Evening Star Newspaper, September 30, 1928, Page 6

6 SVITH REITERATES WET ISSUE STAND Declares Law Is One for Every State to Decide by Vote. (Continued from Pirst Page) eight years indicates that they have used the law for patron~g> purioss and tor political exnediency. They have tried to be wet when they were with the wets, and dry when they were with the drys. They have silently s‘ood by and permitted paralysis of the who'e machinery of government when it comes to carrying out the mandate of the Con- stitution and the statute law. It is because of that that after eight years they are compelled to promiss fgain that they will do something about it if iven @ new lcase of life by the Amer- ican people.” Recalling the - declaration in. his speech of acceptance that, with resp ct to prohibition, two consti‘utional duties devolve on the President, first, to recommend to Congress what in opinion is to the inierest of the Na‘ion, and second, to enforce the laws as he finds them, the Democratic standard bearer continued: “And 1 told tha that if I were elected Fresident and I took the cath of office to sustain thel Constitution and the laws of the! country, with cn> hand on th: Bible| and the other rea American people | can take my ass will so far as it is humanly possible to | do it | “I shall likewise discharge my du'y to advise the Congress of the changss| in the law I desm right.” In his speech tonight Gov. Smith 2lso adverted to his acceptance speech in prescribing his remedy for the condi- tions about which he complained. H2 put it this way: Definition Sought. “Pirst, I recommend an amesndment | to the Volstead act which should con-: tain a sane and sensible definition of what constitutes an intoxicating bev- erage, because upon its face the present definition does not square with common sense or with medical opinion. Each| State could then provide for an| alcoholic content not greater than that | fixed by Congress. “It must be borne in mind that the eighteenth amendment does not pro- hibit alcoholic beverages; it prohibits intoxicating beverages. And no sen- sible man can truthfully be prepared to say that one-half of 1 per cent of alcohol constitutes an intoxicant. “I firmly and honestly believe that a great deal of the dangerous and poison. ous hard liquor would be driven out o this country if the people could be as- sursd of an aleoholic beverage declared by common sense and science to be; non-intoxicating. | “I further recommend an amendment | to the eighteenth amendment. I placed | it squarely upon the basis of the Jeffer- eonian principle of the right of each State to determine for itsef what it wants to do about questions of local habits of life usually covered by local | political laws. L have fully, however, provided safe- guards that will make impossible a return to the old conditions of ssle in saloon, despised, and rightly so, by Suggested Referendum. 1 suggested a referendum for the ex- pression of the will of the people them- sclves, in the first instance. - I would tiien regard it as the right of the State itself, subject to limitation which. I outlined, to dispense to its own inhabi- tents aleoholic beverages as desired by the of the State. “No man ' who' believes in Btates’ rights, who believes in the fundamental prineiples of , can find any fault with that. ‘No State should be rermitted to impose its will upon ane other State in matters of local eoncern. “What would the States that desire rrohibition think about a proposal to 2mend the Constitution to forbid them t5 enact prohibition laws? They would justly resent it. That's the way the yeople of the other States feel abopt ihe eighteenth amendment.” In “painting the picture” of prohibi- +ion, as he described it, the Democratic 1tominee declared it had produced a ondition _of ¥, «mong officials harged with its enforcement, has had i bad effect on the morals of American vouth, has been “the great political nork barrel for the Republican party,” and bas “driven men and women who, Meretofore, were content with drinking light wines and beer, to the use of strong liquor.” Drinking on Increase. “And liquor drinking in this country. Instead of being on the decline” he added, “is on the upward move as & «direct result of the attempt to prohibit alcoholic beverages entirely.” At another juncture, Gov, Smith in- quired, “What is the answer of the Republican to all of this?” Then went on: “In the face of this record the plat- form glosses over the whole thing by quoting the words of George Washing- ton and of Abraham Lincoln and again pledges itsslf to the observance of vigor- ous enforcement of the eighteenth amendment. No truth. no candor, not even common honesty.” As for Herbert Hoover's contention that prohibition is a “great social and economic _experiment,” the Democratic nominee declared that millions