The Cordova daily times., 1920-04-22
THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 1920
ABOARD THE WATER WAGON

Fifty years ago Uncle Sam began the long, slow task of tapering off. Today he is apparently firmly seated on the water-wagon, and the road be- hind him is strewn with broken and empty bottles, relics of livelier, if not more happy, days. To some hundreds of thousands the prospect is lugubri- ous. To some other hundreds of thou sands the prospect is bright with nope. It is great change, this, from uni versal humidity to continental arid ffy. Aforetime, and as far back as we can peer into the dawn of history, man has been accustomed to his drink. The vikings took deep drafts before going into battle, and, if they lived, took deeper drafts on coming out. Otherwise they drank in Valhalla. Now man, unless he has had provision to make provision, may drink no more. Nor may he hope to quaff a cup when he goes to join his fathers. That which is forbidden here on earth can not logically be held out as a reward iii the hereafter. It has been ques- toned whether the prohibition law will be innocuous. Prohibition has been written into the organic law of the land. Can it be enforced? Daniel c. Roper, commissioner Of internal revenue, churchman, and lifelong tee- totaIer, answers affirmatively. Said he in .an interview printed in the New York Tribune:
 Tt is my firm belief that this law can and will be enforced. To my mind the constitutional amendment and the enforcement law do not run contrary to human nature. I do not believe that ages of habit or heredity have rooted a necessity for alcoholic drink in the human constitution. Neither do I believe that there is in this cOun- try such a great mass of inveterate opposition to prohibition as an en- croachment on the rights of man that despite all our efforts the law will be- some dead letter. The human race has been for centuries the victim of great delusiOn and a bad habit. The A-s 0-aSo Norr+ 0f fhn decided to break it's bonds and re- form, just as thousands and millions of men have done for themselves in these last fifty years. We can and should rid ourselves of alcohol just as we do with the narcotics I know that there are millions of people who ener- getically hate prohibition, but l know also that millions of slaves of whisky welcome prohibition.
 Also I know that the overwhelming majority of the American people re- spect the rule of the majority and are firmly law-abiding. They will insist en the new departure having fair trial If they consider it is an expert ment, they want it at least to be thoroughgoing and honest experiment.
 t"The prohibition law will be. vlo- lated-extensively at first, slightly later on; but it will, broadly speaking, be enforced, and will result in na- tion that knows not alcohol My own opinion is that we shall be immeasur- ahly better off without liquor.
 Ardent prohibitionist that l am, however, 1 can say that it is not my Intention to act like fanatic in en- forcing this law. It amounts to an enforced revolution in the habits of millions of people; it is sweeping innovation; it is a new order of socl- ety. People must be educated up to it, and they must first be made aware of the fact that the law is no joke that it can be enforced and that it is going to be enforced. They must be broken in, so to speak"
 MT. Roper created federal prohibi- tion division of his bureau to deal with administration enforcement, and placed at the head of it John F. Kramer of Mansfield, Ohio, who is known as the federal prohibition officer. Like MT, Roper, MT. Kramer is a believer in nrohibition. He likes his job so well