Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1936-08-06
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NATIONAL CAPlTALA = /
BY Garter Field NA
rAMOlIS WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT - A

neT saloon inquired Ill Co1lVC1 pa
ton in Baltimore a few days ago
which, retailed by some of those
present, has been going all over
Washington, exciting considerable
interest.
The two leading figures in the
conversation were retired Irish
contractor end young Catholic
priest.
The contractor was holding forth
against Franklin u. Roosevelt and
the New Deal. Just before he ran
down he shouted that Roosevelt had
kept just one, and only one, of the
pledges of the platform of 1882 on
which he was elected.
''What pledge was that?" in
quired another participant.
''The promise to get rid of prohi-
bition," said the contractor.
"Wait a minute" broke III the
priest. 81 don't think Roosevelt and
the New Deal kept that pledge"
"We certainly got lid of prohi-
bition, didn't WEI" snorteo the con-
tractor. eve got liquor back, thank
God. Hoover would never have
done that for u.s.
eyes," said the priest. ''That
part is true. But you are forgetting
another part of that promise-a
pledge without which, very much
doubt, you would have gotten liq-
uor back. The platform and the
candidate promised that, with the
return of liquor, the saloon would
never be permitted to come back.
Well, the saloon is back. It. is
here. And I think a great many
people resent the failure of that
pledge more than the breaking of
these others you have been talk
ing about"
More and more talk is being
heard all over the country about
the liquor situation. The distilling
industry is distinctly concerned
about it. 1t has been pulling in
it's horns, so to speak, in many
ways. The Distilled Spirits insti-
tute has persuaded many distillers
to get off the air, and to tone down
their advertising. They are more
sensitive to what they fear is a
change of sentiment than the brew
ers, and are worried that their adj
vice in this direction has been ig-
nored by the brewers.
Fear New Dry Tide
They are disturbed about local
elections in various states, and are
very much afraid that a new dry
tide is rising. Meanwhile the drys
are beginning to recover from the
state of coma into which they
lapsed about 1880. If they had had
the vim and pep they have today
in 1888, it is very doubtful if the
eighteenth amendment could have
been repealed.
Even the distillers do not fear
another prohibition amendment in
the federal Constitution. They do
not believe there is much danger
that SO states would ever again rat
ify such an amendment. When the
eighteenth amendment was ratified
only two states, Rhode Island and
Connecticut, refused to ratify it.
Such wet states as Massachusetts,,
New York, New Jersey and Mary
land. did.
But, most observers think, they
never would again.
The danger is of another kind.
It is of the spread of dry terri
tory, county by county, state by
state, with a resulting unfriendly
political feeling towards the liquor
business, and oppressive interior
ence, such as preceded the adop-
ton of the eighteenth amendment.
At the Federal Alcohol admins
tration there is much bitterness
against the big brewers for rushing
into the old practices that were so
sharply criticized. For instance,
the "tied house" idea-where the
brewer controls the individual sa-
1oon-keeper, and forces him to sell
only that particular brewers stock.
So there is good deal more to
the situation than any question of
platform pledges.
Give Landon Edge
Tremendously potent in overcom-
ing what remained after Cleveland
of the "defeatist" attitude of Re
publicans all over the country, the
first nationwide polls since the con-
vention, in showing that Landon
has slight edge on electoral votes
over Roosevelt, have been of ex-
IRENE value to the Republican high
command.
One Of the reasons why John D.
M. Hamilton has been making so
many speeches, and making such
optimistic claims - AZ states for
Landon, etc. = has been to over
come this same defeatist spirit. He
9 has recognized, as have most Re
publican leaders, that this was the
first hurdle to be taken.
1t is not just question of band
wagon psychology. 1t was apathy
based on hopelessness, which not
only choked off contributions to
the campaign fund, but prevented
people who normally work for the
Republican ticket from making any
effort.
"Why work when it's no use,"
they were saying. "You can't beat
q four epo,d