Show Prohibition To o Play Important Role in 1924 It Is apparent that the part which prohibition is 13 to play in the next presidential campaign is crystallizing rapidly The Republicans are trying to take the lead to choose the position posItion position tion they regard as most desirable and to maneuver the Democrats into taking or seeming to take the contrarY contrary contrary con con- position The Republicans apprehending t that thai the Issue is bound to be he to the front and that each of the parties must be Identified in the public mind I with one side or the otner prefer 10 o 0 otake take the dry side and take It first I One of th leading elements In this decision Is the result of the recent 3 election on the prohibition issue U u f Ohio In tl that at election the issue was spec specifically HL- HL set forth in the theba an ba r ur o-ur an n amendment to the state constitution It was framed In terms Jj to o the the vets It called for almost the mildest conceivable conceivable con con- relaxation or the act The proposal was merely to tot t raise the permitted proportion of alcohol al al- 0 cohol from half of 1 per cent to 2 4 3 per cent Drys Win Vin in Ohio h On this Issue the drys won by bya y ya a considerable majority and whatever whatever whatever what what- ever the Ohio electorate does comes close to being the accepted sign post of ot policy polley for the Republican party as ast t now constituted and led In the next presidential election electron the issue will be more prohibition or less It will be a more drastic enforcement of ot the present limitation or a relaxation relaxation relax relax- of that limitation existing The next step In a more Inore effective limitation would be to make the purchase of bootleg whisky a criminal criminal criminal crimi crimi- nal act the same as the sale or transportation transportation transportation trans trans- of it The proposal has been entertained seriously by some persons high in the Harding administration admInIstration administration admin admIn- to put the purchaser of contraband liquor on the same basis as the receiver of stolen goods by making hI him equally subject to prosecution prose prose- cution cution It is true there are some Republican leaders who either on personal conviction or as reflecting their communities' communities views believe greater dryness to be a mistaken policy but a greater number of at the Republican leaders are either dry by conviction or else believe that as the situation lies the more advantageous Policy polley from a political point poh t of view r Is to take the side of gre greater ter dryness dry- dry ness Democrats Object The Democrats will not accept r r the position which the Republicans l are now trying to force them Into I I without a struggle A considerable f r body of ot Democratic leaders favor the the J wet position on the theory that that 1 I they don can carry the dry south anyhow anyhow anyhow any any- how and that their Dest chance of carrying what they call the eastern salient the big states of or New York New Jersey Massachusetts and Connecticut Connecticut Connecticut Con Con- lies in taking the w wet t side Against these Is a very Tery considerable considerable considerable consider consider- able number of Democrats who are areso BO so dry by conviction that they will never consent to the tho party accepting a wet position as a mere Incident of political maneuvering To the thet t present writer It has haa seemed se med recently recent recent- ly that these dry Democratic leaders leaders leaders lead lead- ers either because of personal or for other reasons attaining an Increasing t ing lag In the party counsels In short there does not seem to b be e much essential for the wets we t. t s in either party party- j I J |