Evening star., 1942-11-07
Election Provides Few
Clues 10 Sentiment
On Liquor Issue
Lees Defect Center of
Speculation; Local Option
Vote Results Mixed
BY the Associated Press.

Members of Congress could
find today but few signs from
Tuesdays elections to point the
way national opinion now runs
on the liquor issue, and there
appears little immediate pros
pect of the old and bitter wet
dry conflict breaking again on
Capitol Hill.
VETS and drys alike probed for
significance in dry Oklahomas de-
feat of Senator Lee, while results
from scattered local option votes
were mixed-some going wet, some
dry, most maintaining a status quo
The liquor question was reinjected
into national prediction politics by
Senator Lees proposal to ban the
sale of spirits from military post
areas. But his amendment to the
'teen-age draft bill was shunted to
the Senate Military Affairs Com
mittee.
Josephus Daniels, World War Sec
retary Of the Navy, has sent a per-
sonal {. request to Chairman Rey-
nolds Of the Military Affairs Com
mittee, that the measure be brought
out fol, immediate consideration. s...,
Issue Expected to Be Shelved,
However, many members believed
the liquor issue would remain bot
tied up in both Houses.
An effort by dry forces to outlaw
liquor sales at or around Army can
tonments was defeated in the Mas
sachusetts State elections, with the
soldiers themselves casting few bal
lots.
The drys campaigned actively in
the Camp Edwards vicinity of Cape
Cod, but the three towns near the
camp, which permitted the sale of
liquor, stayed wet in a referendum
vote. Opponents said ban on legal
liquor would result in bootlegging.
George w. Crabbe, general secre-
tary of the Anti-Saloon League of
America, said today he was very
much surprised at Senator Lees de-
feat," but declared, Il don't believe
the liquor issue beat any one in the
elections, I mean the fact man was
dry"
He reported there was mo move
for national prohibition on foot for
the present moment" then added, II
believe national prohibition will re-
turn, but it will be through process
of education and local option"
Representative johnson, Demo-
crat, OF Oklahoma, author of
pending House bill to ban liquor
from cantonment areas, said: I'm
of the opinion that the amendment
offered by Senator Lee played very
minor role in the defeat of our
junior Senator from Oklahoma"
Reports from a few Of Tuesdays
scattered local option elections
showed these results:
Texas-Tarrant County (Fort
WORTH voted 1892 to $3.50 against
prohibition, leaving the county's
status unchanged.
New York-The status quo was
preserved among the eight towns
having a redetermination of the
liquor question. Six wet towns re-
mained wet and two dry towns de-
cided to remain dry.
Tennessee-In Morgan, the only
countyNvoting on local option, anti
liquor forces won.
Illinois-The dry forces blotted
out public drinking in five Chicago
precincts and three townships, and
the Anti-Saloon League Of Illinois
that 321 units in the State
are now dry. Two precincts voted for
continued sale Of liquor to be con-
sumed on the premises. The vote
came on the question: "Shall the
sale at retail OF alcoholic liquor con-
tanning more than 4 per cent OF al
cohol by weight except in the orig
inal package and not for consump-
ton on the premises be prohibited"
Rhode Island-Local option ballot
ing confined to the community Of
Hopkinton, which voted for liquor
licenses.