The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-07-19

which is teaching every child IN Nash
vile that laws are made to be broken
and not to be obeyed, and which IS IN
sitting in the minds of the young an
utter contempt for the Legislature and
the courts; an education which viii be
far more dangerous to future genera
tions than the open saloon could ever
be; training which threatens the
foundations of government"
Having thus described what he claims TO be
general determination in a large city to break
the law, the citizen of Nashville concludes that
prohibition is a folly which the State will soon
cast aside, and pauses to say that the blame is not
Governor Patterson's although his mistakes
have served to wrongly place the blame on his
shoulders Those who stop to think" he SAYS,
know very we'll that if public sentiment in the
city favored prohibition, the officers would en-
force it. no matter, what the Governor thought"
What. then, is the drift of all these scathng
statements! That prohibition Is failure that
il is bad law Why? Because the whole body
of the people have determined to break the law
Because officers elected to enforce all the laws
have arrogated to themselves the discretion of
breaking their oaths in the case Of one statute of
which they do not approve. Because through
the neglect of duty of legal officers whole popu
lace is being instructed in anarchy. Therefore
the law is folly because il ''cannot be en-
forced" because public sentiment does not want
ii enforced
1t would seem that there ought to be suggested
in this connection duty which public officials
undoubtedly owe an influence which they UNI
doubtedy possess, and that is the direction of
public sentiment in accordance with the pre-
scribed duties of their offices, which is the up
holding Of the law Public sentiment is not I'M
Just and ii is not vicious until it has vicious
inspiration and example, Undoubtedly it will be-,
come SO used to the sight and experience of law
lessness openly permitted that it will itself be-
come lawless. Undoubedlv1a people, while not
thereby excused, is at least understandable II,
in the view Of one class Of crime being given
license by officers elected on their oaths to sup
press crime, they fail to appreciate the peculiar
discretion exercised by their wise executive of
tcials. True enough it is that one crime
fagrantly violated makes for many other crimes,
makes for general contempt Of law, makes for
open violations Of many laws which officials de-
sire to suppress. But who Is responsible for
this state of demoralization-the particular Law
representative of alorty sentiment. which all
official minority licenses the officials who,
perjuring themselves by not enforcing it. Justify
their action by contempt which they themselves
have nurtured!
/ If it is true that, from Governor Patterson
down to the shut-eye policemen on the Nashville
streets, the officials Of Tennessee have determined
to prevent the enforcement of the prohibition
law, the crying need is not repeal of the law,
but clean sweep of officials. On that count
alone prohibition should be given another trial.
I Its justification as a statute has manifestly not
been tested in practice when no attempt has
been made to make it more than an impotent
example of ler Sc7pfa.