Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-02-28
ASSAULT ON THE CONSTI-
TUITION

TT WOULD be unfortunate II the great
: social, moral and economic factors which
combine to present almost unanswer.
able case against the sale of poison, mur.
der and sudden death in the form of alec.
hol should blind the several Common
wealths to the dangers inherent in the sort
of cure now proposed. Prohibition is an
entirely different thing from amendment
OF the Constitution, and it is OF the utmost
Importance that statesmen who see clearly
and think vigorously keep this in mind
Murder, We should say. is as immoral as
alcoholism, but laws against murder are
not written into the Constitution. Lot.
teries were a great evil, but the nation
did not undertake to eradicate them by
constitutional amendment. The dope traf.
nc is a menace to civilization, but we are
aware of no movement TO settle the issue
by constitutional manifesto. The Con.
stitution. which is the very Ark Of the
Covenant. rigidly prescribes the form of
government and the procedure for main.
tanning it in operation, but it is not
document of statutes. To be sure, many
State Constitutions have been wrecked and
ruined by being made the vehicles for leg.
islatlon, but among students of govern
ment it is recognized that to trife in like
manner with the Federal instrument
would be TO deprive It Of the sanctity
which has heretofore surrounded it.
1t is true that slavery Is specifically for
hidden by a constitutional amendment, but
this prohibition fits snugly into the whole
spirit Of the instrument and OF the ELL of
Rights. Yet the other Reconstruction
amendments have never been enforced IN
sections of the country TO which they were
intended specifically 10 apply.
There is another differentiation which
It is important to observe. There could
be no objection, for instance, TO an amend.
ment granting Congress the power to enact
national prohibition. That is not what the
proposed amendment does at all. 1t
actually puts prohibition right into the
Constitution as q permanent declaration of
policy, thus depriving Congress of any
Jurisdiction whatever in the matter. If
the experiment should prove TO be dlsas-
trous in operation, correction of the error
would be a virtual impossibilty.
We have a great deal of sympathy with
the contention that prohibition is essen.
TALLY a race problem and therefore a ma,
tfonal problem. So. too, we find it difficult
to discover any sound argument against
prohibition itself, in certain circumstances,
but it is the very confusion between object
and method which should arouse the an.
tagonism OF all citizens who think of the
United States in terms of destiny rather
than provincially. Few protagonists of
the amendment, we believe, would fight for
II on the frank basis that Incorporation
Of the policy in the Constitution is prefer.
able 20 insertion of a proviso authorizing
Congress to put the policy, In its wisdom,
into effect Yet il threefourths Of the
states were sincerely in favor OF prohlbl.
tion Congress would be in favor Of it.
The amendment enthusiasts want to
burn all bridges behind them. They want
to force their plan through while war con.
ditions favor it. They are not content to
get prohibition; they insist on getting it
sealed forever with constitutional amen.
That. we say, is wrong and not to the
interest Of the country.
Certainly after having indorsed local
9pfion we cannot sanction any proposal to
have the State OF Pennsylvania dedicated
70 support of the proposed amendment un.
fess and until the people have unquestion.
ably rendered their mandate 20 TO do The
present Legislature is not morally compe.
le1t to act and the next one will not be
1(nlsss the election is determined on the
xne issue
When we get TO trifiIng with the Con.
Hutton We begin to play with dynamite.
when II II possible to use the Constitu-
-. why abuse IL?