of people in the United States do not agree with his opponent on that score, and added that “you could get no better testimony for that than to look at the result of the referendum in so many thickly pop- ulated States.” Insisting that “the great army of the ple” oppose prohibition, Smith held that “the natural result of it is breeding throuzhout the length and breadth of the country a disrespect for all Jaws,” Aid to Gangland. “No one can gainsay the fact, he con- tinued, “that the prohibition law and the Volstead Act have found a new line of endeavor in the underworld: they have brought to life the bootlegge the bootleggers begot the hijac; the hijackers the r: L S gengland is interested in the mainte- | nance of prohibition Becanse of its | operation they are bensfited.” {= With the declaration that he rezarded | prohibition as a “great moral iss: Gov. Smith appealed to the people of | America, regardless of party, to pnt aside any preconceived nations and to approach the question “fairlv. withont passion and without prejudice, with open eyes and with apen minds. to the end that some constructive solution of this important problem may b e Recalling testimony offered committee by Lincoln C. Andrews, Republican, while ha was in charge of the Federal Prohibition Burcau, Mr. 8mith asked: “How long are ths offirials at Wash- ington going to disrera~d a condition Ja'd before the a hizh offi~ the Govern: 1oz are they : of an ostrich of burying its head i suming that evervthinz is all right? What is the proper thint for them to ao—conceal all this or tal’ it out plain- |t 1y to the American people? There was a rush for euditorium when doors were op-ned three hours before Gov. Smith was due to begin speakinz. Some of the first to rush into the hall had been waltin, outside nearly six hours. Sea‘s on th~ fioor were quickly filled, whila many of those in two balconies and boxes for Myhich tickets were needed were still vacant an hour before the nomince’s a:rival. Zbe main apditorium had seats for his | 1 of | By the Associated Press. MILWAUKEE, Wis,, September 20.— Gov. Smith’s address, wvepared for delivery tonight, follows: I om finiching tonight, so far as speechraking is concerned, my cam- paign trip through the Wesi. During the entire trip I have been greatly im- pressed by the enthusiasm of the people who have greeted me, by the warm welcome which I have received, not only in the places where 1 spoke, but at all stations where th2 train stopped In your own State, in a downpour of rain, enthustasm was not dampencd. For this interest and cordial welcome 1 !can only express my sincere apprecia- tion and gratitude. ! When 1 started on my trip through ,the West 1 said that 1 would tak | about the great issues of this campaign {in a duect, plain and outspoken | 1ashion. |, At umaha I spoke on the important |foue cf fan seuet. 1 conucumed { ie Repub.ican party for betraying the interesis of agricuiture and peuged | myselt to a construciive progiam | speedy relier. Newspoper reports indi- |cate that following thus sp.ech, uhere ! were hurried confoiences and exchanges ot vicws on the part of the Republiican | campeign menege:s. They were wor- ried. They weie not accusiomed to | have this problem dcali with honestl; | and squarely. Treats Intolerance. In Oklahoma City I spoke upon the subject of intoletance. 1 went ac length into the quesiion of roligion that had so improperly been made the basis of a whispering campaign against me. I spoke with reluciance on this subject, bacaus> I firmly believe in the absoluie separation of church and state, a principle which cannot, how- ever, b2 realized if religion is to be in- jected into a political campaign. The only official of the Government hat answered me at all was Mrs. WVille- brandt. I shall let the Republican ram oaign managers worry about her. From comments in the public press a'l over to do so. At Denver I spoke on development of our great water-power resources. and declared definitely, #s I have many times before in New York, in favor of the public ownership and the effective public control of these God-given re- sources of the Nation. Report Thrown Out. At Helena I spoke on party responsi- bility and disclosed the record of cor- ruption and wrongdoing on the part of Republicans of high rank in the last two administrations, and thos® holding positions of leadership in their party. What I sald was not relished by the Republican campaign managers. Your own Senator, La Follette, was equally outspoken in his depunciation of thess great wrongs in the minority platform report submitted by him to the Re- publican national convention. But you know what was done with that report: It was thrown out of the window. The last thing in the world the Re- publican leaders want is plain talk upon this subject. They preferred to gloss over