Evening star., 1933-12-08

Oh course, It was probably Just some
body's oversight, but it's sincerely to be
hoped no stickler for legalistic niceties
will think 1t worth while to make q
point of an apparent omission In the
State Departments proclamation re-
pealing the eighteenth amendment. As
signed and promulgated by Assistant
Secretary of State William Phillips. it
was attested beneath his signature that
the act was done at the city of Wash
ington this fifth day of December, in
the year of our Lord one thousand nine
hundred and thirty-three. The repeal
proclamation issued by President Roose-
welt wound up with the additional and
traditional phrase: And of the inde-
pendence of the United States of Amer
lea the one hundred and flfty-eighth"
The independence passage Is missing
from the State Department proclama-
ton. An enthusiastic wet demonstrates
to this observer that the slip is pecu-
liarly unfortunate in an historic docu-
ment designed to restore independence"
to the American people.
Some comment Is heard that it's too
bad Secretary Hull had to be in South
America at this time and thus be de-
prived of the privilege Of proclaiming
the doom Of the eighteenth amend
ment. His friends opine that such
lamentations probably do not symbolic
the cultured Tennessean's own emotions,
for he's been conscientious dry for
years, and would hardly have relished
even the routine job Of removing pro-
hibition from the Constitution At the
1882 Democratic National Convention in
Chicago 1t fell to Judge Hull's lot to
present to that sopping wet assemblage
the anti-repeal minority report of the
Committee on Resolutions. Under all
the circumstances. Secretary Hulrs
friends feel pretty sure he's glad he
was in MOntevideo and not in WASH
ington on December S.
It has been decreed that the NAVY.
despite repeal. is to remain dry, but
that circumstance does not obliterate
the fact that the forces which over
threw prohibition have officially canon
lied former Navy man. Capt. William
Fl. Stayton, founder of the Association
Against the Prohibition Amendment.
as legendary hero of the movement that
finally took Uncle Sam from the water
wagon. Capt. Stayton was graduated
at Annapolis With the class of 1881.
He resigned from the Navy a couple
Of years later. but returned to active
service as a ship commander during
the Spanish American War. Since then
his activities have been devoted eX-
the wet carlse) first as an admiralty
lawyer and later as steamship COM
pany executive at Baltimore. His in
terest in the Navy has been maintained
through the years as member of the
governing council of Annapolis gradu-
ates. At the repeal night victory
dinner" in New York Capt. Stayton was
enthusiastically toasted as the man to
whom chief credit for annihilating pro-
hibition Is due.
It's being narrated In Washington
that the late Alexander Legge while
chairman of the former Federal Farm
Board declined to accept either salary
or any personal expense allowance from
the Government during his 20 months
In Office As the story goes, he ap-
parently laid that down as condition
when President Hoover induced Legge
to take the job. The Chicago har-
vester executive was q director OF the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail-
enabling him to travel free anywhere,
including the use of Pullmans, but
when out of town on Farm Board busi-
ness Legge invariably put in an ex-
pense account to the Government for
railroad and sleeping car fares, on the
ground that the carriers needed the
money. The Chicagoan was generous
donor to worthy causes of all kinds.
Once upon time, while on duty in
Washington, he was asked to contrib
ute $50 toward the. transportation costs
of two Legion drum corps on some mill
tary occasion. He sent his check for
] $25, with note reading: ''Ona drum
corps is enough