The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1914-05-06
DOES PROHIBITION PROHIBIT?
The Experience of the Police in
"Dry' Town.

ms is Dig queSlloh' anu W va
police force one of great moment
Many would make the suppression OF
the sale of intoXicants a national IS
sue: others aver that all sumptuary
laws are in direct contravention OF
the spirit of liberty guaranteed by
the Constitution. In New England,
today, a spectacular poster campaign
is being waged by the anti-saloon IN
terests; hence, the experience of the
police in the saloonless town is OF
peculiar interest at the present time.
Without doubt one of the most in
teresting contributions to the much
mooted prohibition discussion will be
found in an excerpt from the annual
report Just submitted by William H.
Smith. chief of police of Asbury Park
Since its inception, some forty odd
years ago, Asbury Park has been a
dry town. In the summer season 1t
caters to hundreds of thousands OF
Americans who journey to its famous
sea-swept beach for recreation. AT
all times it has been known as a
Prohibition City"
Chief W. II. Smith, of Asbury Park,
is the Oldest police chief of the state
of New Jersey. For twenty-five years
he has safeguarded the lives and prop
erty of the citizens and visitors to
the Queen of Ocean Resorts" and
during that time has seen millions OF
men, women and children come and
60 Chief Smith is an ideal police Of
ficer. Clear-headed, able, astute,
keen observer, and an analytical stu
dent of social conditions, his contri-
button will be read with great inter
est and his opinion will receive the
careful consideration of everyone who
is interested in the great liquor ques-
tion.
To the City Fathers, Chief Smith
said:
The matter of illegal sale of liquor
is still with us. We have all the
odium, trouble and expense that go
with the unlicensed sale of liquor;
also all the misery and degradation
that these unlicensed places cause,
without one cent of tribute in return,
and it seems we are destined to go
on, spending the peoples money and
our time, trying to enforce an unpop-
pular prohibition law, that is not
backed by public sentiment, and no
law can be successfully enforced that
does not have majority of the peo-
pie behind it. One faction claims
that prohibition does not prohibit and
another will say that license does not
regulate, but | wish TO state that pro
hibition does breed 'speak-easies' and
opens a field for unscrupulous per
sons to engage in the Illegal sale of
liquor. and even further than that
when applied to summer resort of
the size and Importance of this city,
it induces the hitherto honest and
law-abiding hotel keeper, who wishes
to cater to the wants of his guests, to
place himself within the reach of the
law. and the police department has
to be engaged in a constant warfare,
in order to keep this traffic in any
thing like control, necessitating the
most detestable sort of detective
work to bring the violators to justice.
'Tt may be true that license does
not regulate but one thing which is
in its favor is that it brings the bust
ness out into the light, and gives the
hotel keeper an opportunity to pro-
cure a license, enabling him to pro-
ceed in a lawful manner and freeing
the taxpayers from the expense of
having detectives employed, whose ev-
idence is rarely believed.
1T is my belief that license issued
under proper restrictions does regu-
late, and that there is less contention
over excise matter where the traffic
is properly licensed than where it is
prohibited. Further, | endorse the
sentiments of Judge Foster, as eX-
pressed in his evidence before the
excise commissioners, when he said:
There should be some kind of legisla-
ton enacted whereby the hotel keep
ers of these coast resorts could OBJ
tain a license that would permit them
to cater to the wants of their guests
I'VE prosecute more cases for the
illegal sales of intoxicating liquors in
this city than all of the rest of Mon
mouth County combined.
Eighty per cent of all the cases
tried at the county court house origin
ate from the territory in which the
sale of intoxicants is prescribed by
law. So far as my experience and OBJ
seryation serves | can state emphat-