this dis- credital record. Indeed the Republi- can candidate for President goes to far as to say in his speech of acceptance that no party can look back with greater satisfaction than the Republi- cans can on the past eight years of TP . Gongdent that & am “confident a large group within the blican party does not join the candidate in this expression of satisfaction. Raps Leadership. Thursday night at St. Paul T sooke on the subject of leadership, cailed at- tention to the lack of leadership in the Republican administration during the past seven and a half years, and pointed out that it was such lack of leadership that prevented the adoption of any constructive program' during this period, < If there is any one subject above all others concerning which the welfare of thes country requires plain speech and constructive leadership, it is the subject of the eighteenth amendment and the Volstead act. A large part of the difficulty in con- nection with this important problem is due to the faflure on the part of our public officials to talk frankly about it. I am satisfied sands of men in public life who think exactly as I do on this subject. but who, | because of what they believe to be political expediency, keep their mouths shut about it. 1 regard this as a great moral- issue, and I appeal to the people of America, regardless of party, to put aside any preconceived they may bave about it and to h it fairly, with- out passion and without prejudice, with open eyes and with open minds, to the end that some constructive solution cf this important problem may be reached. The Prohibition Pariy. For a great many years there was a political party in ti United Statss known as the Prohibition party. At no time during its existence was it a factor worth reckoning with in our political history. During the war, for emergancy reasons, governmental restrictions were put upon the trafic in intoxicatinz haverages. By governmental order pro- hibition was enacted against the sale of liquor of any kind to soldiers in uni- form. For the preservation of grain and. produce needed for the purposes of the war, restrictions were put upon the brewing of malted beverages. Taking advantage of the frame of mind of the American psople, an organ- ization known as the Anti-Saloon Teague started a drive for national pro- hibition. In 1917 they succeeded in having adopted by the Congress. for reference to the States. the eighteenth amendment to our Federal Constitution. Tt received a great deal of support through the country by Jarge numbers of our citizens who, as a matter of na- triotie duty, had accustomed themselves to accepting restrictions upon their per- sonal liberties during the war. In 1919 the eighteenth amendment was ratified and became part of our fundamental law and in ths same year the national prohibition law, commonly known as the Volstead act, was enacted over the veto of President Wilson. 1Is Erroneous Idea. It gzoes without saying that back in 1919 and 1920 millions of right-think- ing people in this country were firm in \l\girpba:‘:h( that intoxicating, aleoholic liquor conld be driven out of this coun- try and its uss abolished by the Ameri- can people simply by writing a con- stitutional amendment prohibiting it, 3,000 persons, while those in charge of arrangsments said as many more could b> handled in six ciher hal's in the biz building. Amplifiers had been rigged up for the crowd there es well as these 1eft, stonding on the outside. At the rear of the main hall was a sign Al ing Wisconsin farmers, “Your | Chance Hes Com ; “Gov. By ith has teken hiz quarely on the principle of th> M Nary-Haugen bill,” it said, adding that his promise “is a gilt-edg>d bond.” Two bands. one of them an Ameiican Legion organization. kept things siirred up for several hours before th2 ral ~nt down to a speech-making bas ‘They olternated, and alvays got a bl an they played ‘Tast Sid>, West or “On, Wis-onsn,” which they quently. Duving inaries, th> crowd was much quieter hzn the ons whizh whooped 1* other n'ght in 8t. Paul, but ti-r: nonsiderable flag waving. hand clappinz in vnison, organived cheering and sing- ing before Gov. Smith chowed up. On» of the outbursts ceme when a woman Zpseead n brewn eud weating a derby lof Gov. Smith's favorite hus taok 2 a. on the sta The Amcriesp Legion Bars ™ - vho wors a sngppy white uniform, al- ways pu' en a biown derby when cutfit played “Th~ alks of York" and the crowd always liked ihat. the country they have abundant reason | that there are thou- |59 nd ! to: by {iwc:rntnt of prohibition. __THE SUNDAY STAR. WASHINGTON. D. C. SEPTEMBER 305 1928 PART 1. Text of Governor Smith’s Speech Asking Dry Law Modification and a Federal statute supporting ti {and 1 believe a great majority of the an erroneous idea. For this reason I hold that the question is not today 2s | between liquor and no liquor. or prohi- bition and anti-prohibition: rather, the question is what is best for the coun- try to do to relieve a situation that it finds itself in. . We have never had prohibition in this country in the sense that hard | liquor was banished from it. iwm\ knowledge of what is going on in | the eountrv would claim that there is | no liquor in this ceuntry today. I go | further than that and say that there |is as mu~h, i not more than there wrs in the pre-nrohibition days, be- z°ns today see reason for storing it away. {how best to adant Am-rican custom smendment end a bedv of sustaining zens. respacting all other s'anding high nre disposed to disregard. Preservation of Youth. T sajd a moment ago that this is sternr duty resting upon the Amerj~an ma0pla than the pressrvation of the mora's of our vouth cf this countrv. In mv snench of asceptance I said the folnwing: “I beleve in tamperance. We have not achi~veq tzmn-ronce nnder the nresant svst-m. The mothers end fathars of voung men and wome~n *hronghent this 1and know the anxiety ~nd warre which has been brought to them by their children's use of leuor in a woy which was nnknown before wrohibition. I believe in reverence for law, Todey dicregard of the prohibi- tien Jaw is insidiously sapning respect for all law, I raise, thorefore, what I wrofor adlv helisve tn b a great moral issne involving the rizhteouspess of our national conduct and the protection of our chiléren’s merals™ This st~tement has been challenged and criticizsd by the overzealous among ths prohéhitienists vho anpear to be willing to disrezard facts 2nd the reenrd, ‘This was no orizinal thought of mine. T have no personal or intimate knowl- sdge of these conditions smong the vouth. No man in my position would be exnected to know th-m: but I have abundant evidenee to sustain what I <aid and it was upon this evidence that I made the statement. Covers Whele Nation. Let us consider some of it. If it were confined to a single ssction of the United States. 1t would not impress me, but it is Nation-wide. It comes from clergymen and educators. - Starting with my own Stats of New York, I have the testimony of the rector of the All Saints’ Eviscopal Church at Great Neck, Long Is'and, who savs: “1 cannot imagine a worse condition than exis's at pres-nt among the young people who are led to the use of adulterated, strong drink, such as whisky, gin. raw brandies and even plain alcohol. and this because the milder drinks, such as beer, ale and light wines, cannot be had for the very simple reason they are difficult for the hootlegger to handle profitably. We are suffering an intolerable situation that means furth-r debauchery of youth be- yond anything we have ever imagined.” Let us step into New England. Rev. P. C. Power, director of the Episcopal Heme of St. John for Children, located in Boston, says: “Boys and girls and older ple hebitually in eonversation boast of their private and favorite bootleggers.” Hits Moral Effcct. Rev. J. D. Saunderson of the Epis- copal Church of Christ in Brownsville, Pa. says: “The moral effect of an unenforced and unenforceable law, particularly on our young people, has been very sad. It soon became, unfortunately, th smart thing to carry something ‘on your hip,’ to use the cant phrase among boys and girls who, in many cases. had never tasted alcohol until the fad had become a habit.” Rev. R. Johnston Thomas of Nebraska “In days gone by, it was a disgrane for boys to drink, and especially girls, but now it is the smart thing to do.” Similar letters could be read from all parts of the country. Miss Ida Tarbell writes: “Bootleggers and their customers thape their commerece to suit circum- stances and, in g 50, often make drinkers of those who, in the old days. were protected from direct temptation. Something of that kind is happening in many business offices: the bootlegger serving the man at the top manages to build up a trade among clerks. stenographers and even elevator and office boys.” Gives Butler's Views. Nicholas Murray Butler, president of Cotumbia University, says: “We have brought about a situation in which we challenge the ingenuity and sporting instinct of millions of voung persons to test whether or not they can safely violate a law for which they have no respect. We have invited and indueed a spirit and a habit of lawlessness which are quite without grecedem. and which reach from the ighest ranks in the nation's life to the lowest and most humble.” Pinally, let me call your attention to the report of the Insfitute of Sorjal end Religious Research, which has recently completed a study ef condi- tions among undergraduates in 23 American colleges. This study was made under the chairmanship of John R. Mott, formerly international president of the Y. M, C. A., and associated with him were men