Arizona republican., 1919-07-22
Liauor Enforcement Legislation


 The position The Republican has occupied in the fight for prohibition in this and the nation enables it to treat of a matter which handled by another, might leave it open to suspicion of un- friendlness to the cause of prohibition. We have in mind the proposed legislation against the keeping of liquors in ones dwelling. We will concede that it would be better for not to have intoxicating liquor in his dwelling anywhere else. We will also concede that people should be prevented by law when possible from doing those things which harmful to them and it is inevitable in most cases that people have ready to intoxicating liquors they will make harmful use of them. Therefore, if it possible to prevent people from keeping ntoxi eating liquors in their dwellings 1t would be good thing to do.
 But is it possible? And what will be the effect of trying to this legislation? These questions which prohibonsts should consider for the sake of prohibition. how strong the absolute ne-dry prohibition sentiment is in this country it is impos sble to say It cannot be gauged by the rapidly spreading dry during the last ten years by the almost unanimous ratification by the states of the federal amendment
 very large number of people and, believe, great majority of those who have voted for local option statewide prohibition and have favored national prohibition would have been content with the wiping out of the saloon. Others would have asked lttle more, the SuppreSSlnS Of the Inanuac of hard liquor. was perhaps a small minority that wanted every vestge of the evil removed. But they all supported prohibition since no halfway available. Perhaps none could have been devised. There organization to take charge of a halfway But there was a strong militant organization behind prohibition and those who had come to disapprove the saloon fell in behind it.
 It is pretty well settled that law cannot be reliably enforced unless there is preponderance of public sentiment in it's favor. That is recognized in the provisions requiring that certain kinds of legis- laton be enacted only by two-thirds a three fourths vote. If large minority is opposed to law it's enforcement is apt to be spotted or not at all.
 In the moonshine districts. notwithstanding the vigilance of officials, the illicit manufacture of whiskey never broken up. Now and then a still seized and its operators sent to the peni- tentaIy, but the output of moonshne whiskey in those districts never perceptibly reduced Whole families known to be engaged in moonshining It known to the officers that crops were raised for no other use than to be converted into liquor, but the business went on with the good will of the community behind it and with the United States treasury department backed by all the re- sources of Uncle Sam against it. is hardly to be supposed that the moonshne business will be more affected by prohibition than has by our revenue laws.
 So in almost every community there will be resent ment against intrusion into the housholds of those who may have liquor stored for their own use but who will not have it for illicit distribution Attempts to enforce this feature of the law there in the end will probably fail and the result of the failure will be to render the operation of the whole law loose and uncertain in such a community. Such a loose ness of the machinery might in time extend all over the country.
 Some predict that the zeal of the more advanced prohibitioniss will sometime open the way for the saloons again. We do believe it. The saloon has gone forever and ever. The prohibition amend ment will be repealed. But it's effectiveness will always depend upon the public opinion in each community; upon the degree of obloquy which in each community attaches to violations of the prohibition law. 1t is possible that in some com munites the state of public opinion will be such that the enforcement will to be exceedingly lax. Judgment will have to be exercised in the enactment of supplementary enforcement legislation if the re- suits are to he what the most sanguine advocates of prohibition expect.
 The prohbitionists are on good ground when they oppose compromise with the liquor traffic in any form, when they opposing PTS beer That kind of beer is intoxicating whatever it's proponents may say. The lawful of it would amount as the pro- hbit:onsts claim, to notification of prohibition
 A plain law, not fixing the alcoholic content but merely prohibiting any alcoholic content even as low as onehalf of one per cent, now legally recog- nzed in most states harmless would be better than any law recognizing the power of congress to say arbitrarily what is intoxicating liquor and what is not If the present congress has power to fix an alcoholic content of and half per cent the next congress with equal power coJd fix one o four or any other per cent