Evening star., 1933-10-27

Ill accepting lIle decision OF the
| American people I have not changed
my convictions. I have not weakened
| or surrendered my allegiance to the dry
| cause. I have simply done what
| hold every good American must do un-
der the circumstances
I accept the decision of the majority
| and I propose to obey the law while it
! is the law. Every citizen who does not
like the law, has the right to try and
| change it.
But you say that the eighteenth
amendment has not yet been repealed
That Is true. But 1t is equally true that
the eighteenth amendment Is going to
be repealed. Nothing is more obvious
than that the American people have de-
cided against the eighteenth amend
ment. The decision has not yet been
recorded. But beyond all question it
has been made.
my dry friends to vote against repeal.
But ain not blind. 1t is condition
and not theory which confronts me-
When without single exception every
State that has voted has voted for
repeal, when the people of 80 States out
OF the necessary SO have recorded their
decision for repeal, and in most cases
by overwhelming majorities, then it
seems to me the handwriting on the
wall is too plain for any doubt.
Not Nation Of DrunkardS,
This decision against my own view
does not lead me to believe that the
| United States for repeal because
| they want to guzzle whiskey and wallow
IN the gutter. We are not Nation of
| drunkaroS. We were not before pro-
/ n
and we are not going to be after pro-
hibition
At the moment very large numbers of
American citizens do not believe, as I
do, that prohibition at its worst was in
hnltely better than booze at its best
They have the same right to their opin-
ion that I have to mine.
Roughly there are three opinions on
this question. The sincere drys are
convinced prohibition is morally and
economically right.
The sincere vets believe prohibition
is morally and economically wrong.
And then there are those who have
selfish personal interest in the return
Of liquor. Whether their interest is a
! personal thirst a personal money profit
| or a personal political profit from al
I legiance with the liquor traffic, it is not
necessary to inquire
I am exercising much restraint when
I refrain from quoting at length the
! evidence now being uncovered of how
| gang politics flourisheS on the profits
OF illegal drink. And the rotten COM
blnation Of whisky and politics is not
confined to a single county.
Defends Wet Views.
The sincere vets for the most part
never have seen legal liquor in action
They are Mortified by what they have
seen Of the illicit connection of boot
leg liquor and gang politics, but they
are too young to remember the children
OF the marriage of gang politics with
legal liquor
Here in Harrisburg-during prohibi-
ton days-they have seen members of
the General Assembly actually under
the influence Of liquor on the floor of
the House and Senate
Naturally, they were revolted.
But they do not know that before
prohibition the situation was even
worse
They never saw room set up as a
private bar with liquor supplied by the
brewers for the use of members Of the
Legislature right in the State Capitol
building itself. They never saw the
liquor lobby in action in Harrisburg
before prohibition.
Predicts Wet Division.
These sincere vets are against pro-
hibition because they have seen racket
GERS growing rich out of bootleg liquor
They have laid the Capone gang in
| Chicago and all our other gangs to pro-
! hibition
We cannot blame them too severely
because they see the evils Of today but
cannot visualize the greater evils Of yes
terday, which they have never seen.
What want to point out is this: The
well-meaning group of sincere vets,
plus the evil group of selfishly inter-
ested, have joined to overwhelm the
sincere drys in the battle of the ballot
! The sincere vets and the selfish vets
are together now. but they are going
to be as wide apart as the poles soon
after repeal becomes effective.
There is only one way to prevent a
return of the conditions that existed
before prohibition. That is by the road
of working combination of sincere
drys and sincere vets to keep liquor and
politics apart.
It can be done.
Will Fight Intemperance.
| AS sincere dry say that prohibition
may be beaten, but the fight against in
temperance must 60 on.
This Nation is not going straight to
| the dogs. A great majority of the
American people are decent. temperate,
clear thinking, clean-living folk. In the
end their will must prevail.
Accepting as good citizen the de-
cision of the majority does not. re-
peat. mean the surrender of my convic-
tions. Especially it does not remove my
obligation to help In reducing to the