like W. H. P. Faunce, president of Brown - University. and Paul Monroe. former professor in teacher’s colless, Columbia University, New York. Fifty-six psr undergraduatcs said: “The most demoralizin: college life as a whole liquor.” All of this must be known to the people in Washington, but the real truth and the real facts have been concealed. ‘Takes Up Record. Let us look at some of the fact: Let us take them from the re~ord. the first place. I claim that the cighteenth amendm-=nt and the Volstead act have produced a condition of whole- sale corruption among officials of the Gaverns t cherged with their en- forcement, and I call as my witness Gen. Lincoln C. Andrews, a Republican and a one-time national prohibition director. He told a Senate committee (hat there was “astonishing corruntion” amonz prohibition agents: that 875 of them were dismissed for caus>. Of these, 121 were dismissed for extortion. bribery or solicitinz money. 61 for col- lusion and conspiracy. and 137 for in- xieation and misconduct. Maj. Ch~ster P. Mills, farmer pro- | h'bition administretor of the second Federal district of New York, speaking of offic'al corrip‘ion, shows in an article in Collinr's Weekly that briberv | was _rampant to corrunt enforcemant agants who ware in the pev of the Covernment to enforee the law, and in the pay of the baotlaggers to nullify it. Has enybody in official Washing- ton den‘ed this? Und~r the Feovhblicen party, Ma cent of th~ women who were qucstioned influsnce in s th: use of has b-come the “new political pork barrcl” and the party workers *hroughout the country have been re- ded for their ssrvice to the party by being given a chance at the en- He explains t when he first entered the service, he was told to organize his own de- partment and to keep politicsyout of it. He says that gradually the c;a*dcrs to exclude polities were modified. and he as resuested to advies with the local 1 party leagiers regarding eppointments | amendment. Experience has taught us, | | people themselves believe, that this was | No person | rauss countless thousands of our efti- | The euestion presented. therefore, 1 | | and American habit to a constitutional | laws that so many millions of our citi- | laws and | in their communities, maral anestion and. certainly. there is | Mills scys enforeement of prohibition | | - A | waving back 2t his admirers. <% — genera! view; of the Smijth party as it passed up Henn®pin avenue, Minneapolis, Minn., with Gov. Smith constantly —Wide World Photo. | to the force of more than | working under him. Maj. Mills learned that clashe: with the local politiciane were given Nation-wide magnitude, so that thy | dismissal of dishonest men reached | the ear of the President of the United | States. Nothing amused me more than | | to see the telegram of commendation | to the Republican candidate sent by | | the Republican leader of New York | | County. congratulating him on his bold stand for prohibition: for according to Chester Mills, the same gentleman, ta mg advantage of the patrenage tem and tapping the pork barrel f the benefit of his followers, supplied | four prohibition enforcement agents. | In the larguage of Maj. Mills: | “These four men, typical of the low- est grade of erate henchmen, foisted on the prohibition service by | the politicians, were fired.” While that leader apparently was | agresable to the dismissal of one of them, Maj. Mills says that ths under- ground backwash of their - dismissal and hie stubborn refusal to reinstatc them brought a hurry call o Wash- | ington. He then speaks of a confer- ence in the office of the Becretary o! the Treasury, in which Gen. Andrew: Chairman Koenig and former Congres: man Mills, now Undersecretary of the Treasury, took part. After Gen. An- drews had expressed his view that Maj. Mills was a most efficient diy ad- ministrator, Mr. Mills bluntly caid: “No one questions his cfficiency, but let us talk patronege.” Urzed to Make Peace. “Upon my refusal to reinstate the men,” writes Maj. Mills, “Gen. Andrews came on to New York to investigate their cases personally and he urged me to make peace with the politicians by reinstating both the crooks and the bunglers.” I could take up the time of this mest- ing indefinitely explaining the ramifica- tions that grow out of the infection of | politics into the enforcement of the eighteenth amendment and the Volstead act. Suffice it for me to repeat, prohi- bition has been the great political pork barrel for the Republican party. For years all of these positions were out of the classified civil service, so that Republican politicians could name the men of their choice. They were finally placed in the civil service; and examina. tion of the men disclosed that two- thirds of the field force were unable to qualify or make reasonable answer to the questions calculated