The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1912-11-14

Ia many localities public sentiment
fayOrs tie open bootlegging joint Re
cent statements made Wy officials adj
mitting their impotency to deal with
this subject show the need Of further
Legislation upon this subject / make
this statement without qualification
and after two years OF experience. .-
there is not a county or city In this
state where open bootlegging joints
can be maintained II local county and
city officials, whose duty ii is to en-
force the law, viii do their duty.
understand that the bootlegger who
sells whiskey freln his pocket who
IS here today and four blocks away
tomorrow, who has no fixed place OF
business, can't be entirely eliminated
from Oklahoma; but to say that the
bo0tlegger who has a fixed place of
business, who makes his sales day
after day, week after week, month af-
ter month and in some cases year af-
ter year just as the groceryman, drug
gist and the dry goods man does. can
continue this in open violation OF the
law and not be put ont Of business, Is
to say that law Is a farce and GOV
eminent Z failure, Such is not true
and where these conditions prevail
there is hut one fair explanation Of
1.-THE local officers whose duty 1t IL
to enforce the law are not enforcing
it and are not tying to enforce it. 1t
It useless for public officials to under.
take to dodge responsibility, and to
say that there are 80 many other laws
10 be enforced that they have not the
time to enforce this law No one err
poets any public official to spend all
of his time enforcing any one law;
but there are enough officials on the
payroll in Oklahoma to enforce an Of
the criminal laws in the slate, or at
least to arrest the violators Of these
laws.
REMOVAL OF OFFICERS.
The Constitution Of this state,
contains the following:
THE supreme executive power
shall be vested in a chief magis-
trate, who shall be styled The
Governor Of the State of Oklaho-
ma,
The Governor shah cause the
laws the State to be faithfully
executed"
Elidenuy it was the intention OF
the trainers OF the Constitution and
the people who adopted fl to clothe
the governor with larger executive
power than any other official In the
state Yet in the execution of the
t laws ef this state, under the statutes
that have been enacted under our con
4 stitution, the governor has very little
more power than the lumblest either
in Oklahoma.
In order that the governors author
It's may be defined and that his re
quests may be observed by local on
/ cials. this Legislature should give him
the power to remove summarlly from
Office any local official whose duty I
is to enforce the criminal laws 0f Ok
lahoma. who fails, neglects or refuse
to enforce them; and this power OF
the part Of the governor should not b,
restricted to the prohibition law, bu
to all criminal laws Clothed will
this authority the question OF loea
sentiment would play very little part
Il would result in another thing whicl
would be Immediately helpful to bette
local government; 1t would remoy
the hootlegger and gambler from loca
politics
don't believe that an occasion
would often arise in Oklahoma wher
an officer would have to be remove
by the governor II would be sufiicien
with the average public official :
know that the governor had that al
thority, and when the governor II
structed him to enforce the law, b