The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1911-04-13
How Shall Crime Be Sup
pressed?

To THE EDITOR OF The JOURNAL
What is crime? Webster's Dictionary
says, ga violation of law, divine or hui
man." The Standard Dictionary says
can act that subjects the doer to lega
punishment
Is liquor selling crime according tt
the above definitions? The Scripture
says, ''Woe unto him that giveth his
neighbor drink believe that the law
Of every one of the United States pun
ishes, in some form, the seller of intoxi.
eating liquor. The same may be said Of
many of the civilized countries in the
world. Will any one in the business, OF
out, claim that selling intoxicating liquo,
is not crime?
If it is crime, is it like other crimes?
There seem to be two classes of crimes.
In the first class, like gambling, liquor
selling, adultery and prostitution, the
victim and the criminal unite in conceal
ing the crime. In the other class, the
victim usually helps to expose and pun
ish the criminal. The law treats both
classes of criminals alike. It may be
said that the rumseller would not hurt
any one if he kept away from him. The
same may be said of the gambler and
prostitute, but the law does not recog-
nize any difference. 1t Furnishes the
gambler and the prostitute the same as
the thief and the robber.
Now if rumselling is crime, like
other crimes, why should it not be
treated like other crimes? We have
long list of crimes murder, theft,
arson, highway robbery, gambling,
and many others-and the law treats
them all alike. We don't hear anything
about moral suasion, legal suasion, pro-
hibition, local option, high license, low
license, Bangor plan, or Pennell plan.
What should we think of a speaker or
writer, who should persist in discussing
the question, as to whether it is best to
suppress murder, theft, highway rob-
berry, or gambling, by prohibition or by
license? Shouldn't we call him crank?
Every one would say that he was can
didate for the insane asylum. So far as
L know, no single person in the whole
United States favors, or thinks of favor
ing license, high or low, of any crime in
the whole list of crimes known to our
laws except rumselling. AS far as the
crimes just mentioned are concerned,
every one of the hundred, million persons
in the United States are prohibitionists.
There is not one single advocate of Ii
cense. If we should say to this one hum
dred million persons, every one of whom
is so positive that prohibition is the right
way to suppress every crime, except one,
''why are you so prejudiced in favor of
prohibition?" Don't you know that pro-
hibition don't prohibit? Don't you know
that during the past year, 1915 murders
were committed in this country?
What is worse still, the number of
murders is increasing. The number the
year before, was 900 less than last year,
and what is worse still, only one in eighty
six of the murderers was capitally pun
ished.
Just think how much lying, hypocrisy,
corruption and expense there must be,
connected with such prohibitory, law!
Just think also, how so much non-en-
forcement brings all law into contempt!
The whole world has, in all the past, tried
to suppress murder by prohibition, and
yet see the result! 1915 murders in the
United States alone, and only one in Sc,
capitally punished. Wouldn't it be bet
ter to repeal the law prohibiting murder,
and try high license?
We have been trying prohibition for all
time on all crimes except rumselling, and
how does it work? We have more than
1901 persons in prison, all the time,
and more than 100000 persons are COM
mitted to prison every year. Just think
of the hypocrisy, lying, deception and
expense, and still crime does not de-
crease. Statistics prove that only one
out of seventy five, or eighty murderers
are capitally punished, and is it probable
that more than one out of the same num-
Der of other criminals ever get into jail?
If so. there are more than three million
criminals in this country most of whom
are never punished. Surely prohibition
does not prohibit. Isn't it time we try
high license, local option, or something
to stop so much crime? No advocate of
the license of the liquor traffic can object
to the above reasoning, because it is the
very reasoning they have been repeating
over and over until we are tired and sick
of it. Prohibition does not prohibit.
Prohibition cannot be enforced. Law
violated every day. Hypocrisy, Lying,
Corruption, Unfaithful officers, Non-en.
forcement bring all law into contempt.
No friend Of the saloon, and no person
sympathizing with the saloon, can bring
any possible reason why the saloon should
be licensed that will not apply with equal
force in favor of licensing these other
crimes. Can any person in all the world
give any possible reason why all the peo-
pie in this country are continually talk