to determinc their fitness to perform this work. The city of Washington itself is gov- erned by a committee of Congress; and the newspapers record the fact that in one year, one-third of the members of the entire Washington police force have been up before officials on charges of being intoxicated while in the perform- ance of their duty. 1,720,000 Stills In Use. What other facts must be apparent to | the officials at Washington? Again we call on Gen. Andrews. Appearing before a commitiee of the Senate he testified that not 5 per cent of the liquor smug- gled into this country was caught by the Government; further that there were 1,720,000 stills operating in the country under prohibition. He further testified that a half million people are engaged in the making of liquor, and that 2,000.- 000 people are engaged in the various phases of bootlegging, and that occa- sional or habitual drinking of illicii liquor could b2 chargsd against half of our population. This testimony comes from the Re- publican director of the Prohibition Bu- reau. How long are the officials =t ‘Washington going to disregard a condi- tion laid before them by a high official of the Government? How long are they going to continue the trick of the ostrich of burying its head in the sand and assuming that everything is all right? What is the proper thing for them to do—conceal all this or talk it out plainly to the American people? According to the police records gath- ered from 403 different municipalities scattered in all gnr‘»s of the country and in the States that were dry as well as| States that were wet before prohibition, | in 1920, there werc 237,101 arrcsts for | drunkenness and in 1926, six years after | prohibition went into effe: rrests for | drunkenness in' these same places | totaled 559,074. Statistics a'so show a | material in-rease in deaths from the ex- cessive use of alcohel. Driven to Liquor. t is further known to b2 a fact that th2 drastic and unreasonable definition oi what constitutes an intoxicant as contained in the Volstead act has driven men and women who heretofore were content with drinking light wines and beer 1o ths use of strong liguor, and liquor drinking in this country instead of being on the decline is on the ul ward move as a direct result of the at- tempt to prohibit alcoholic beveragss cntirely. . 1t i5 a well known fact that tonight, | hile T em standing cn this patform alking to you, liquor is casily obtain- able in every State of this union, not- withstanding that many cf the Stat: ~ra far r~maved from th~ seehoard or from countrics where liquor is legiti- matel’ ctured. It is a known fact that s an abun-lancs of ligour in ths Capital City itself. Only | a shert tim2 230, according to news: pryar reports, a waiter in ths Senats resiaurant dropped a boitle of Scoteh hisky on ths floor. It broke and its ~ontents spilled over the Capitol, and ~ccording to a New York nawspaper, ha was ischorged tn2 next day for carelessness. Tobody £211 enything aveut the crime involved in his pes- eargion of it, but it was dasleved to be tha cin of wasiz by lelting it fall on he fior, Pain's Two Pictures. £o far I have ettempted to paint iwo ~intnrcs: First, the pi~turs of the effect |of these Jaws upon th» morals of our | 7outh, #nd s>cond. th» ral facts and i ‘he real condition, which I claim must b2 known to the officials of the Gov- ~rnment. 1 have taken considerable time to lay this before you in detail, hut I could not meke a better job of lit then cuote what President Harding sald about it: “Constitutional prohibition has been adopted by the Nation. It is the su- nreme law of the land. In plain cpeak- ing. there are conditions relating to its ~nforcement_which savor of a Nation- wide s=andal. Tt is th> mest demoral- izing factor m our pubiis lfe” Let it be said to his credit that Presl- 240 men l | even common honesty. |from a party that for eight years has | nt IHarding was the one man in high flicial position in Washingion who was | picpared to concede that it was ihre |mest demoraliging factor in our public iffs. What is the answer of the Repub- lican party to all of this? In the fa of this record, the platform glosses ove th> whole thing by quoting the words of George Washington and of Abraham | Lincoln, and again pledges itsclf and its nominees to the observance and vigor- ous enforcement of the .eighteenth amendment; no truth, no candor, not And all of this tried as best it could to be all things to all men. Senator Gore Quoted. Senator Gore of Oklahoma, in a sprech at Omaha recently. summed it up in a few words when he said that the Republican policy was to give the liquor to the wets and give the law to th- drys. The Republican candidate, speakinz on the subject. said the following: “Our country has deliberately under- taken a great social and economic ex- periment, noble in motive and far- reaching in purpose. It must be worked out constructively. “Common sense compels us to realize that grave abuses h>ve occurred— abus2s which must be remedied.” He thereafter speaks of a searching investigation. Let me show you a complete record of a searching inquiry made only two vears ago, comprising 1,700 pages of testimony, all of which, for reasons of political expediency, were disrogarded. What is the plain common sense of this whole proposition? 