PROHIBITION.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20587, 1 July 1932, Page 11

PROHIBITION.

REPEAL FAVOURED. AMERICAN DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION. ! ! DECLARATION AT CHICAGO. (CKWKI> WlßtfA ASSOCIATION—BY EUSCTKtC TELEUIUrII COPYBIGBT.) CHICAGO, Juno £9. A decision favouring the repeal of the Prohibition law followed five hours' wrangling at the Democratic National Convention to-day. The declaration was put into the platform by the Resolutions Committee after a. majority report from the subcommittee for the submission plank, which did not commit the Party, had been rejected by 35 votes to 18. The surprised advocates of tho submission plank were undecided momentarily whether to carry tho clause to the convention floor, but it was predicted that they would make a minority report on Wednesday night. The text of the Resolutions Committee's Prohibition plank reads: "'We favour the repeal of the 18th Amendment. To effect such repeal we demand that Congress should immediately propose a constitutional amendment to the purely representative conventions in States called to act solely on that proposal. We urge the enactment of such measures by the several States as will actually promote temperanco and effectively prevent a return of the saloon and bring the liquor traffic into the open, under complete supervision and control by the States. We demand that the Federal Government should effectively exercise its power to enable the States effectively io protect themselves against importations of intoxicating liquors in violation o,f their i laws. "Pending the repeal, we favour an immediate modification of the Volstead Act to legalise the manufacture and salo of beer and other beverages of such alcoholic content as permissible under the Constitution, and provide therefrom proper and needed revenue." Tariffs and War Debts. The Prohibition dispute was reached after the Committee had waded through extended disputes over silver and tariff declarations. One of the last planks approved declared flatly against tho cancellation of war debts. On the silver question the Committee accepted the sub-committee's proposal pledging the Party in favour of an international monetary conference to rehabilitate silver. Argument arose as to whether the tariff declaration should contain an assertion that such levies would bo for revenue only. This proposal was finally adopted by the Committee. While the Committee worked, the Convention idled, and adjourned finally until 7 o'clock, when Prohibition will have tho right-of-way. This means that most of tho nominating speeches for President will be delayed until Thursday, and there will. be no ballot until late on Thursday at the earliest. Vaudeville Entertainers. A majority of the Democratic plat-form-malcing sub-committee agreed this morning by six votes to three on the wording of tho Prohibition repeal submission plank, assuring the settlement of the issue in the convention later in tho day. Tho Platform Committee voted overwhelmingly to commit tho Party to favour Prohibition repeal, by 35 votes to 17. Tho convention discovered upon opening to-day's proceedings that it had no business to transact, the Resolutions Committee being still held up over the platform on Prohibition, while tariff and silver questions arc giving the farmers difficulties.

The convention therefore listened to vaudeville entertainers, Clarence Darrow, Will Rogers, and other minor notables who joked, spoke, and sang until 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, there was apparently no solution of the deadlock between the Roosevelt and anti-Roosevelt forces. The director of Mr Melvin Traylor's campaign for the Presidential nomination announced that he was offered a bribe of 10,000 dollars to announce Mr Traylor's withdrawal in favour of Mr Franklin D. Roosevelt. Mr James Farley (Mr Roosevelt's campaign leader) declared that the story was ridiculous. Mr Tray lor is a Chicago financier.

UPROAR AND A WILD DEMONSTRATION. REPEAL PLANK CARRIED. * AN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY. (Received June 30th, 5.5 p.m.) CHICAGO, June 29. • When the delegates reconvened after dinner it was monstrously hot. Senator D. I. Walsh (Massachusetts) had extreme difficulty in getting order so that tho platform, which in the meantime had been completed, could bo read. He leaped into a deep rage and shouted for gentlemen, if they were gentlemen, to sit down. It was tho shortest platform, of approximately 1200 words, ever offered to an American political Convention. It marked the return of the Democratic Party to nearly all its traditional policies which, for 100 years before tho recent industrial and financial growth of America made it a Party of primary producers and rural communities opposed to so-called big business and the conservatism of industrial and financial communities. No bet f cr proof of this fact can be found than in the tariff platform—"a compet.'ti/o tariff for revenue only, and reciprocal tariff arrangements with . foreign nations." Of course, when the phrase "Vr& advocate the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment" was read, it precipitated a wild animal-like demonstration. This issue is somehow dulling all perceptions of a remarkable reversion to ' old-time principles in America's political life. The great electric organ, which is net a musical device, but a fantastic instrument of human torture made possible by tho machine age, produced a noise seemingly greater than iould be borne by human ears. When the repeal demonstration began it was difficult riot to believe that tho Americans are a hysterical people. Cheers and Hooting. The Democratic Convention surrendered itself to the delegates for a 3} hours' debate on Prohibition. Since the

minority plank advocating resubmission rather than a direct repeal was offered on the floor, it was a question the crowd loved to heat discussed, and dozens of speakers were cheered or booed, according to their sentiments. Anything but repeal was anathema with the spectators, and the Convention was in continuous uproar. Mr A 1 Smith received a tremendous ovation when he delivered an effective address favouring repeal. He said: "The Eighteenth Amendment must be repealed in order that future generations may be warned that such prohibitory legislation can never again be written into the American Constitution." ' Later the Democratic National Convention adopted the Prohibition repeal plank by 934 votes to 213. The voto was 034 for committing the Party to repeal to 213 votes in favour only of recommending the submission of a repeal amendment. AN INTERPRETATION. SENATORS ON PROHIBITION PLANK. WASHINGTON, June 17. "When the decision of the Republican Convention at Chicago' became known in Congress Senator Norris, a leading Republican, blandly asked Vice-Presi-dent Curtis, "What does this Prohibition plank mean?" "That is not a Parliamentary enquiry," solemnly replied Mr Curtis. Senator Gore, a blind Democrat, submitted: "It is a wet-dry plank, written by an ambidextrous amphibian." Senator Borah facetiously remarked: "This plank is composed of splinters of southern pine, western spruce, Oregon fir, and the sidewalks of New York. Now that we have it, docs anybody know where the President stands on it?"