The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1920-12-24
OUR CRIME WAVE.


the country are commenting on the
wave of crime that has seemingly en-
quilted the nation during the past
year. Robberies, murders, assaults,
bootlegging and a dozen less serious
crimes are more prevalent than ever
before. Not day passes that mum.
Der of crimes are not chronicled until
the most serious offenses occasion only
slight comment There have been dur
ing the year in the larger cities scores
of unsolved murder mysteries. Mil
lions of dollars have been stolen in
broad day light and the robbers sell
dom apprehended.
This crime wave is due in large
measure to the fact that our courts do
not convict when perpetrators of
crimes are. apprehended and the fail.
ure of the courts is traceable solely
to lack of strong public sentiment be-
hind the enforcement of the law. Our
laws are enforced wherever there is
a strong public sentiment behind the
officers of the law Where the people
are Indifferent and wink at crime we
may expectlaxity in the enforcement
OF the law. One of the chief sources
of trouble with us has been the enact.
ment of too many criminal laws. We
have legislated "Thou Shalt Not" I'M
til statutes no longer strike terror to
the souls of men.
In Tennessee we have now and have
had for many years a law that forbids
the sale of cigarettes. 1t is an abso-
lutely dead letter." There is no SEN
timent behind the law. Judges and
jurors openly smoke cigarettes and
they are sold almost as openly as cot
fee or soda water. There are scores
of other laws which are almost as
dead" as the cigarette law. The only
effect of such legislation is to breed
contempt for all laws.
Even the way faring man can OBJ
serve that the anti-liquor laws are no
longer held in wholesome respect in
this community. Liquor is. more plen-
t.ful, the evidences of its use are more
numerous, than has been the case in
this section in many years. Bootleg
gers ply their nefarious trade all over
Tennessee and DRINKS are altogether
too frequent to deny the fact that
liquor is easily obtained Apparently
everyone accepts this almost open vio-
lation of the liquor laws with compla-
cency. There is seemingly little sen
timent for the enforcement of the law,
although in election after election the
people of Tennessee voted for prohi-
bition of the liquor traffic
The trouble with the average re-
former is that he is through just as
soon as the law he wants is written.
He has implicit faith in the efficacy
of act of assembly to reform the com
munity, the state and the nation. He
is wholly Indifferent to the failure of
his leg Station to secure results. The
cigarette law is an example of this
fact Although sentiment in Tennes-
see is overwhelmingly against the law,
it's sponsors defeated a movement in
augurated two years ago for its re.
peal. They cling to the law although
it has no potency whatever and is not
responsible for the loss of a single sale
OF cigarettes.
Public sentiment must demand the
enforcement of laws before they are
going to be executed Unless the PEG.
pie of Tennessee and of this communi-
ty are in earnest about the enforce.
ment of the liquor laws we may ex-
pect a further increase in crimes of
violence and more fragrant violations
OF the law 1t is a matter solely for
the people to determine.