1928 CAMPAIGN GU ORE American citizer ever hefore in history. Millions of people in this country do not, »gree with Mr. Hoover that this is a noble experiment. You could get no better testimony for that than to look at the result of the referendum in so many of our thizkly populated States. While it is true that some of the States of the Union have voted against change in the present system. it is at the same time true that in the large populous States the result is the other way, as is cvidenced by the referendums. Cites Referendums. In New York people out of sympathy with the law, in a popular election, ex- presssd it by over 1,000,000 majority. In Illinois by 284,000 majority. In Wis- consin by 171,000 majority. In Ne- vada by 8300 majority. In Montana by 10,240 majority. Th> point is that a great army of the American people oppose these laws. Nobody can say that that is a healthy condition in our democracy. Nobody can say that people like ours are com- fortable when so many of our thinking citizens resist the attempt on the part of the Government to regulate their conduct by law. The natural result of it is the breeding throughout the length end breadth of the country a disrespect for all law. Nobody can gainsay the fact that the prohibition law and the Volstead act have found a new line of endeavor for the under- world; they brought to life the boot- leggers and the bootleggers begot the hijackers, and the hijackers the eteers, so that gangland is interested in the maintenance of prohibition, be- cause by its operation they are bene- fited. rack- | | . In my speech of acceptance I | suggested a remedy. Let us deal with | it for a little while. | + Proposes Definition. | First, 3 recommended an amendment | to the Volstead act which should con- | tain a sane and sensible definition of | what constitutes an intoxicating bever- | age, because upon its face the present | definition does not square with com- ‘man sens? or with medical opinion | Each State could then provide for an al- coholic content not greater than that fixed by Congress. It must be borne in mind that the | eighteenth amendment does not pro- hibit alccholic beverages: it prohibits intoxicating beverages. And no sensi- ble man can truthfully be prepared tc say that one-half of 1 per cent of al- cohol constitutes an intoxicant. 1 firmly and honestly believe that a | great deal of the dangerous and poison- | ous hard liquor would be driven out of | this country if the peaple could be as- | sured of an aleoholic heverage declared | by common sense and by science to be non-intoxicating. | 1 further recommended an amend- | ment to the eighteenth amendment. I ‘placed it squarely upon the basis of | the Jeffersonian principle of the right iof each State to determine for itself what it wants to do about questions of | local habits of life usually covered by | local police laws. | Provides Safeguards. | I have carefully, however, provided rafeguards that will make a | return of the old conditions of sale in the saloon, despised. and rightly so, by the American people. | "1 suggest a referendum for the ex- pression of the will of the people them- gelves in the first instance. I would then regard it as the right of the State itself. subject to limitations which T outlined. to dispense to its own in- habitants alcoholic beverages as desired by the people of the State. No man who believes in States’ rights. who believes in the fundamental | principles of democracy. can find any fault with that. No State should be permitted to impose its will upon an- | other State in matters of locai concern. What would the States that desire pro- hibition think about a proposal to | amend the Constitution to forbid them | to enact prohibition laws? They would | justly resent it. That's th> way the | people of the other States feel about th~ eighteenth amendment. The cure for the ills of democracy is | more democracy. Hand this back to the people. Let them decide it. And certainly it is not asking ton much to | let them have something io say ahout | it when an experience of eight ‘vears permits m> to paint such a éismal pir- ture of failure as I have Leen able to lay before this gathering tonight. Coolidge Is Quoted. | This I would say to the people of the | dry States. I propose nothing which | would impose upan them any law which | they do