Evening star., 1933-05-18
The Political Mill
By G. Gould Lincoln.

The incursion by President Roosevelt
into the foreign f1eld-his note to the
81 governments OF important nations
urging that the Geneva Disarmament
Conference and the London Economic
Conference be pressed to success-has
won instant approval not only abroad
but in the United States. There are
skeptics, 1t Is true, who insist that
really nothing will come Of the dis
armament proposals and that little Is
to be expected from the economic con-
ference. However, Rome was not built
in a day, and the Presidents message
already has apparently an effect in
Europe, where Adolf Hitler, the Ger
man chancellor, has accepted the pro-
posalS OF the President and become
conciliatory when he was expected to
wave the war nag. II Mr.. Roosevelt
continues as successfully as apparently
he has begun In his negotiations with
the foreign countries he Is likely to be
as popular abroad as he is In the United
States. That he has become increas-
ingly popular in this country seems
manifest. Indeed, politics, generally
speaking, has been adjourned in large
measure to give the new administration
every opportunity to aid in economic
recovery.
President Roosevelt in his message
to the Congress on his public works
and industries bill yesterday dangled
before the American public the pos
sibility Of material reduction of Fed
eral taxes If the eighteenth amend
message, which is really message
to the people as well as to the Con-
eress, the President called attention to
the need Of additional revenue to
finance his $500 o0o, 900 public works
program, and pointed out that new
taxation would be necessary. It was
in this connection that he brought up
the subject of the repeal of the eight
eenth amendment, now before the
States. He said:
THE taxes to be imposed are for
the purpose Of providing unemployment
Of our citizens. Provision should be
made for their reduction or elimina-.
tion-first, as fast as increasing rev.
enues from improving business become
available to replace them; second.
whenever the repeal Of the eighteenth
amendment. now pending before the
States. shall have been ratified and
the repeal Of the Volstead act effected.
The pre-prohibftion revenue laws would
then automatically 90 into effect and
yield enough wholly to eliminate these
temporary Unemployment taxes"
Although the President did not couch
his suggestion regarding the repeal of
the eighteenth amendment in the form
Of an appeal to the States to act
quickly thereon, the effect of his state
ment to the country at large is not
without its weight. The national pro-
hibition amendment seems doomed be-
cause Of the sharp change in sentiment
regarding 1t found in practically every
State. There may be two or three ex-
ceptions, like Kansas, which produced
Mrs. Carrie Nation and which still
clings politically to the prohibition
cause. The Presidents suggestion that
the repeal Of the eighteenth amendment
be speeded in order to eliminate or re-
duce taxation for the Federal Govern
ment along other lines is likely to be
quite effective. The -prohibitionists
have already scored heavily in States in
widely separated sections Of the coun-
try-Rhode Island, Michigan and
the drys in Wyoming by almost ten to
one. and in Michigan, for years consid-
cred a dry stronghold. are indications
that the tide Of repeal Is sweeping far
faster than was believed by the most
sanguine Of the vets.
The repealists were fearful for time
that the enactment OF the law permit
ting the manufacture and sale of beer
might work against their cause But
hot hofN ha 1o,r hao
effective. The return Of beer apparent
ly has not caused any increase~in in
toxication--in fact, it IS claimed that
the effect Is to the contrary. President
Roosevelt sent special message to the
Congress urging the passage of the beer
bill before it became law. He came
into the White House after the amend
ment proposing the repeal of the eight
eenth amendment had been adopted by
the two houses of Congress and had
been submitted to the States. Undoubt-
edly, had this action not been COM
pleted in the last Congress, President
Roosevelt would have recommended the
adoption Of the repeal amendment reso-
luton without loss of time The fact
that he favors repeal is no news. But
his present suggestion that it would re-
move the burden Of additional taxation
now to be imposed is considered timely
and effective. Furthermore, the profits
which have been reaped by the boot
leggerS and Illicit manufacturers Of
liquor would 60 to legitimate industry
and to the Government in form Of
taxes under q system of Government
regulation Of the liquor traffic.
One Of the wheel horses Of the Demo-
cratic party, w. A. Julian Of Cincinnati.
for seven years q member of the Demo-
cratic National Committee, has been re-
warded by appointment to Federal Of
nee. He is the new treasurer Of the
United States. It has been reported
Ambassador to one Of the foreign coun-
tries but that he did not wish to leave
the United States at this time. The
new treasurer was born on Kentucky
farm. and when a boy moved to Gin
cinnati. He began to work his way
ahead in the world as a bank clerk.
Soon he will be signing his name to the
currency issued by the United States. as
treasurer
Mr.. Julian has long been active in po-
htical affairs. He has attended the
Democratic conventions for many years
worked for the presidential candidates
and assisted in the financial problems
Of the party. He was often in confer
ence with President Roosevelt during
the campaign last year.
Only once did Mr. Julian run for Of
fice-it was in 1920, when Frank B.
Willis beat him for the United States
senatorship at the time of the Harding
landslide.
Mr. Julian was born and reared on a
farm near Frankfort. Ky, that was q
grant Of land Of 500 acres from the
Government to one of his forefathers
for services rendered during the Rev.
olutionary War On this farm young
Julian fed the cattle, hogs and other
animals that were In his care and
keeping. There he developed his phi
losophy Of care for the needy that still
Is the handspring Of his life. For
more than 20 years Julian served as
president Of the Cincinnati Associated