days. While it is utterly
Impossible to give to the younger gen
Grafton any adequate conception of the
conditions in prohibition days, II
is our duty to present the facts clearly
and insistently and to continue to op-
pose any change in the eighteenth
amendment, which Is the only measure
which can prevent the return OF the
saloon and can adequately protect dry