not €esir: within their own | States. I propese merely a change | which will give to cach local community | under appropriate safeguards that sys- tem of law which it desires. | Speaking of a subject cther than pro- | hibition bafore the American Bar As- | snciation at San Mancisco, on August | 10, 1922, President Coolidge said: ‘In a republic the law refiects rather han makes the standard of conduc Offers to its readers this complete will vote on November 6 than They are locking for accurate, non-partisan [act: about this and previous elections. Here are the facts: Popular and electoral votes by States. Population of the States, and racial origins of population. Recent votes for senators and governors. Record of presidential elections since 1788. Platforms ot both parties. Qualifications for voting in each State. The Constitution and its amendments. Lives of the candidates in brief form. This guide has been compiled b Frederic J. Haskin author of The American Government and other widely read books, as a handy reference work for voters, students, party workers and all who want the accurate f:cts about Ame presidential elections. The FACTS and FIGURES te £ It contains the exact data result in each state. | The attempt to dragoon {he body when | the need 1s to convince the soul will | end in revolt.” 1 adopt that statement and I apply it to prohibition. The prohibition law should refiect and not make the stand- ard of conduct in ea:h State of this Union. The attempt to dragoun the body of the voters in States vlich do not belteve in this law results in revoit in those States and has brought about conditions of lawlessness and disre- spect for law which I believe the people of this country should face and ¢hsuld cure. It must be borne in mind that under my suggestion Federal prohibition is reserved in its entirety for the States that desire to remain dry. It will re- main a'ways the duty of the Federal Government under my proposal to pro- tect the Btates desiring to remair. dry from the introduction or importation into them of alcoholic beverages. Will Take Leadership. It retains all the features of the eighteenth amendment and the act sus- taming it except that the Sr::l' I!M:: in its sovereign power may, after a vote y its m?‘é‘ecme under strict control to dispense alcoholic beverages. Now 1 am fully aware that the President of the United States cannot bring this about by himself. But, re- peating what I said in St. Paul, what we lack in this country is leadership; and if 1 am elected President of the Unit=d States. it will be my duty to lay this matter before every community that I can reach and fet them make their own decision. If that is not Democratic Government, 1 must confess that T do not_understand it. You can expect nothing from the Republican party. The long record of eight years indicates that they have used the law for patronage purposes and for political expediency. They tried to be wet when they were with the wets, | and dry when they were with the dr | They have silently stood by and per- | mitted the paralysis of the whole ma- | chinery of Government when it comes to carrying out the mandate of the Constitation and the statute law. It is because of that that after eight years. they are compelled to promisc 2gain that they will do something aboui it if | given a new leas= of life_by the Ameri- can peeple. Promises Enforcement. As I said in my speech of acceptance, with respect to prohibition, two Consti- tutional duties devolve upon the Presi- dent; first, to recommend to Congress what n his epinion is in the interest of this country; second, to enforce the statutes as he finds them. And I told the American people that if I were elected President ané I took the oath of office to sustain the Constitution and laws of this.country, with one hana on the Bible and the ofher reaching up to heaven, that I would make that good. and you can ‘take my assurance for it that I will so far as it is humanly pos- sible to do st.. I shall likewise dischargs my duty to advice the Congress of the changes in the law I deem right . The Rer party is helpless. Its record makes no appeal. A sane, sensibie solution can only come from a Demo- cratic victory. becaus® the Democratic party will give this matter it frank and Jearless attention and lay it befors the American people as it has never been laid before thom, IDE you need in estimating the The Campaign Guide is made available to vou through vour newspaper at a postage and handling cost of 10 cents per copy. Mail tke coupon or prese of The Star. Tke Evening Star Information Bureau Frederic J. Ha Washington, D. C. nt it at the Business Office , Director Enclosed find TEN CENTS in stamps or coin (coin preferred if wrapped carefully) for which please send me a copy of the Campaign Guide. Street City - o settle 1,000 arguments