Evening star., 1935-11-04
THE POLITICAL
MILL
By G.. Could Lincoln.

IdlSiIlk us llCdO III 1uCouuy CiSSeioA
in Kentucky. The vets are aiming to
drop ton Of bricks-in the shape OF
ballots-on the prohibition amendment
to the State constitution, II they can.
The drys, on the other hand, have been
working hard to recapture kenutcky,
hoping that it will be the first OF q
series of reclaimed States.
The situation in the Blue Grass State
Is peculiar. Although the State went
wet in 1888 by large margin. when 1t
elected a constitutional convention to
aid In the repeal Of the eighteenth
amendment to the Constitution. 1t still
has tucked away in its own constitution
a prohibition amendment. 1t is on the
proposal to repeal that dry amend
ment to the State constitution that the
referendum is being taken on Tuesday.
II the drys win, what will become OF
the f1ourishing distillery business, valued
at more than sl00000,000. which exists
today in Kentucky?
After the eighteenth amendment had
been repealed. the Kentucky Legislature
in 1884 passed an act repeating the State
prohibition enforcement law. 1t went
further and put through q law which
practically made it possible for every one
in Kentucky to be his own physician and
to prescribe whatever liquor he wanted
for his or her own use. For there was
a clause in the State constitutional
amendment which made it possible to
use liquor for medicinal purposes. That
is the way the Kentucky legislators got
around the State dry constitutional
amendment, up to the present. II the
vote to repeal the dry amendment fails
tomorrow however. it looks very much
as though the courts would naturally
have to put an end to the liquor busi-
ness in the State and also to stop this
prescribing of liquor for personal use
by any one who wants 1t.
The politicians predict that the dry
amendment TO the Kentucky constltu-
ton will be repealed by safe margin.
However, with the Democratic factions
fighting one another over the guber-
material election. it has been difficult to
get any of the leaders to come forward
and make a fight for the repeal OF the
dry amendment They do not wish to
antagonize the drys Kentucky by the
way. has had plenty of dry voters in
the past.
When Harry L. Hopkins. relief ad-
miniStrator for the New Deal, made his
crack at Gov. All M. Landon of Kansas
the other day. declaring that the Sum
flower State had not contributed thin
dime" OF its own for relief. he started
something. The people OF Kansas have
been aroused. John G. StutZ, executive
director Of the Kansas Emergency Re-
lief Committee. requested Hopkins 10
make a correction Immediately. Stutz
insisted that while not contributing TO
relief as State. Kansas has contributed
through its counties and has record Tor
relief contributions that stands well up
with any other States. Hopkins was
also quoted as saying that Gov. Landon
never had anything to do with raising
money for relief. This also drew the
fire of StutZ.
The attack made by the Spender In
chief of the New Deal on Gov. Landon
looked as though it was an effort to dis
credit man who has recently been more
and more prominently mentioned for the
Republican presidential nomination. II
that was the case. it has up to the
present proved a boomerang. 1t has
made the people of Kansas sore. and SO
far Mr.. Hop'ins has not been able to
back up his original charge. There has
been comment that Mr.. Hopkins is IS
liberal with his statements as he is with
the Governments money-from Repub-
lican quarters, of course. One Repub-
lican recalled that the relief director
had at one time spoken of $500, 900
as chicken feed
Gov Landon, who has been an inter-
esting if unknown quantity to the Re-
publicans of the East, is about to visit
Cleveland. Ohio. On Wednesday night
the Governor is scheduled to deliver an
address at the Chamber of Commerce
in that city. 1t will be scanned care
fully. Also Gov Landons manner Of
speech and his way of meeting people
will come under scrutiny. He has been
referred to as the Coolidge Of the West,
because Of the record Of economy he has
made in his State, even in these days OF
depression and violent Government
spending by the Federal Government.
II Landon is to be built up into q ma
tional figure for the presidential CAM
paign of 1896, its time the builders were
at work.
Oficials Of the American Farm Bu-
reau Federation are declaring now that
If the Supreme Court turns down the
A. A. A. with its processing taxes and
its benefit checks to the farmers for
not producing corn-hogs, wheat, cotton,
etc, the farmers of the Midwest will
demand an amendment Of the ConSti-
tuition. This may be sweet music to the
ears Of the Roosevelt administration.
The President has never come out for
a constitutional amendment although
his famous press conference statement.
following the Supreme Courts decision
holding the N r. A. unconstitutional,
was interpreted as a first step in that
direction. If the farmers, on the one
hand and the industrial workers, on the
other would just come forward strongly
enough with demands for such an
amendment in the next few months,
perhaps the amendment of the Con-
stitution might yet become a burning
issue in the 1886 presidential campaign.
So far the Democratic leaders have not
had the courage to 60 the whole way
and declare for such an amendment.
The friends of the A. A. A. have been
decidedly encouraged by the 6-to-1 vote
in the recent corn-hog program refer
endum among the farmers.
On the eve of the mayoralty election
in Philadelphia grand jury has brought
in a report that public funds have been
expended in part for political purposes
by the Republican nominee for mayor,
CITY Controller S. Davis Wilson. Wilson