The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-10-30
PEOPLES FORUM
Threatening to Hinder the Enforcement of Law.

Editor Of The Virginian:
Sir,-The enabling act will soon claim our at
tention and we shall wait anxiously to see wha,
our next general assembly will do with it. And
while we are waiting, all the old arguments
about the impossibility of enforcing prohibit
ton laws will be rehearsed for us. We shall
have to hear this over and over again. until we
argue every particle of plausibility It has OF
existence, The object of this article is TO lay
hare some of the fallacies of those who hold
that prohibition cannot be enforced.
Maine voted dry, the last time, in 1911. by, a
majority so small that a town having 1000
voters would on the average only give six ma
i0rity. Naturally there were many places where
the vets had considerable majority. The Out
look of November 25, 1911, represents Governor
Piaisted, of Maine, as favoring an amendment to
the constitution, allowing liquor to be sold in the
sections where the majority favored it. and pro-
hihiting its sale where the majority did not favor
II. And the Outlook regards this proposition as
worthy of serious consideration. But just what
sort of democracy Maine would have. if she al
lowed the majority of the voters in some small
section Of the State, to override the will of the
majority of the entire State was, of course. not
explained. For n small portion of a state to
say we will go with the State, if>the State goes
our way, but If IT does not go our way, We will
go alone-if the State is wet we win be wet with
1t. but If the State is dry we will be wet alone
is not democracy of any sort; but anarchy.
But after all, what the governor Of Maine,
together with the support of the Outlook. was
trying to do, was to restate the liquor mems
old argument. that it was no use to vote pro-
hihItion In Maine because it could not be en-
forced, I think that l do them justice accord
ing to the article in the Outlook, When I say that
their reason for claiming that prohibition can
not be enforced, is a general principle; that any
law that is supported by only a small majority
and opposed by a large majority. is exceedingly
difficult If not impossible to enforce. Now, with
all due respect to the authorities that I must
oppose, I don't believe that there is any such a
general principle In human government as that.
And thts-ts precisely the point IN the Old argu=
ment that l want to challenge.
1t is true that there. Is a class of laws which
are hard TO enforce. when a large minority OPP
poses them and there is only a small majority
In favor Of them, but this is almost exclusively
a specific class Of laws, which either curtails or
prohibits the sale of alcoholic liquors, And
there is a specific class of law-hreakers. whc
make 1t difficult to enforce these laws, and they
are the men who are interested in the sale Of
liquors. and whose main regard for law Is tc
keep out of prison. But while these statements
are true in these cases, they are by no mean.
true for all laws which are favored by a small
majority and opposed by a large minority. MOI
is 1t true that all minorities make It difficult
to enforce a law that they oppose. The large
wet minority Is the one that gives the trouble
and generally the only one that does Civ
, trouble.
The very case in question proves my position
II a town with a thousand voters votes dry D.
= SIX majority the law Will pTopapiy We Hdi =
enforce, for that Is one of the specific laws
that Is hard TO enforce, because It conflicts wit
I that specific class Of law-hreakers which max
J. 1t difficult to enforce laws against the liquor bus
= mess. and who will so around boasting that III
town voted dry, but that 1t cannot be made DIR
| In fact. But two years hence, It goes wet, b
q six majority. What happens then? If all larg
- mlnorities were alike. and behaved alike In op
posing the will OF a small majority. this larg
n dry minority would get together. and run tn
49, -Y - taXrn anI rnt p1tF h a w 4
be enforced. But when or where did that eve
Il happenP Or when or where Is it likely TO hap
pen? Who ever heard of the saloon men of
town complaining that the majority of the voter
Of that town had voted for saloons, but tina
y they could not enforce the law and have then
y because of the opposition of a large minority
who had run them out of town, and were walk
e ing around boasting that even if the town ha
voted wet, that 1t was impossible to make 1t we
e In fact? Yet this Is just what must happe
generally. II it Is true generally that large nj
~norlties who oppose a law, generally make it dill
= hcult to enforce that law, No. 1t is not a ger
l. eral trouble that we are facing. It is a specifi
q class of laws that are often broken. and
:, specific class of law-breakers that refuse to ODE
% them.
The general argument made by the governc
of Maine. was that a large wet minority pre-
vented the State from being dry. even though
voted dry, intimating that such actions by lars
minorities were common. Then he turns an
~ argues for saloons in towns, where the matorit
favors them, forgetting, of course, that a larg
minority opposes them, and according to h
own general theory. If his theory were tru,
would never suffer them TO be there, even
the town voted for them. II Is only becaus
minorities in general. and dry minorities in PAL
a ticular. are law abiding and submissive to tn
"a will of the minority, that it would he possible t
u have saloons in the towns of Maine, where ther
- are wet majorities. If the dry voters inter
10 fered with the enforcement of laws to the es
tent that the wet voters do, 1t would be Just q
Impossible to have wet towns, as it IS to hay
thoroughly dry towns now. And this puts tn
e failure to enforce prohibition. just where it be
flongs, at the feet of the saloon men and tn
g tribe of drinkers with deprayed appetites, VIII
have learned to march to the saloon man
e music, and only there.
1t may be that the saloon men get the ide
=" that minorities can work wonders, from the fat
that a minority of our voters has succeeded
r keeping the saloon in our State for a number
years. But, while this condition would argue
e that direction. 1T must be remembered that tn
Is just the sort OF minority that we would e,
a pect TO find trying to thwart the will of tn
people. We have just laid that sort OF thin
III at the saloon mans feet. But all minorities al
re not thus corrupt, and do not have corrupt none
n to spend. And would not so spend it, if
were available for them.
Prohibition will not prohibit, is not a gener;
principle either, it is rather a boasting threa
which comes from a minority of corrupt pol
- - 49,. $50 $500 A.