Life — December 8, 1927 — page 18: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

DECEMBER 8, 192 VOL. 90. 2353 “While there is Life there’s Hope” Published by Lire Ciantrs Dasa Ginsow, President: Cram Giusox, Secretary-Treasurer; Henny Editor; F. D.C S. Maamix, R. C. Beses SENATOR BORAH made a speech on November 12th to the Law Enforce- ment ladies in Carnegie Hall, say- ing that the politicians of both parties were dodging the Wet and Dry issue and that they ought to speak up about it and take sides, He seems to want one of the parties to be Wet and the other Dry so that voters can express themselves def- initely on that issue. The World argued in reply to effect that unenforcement had served adequately to handle the Four- teenth and Fifteenth Amendments which most of the Southerners ob- jected to. Senator Glass responding deposed that, beeau: of some failure of en- actment by Congress, the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were not in the same class as the Eighteenth and that the obligation to enforce them was not equally compulso: There is no objection to t rned and eloquent statesmen dis- this subject as much as they Senator Borah’s desire for a lineup between the Wets and the Drys and also for a complete en- nt of the Volstead Act gets a of support from the Wets, of whom believe that the more rously the Volstead Act is en- forced the more the American public will dislike it. But evidently the politicians do not want to get into trouble with this question be both parties are split on it’ right through the middle. If the Demo- erats should come out Wet in their platform they would lose a lot of Democratic vote: If the Republi- vut Dry in their psc cans should come platform they would probably. lose xy and F, BLisiinG Company, 598 Madison Ave., New York. Maxwett, Vice-President; Laxcuoaxe Ricurer, Business: Manager. pL. A. Fives, Managing Editor; G. Cooren, Contributing Editors. a good many Republican votes. The managers of neither party want to lose any votes that they can keep by lying low and speaking in whispers. They are not asking for oratory on this subject. Moreover, there are many thou- sands of voters who are neither Wet nor Dry; a great company of Anti- Saloon Wets who want to keep any good there is in Prohibition, and an increasing number of Drys who are disgusted with it as we have it, and want an end to its disorders and an enforcible law. Such voters Mr. Borah’s pleadings for the Constitu- tion and Mr. Glass’s disclosures about the technicalities of amend- ments leave entirely cold. Some cf them want better drinks, others want better laws, but Mr. Borah offers nothing that has even a faint pros- pect of meeting either of these needs. Besides that, if one party should go Wet and the other Dry there would still be no_ resulting de- cision that could be called final. The Wets would still be Wet, the Drys would still be Dry and the Eight- centh Amendment would still be in the Constitution. If the Wets won, maybe enforcement would fall off in some States, but that is all. UT it may be that when we actu- ally get to the campaign this Wet and Dry issue will be quite over- shadowed by something else. It is six months and more yet before nom- inating will be done in conventions, and in these particularly active times months is long enough for a very considerable turnover. There is a possibility of a religious discussion, which Mr. John J. Chapman has noticed in a letter published in the Times on November 21st, which might be even more distasteful to the politicians than Prohibition. ‘The motto of most politicians is as to fundamental discussion: The least said the soonest mended.” They feel so about Prohibition and they would undoubtedly feel so about any real discussion of the polity of a gre ecclesiastical organization th ii cludes five or six million voters in its membership. Their motto is good most of the time, but in actual cam- paigns to elect a President the lid is apt to come off. HE presidential primaries are upon us and have hada quickening effect on discussion of Mr. Coolidge’s withdrawal as a candidate. Some of the commentators affect to consider him somewhat disingenuous be he has not reissued his intenti them in stronger language and pos- sibly emphasized them with exeera- ti Having not very ample gifts of imagination, they cannot imagine anybody as having enough of being President, so they say he remains half a candidate and so makes it hard for possible competitors like Mr. Hoover, Mr. Hughes and Mr. Dawes to be pushed with energy. But why is it not possible that Mr. Coolidge, who is a very prudent man, is admonished by his inward guide to get out of the presidency before it breaks him? He has had excellent ralth and seems to take his work calmly and easily, Nevertheless, five years he has held down a very big job. He has stil! another year ahead on it and he may humanly feel like taking a rest. When he talks about a year of whittling after he leaves office, he means that he is in- clined to take a vacation and think things over. That he should choose not to run for President again at present is probably comprehensible to anybody but a political manager. Meanwhile no effort should be wanting to aid and restore the State of Vermont. It is Mr. Coolidge’s home State. His cha stands in his garage there, and his casque re- poses on the pantry shelf. Maybe he wants to go home and be Governor of Vermont for a spell and help to put that sorely afflicted common- wealth back on the map. As a school of character Vermont is unique. Its restoration to prosperity na- tional necessity. isa E. S. Martin, comicbooks.com