The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1913-01-31
SPECIAL MESSAGE ON LAW EN-
FORCEMENT.
Continued from Page A.

Continued from Page AZ
3. A law declaring a beverage t.
be intoxicating, which contains as
much as one-half of one per cent al
cohol.
The effectiveness of such a law
against a certain class of evasions and
violations is evident without argu
ment.
Removal of Officials.
4. A law authorizing the summa.
ry removal by the governor by any
mayor, city commissioner, alderman
or Other municipal official, who by or.
dinance, proclamation or other official
action or conduct or by persistent
neglect of duty nullifes or aids and
aDets in the notification of any cri-
mlnal statute of Tennessee.
The governor could not constitu.
tionally be empowered to remove
from Office a sheriff, but he can be
empowered by statute to remove from
office any official of a municipality.
There is little danger that any
governor would abuse this power.
As to Control Of Police.
5. 1t has been proposed in one
bill already introduced in the gen
.eral assembly that the governor be
given control of the police and fire
departments of the cities. This is a
more generous bestowal of power than
any governor would want or than rea-
son would dictate. No governor or
other state official should be author
lied by the legislature to have any
control or supervision OF the purely
local affairs Of a city. There is no
more reason why the governor should
have control Of the fire department of
a city than there is for his control
of street paving or the water system.
These matters are altogether local in
their nature, but the criminal laws
of the state of Tennessee are not To-
cal.
6. A law should be enacted MAX
ing it the duty of the proper officials
Of every municipality, whether incor-
porated by special act or under the
general law, to enforce the four-mile
law of the state without the necessity
of the passage of a municipal ordi-
nance.
Z. The governor or attorney-gen-
eral or both should be authorized to
employ special counsel to assist dis
trict acknowledgement in the prosecu-
ton of violations of the four-mile
law. This proposition is not novel,
as sal doficial already have the au-
thority to employ special counsel in
specific cases. The proposed law
would merely enable them to make
this employment for a general line
Of cases in particular court instead Of
for one special case. This law would
be helpful to such local attorneys-gen-
eral as might appear to be in need
of either moral o. legal support. It
would not only give direct assistance
in the prosecution Of cases, but would
enable the public to know the inside
facts as to the enforcement of this
law. This feature would exert a
strong influence upon public senti-
ment.
OuAJ COMMISSION LOW
s. A general jury commission law
of statewide application should be en-
packing Of straverse and grand juries
acted. It would prevent the shameful
that is now practiced in certain coun
ties. The public welfare demands
that no criminal judge elected by the
elements of lawlessness, should have
the unhampered power to pack and
dominate the juries of his court.
Such a state of affairs is a disgrace
to civilization, a travesty on justice
and the swift forerunner of fearful
public decentralization.
The suggestions herein made are
not partisan, They are made in the
interest of the good name and we'll
being of Tennessee. If any of them
are not wise, they are well intended.
If members of the legislature have
better plans to offer to preserve the
sanctity of the law and prevent the
pollution Of the public morals, | will
gladly adopt and advocate them.
There is a class of dull-minded,
dumb brutes in human form who
coarsely accus every advocate Of law
enforcement of hypocrisy. want
them t oknow that an overwhelming
majority of the best people in this
state-away from the dirt and vice
and CRIME Of the city slums-stand
X-GLOBE-PRICE-1-30
for sobriety, hate the open saloon and
the gambling hell, honor the law,
demand its enforcement, love their
homes and their state and fear God,
the Author of all law.
This general assembly now has an
opportunity to accomplish a great
work for Tennessee, and with this OBJ
%portunity their goes a tremendous re-
%sponsibility to this and future genera
tons.
Respectfully submitted,
BEN w. HOOPER,
Governor.