The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1921-10-18
TIE POOR Mad WORLD

stTfiE world seems 10 have gone made with the spirit Of Lswless
Thb. V ! upassssAad, is what Attorney General MS. Bow.
man told the delegates 70 the New Mexico. W. G. r. U. convention
n Santa f. last week lie was referring ~ the evasion Of payment
Of taxes smoking by women and violation of the prohibition laws.
Arcording 20 she rrpprt Of his address.
while in couplete agreement with the attorney general in his
eloquent demand for law enforcement and respect for the law, we
cannot help but feel that in asserting a world gone mad with the
spirit Of lsuiessnesa, he pernahted the urge Of eoqueuee TO influence
u may be a eroudless optimism, but there are many who be-
iieve that the world, however mad i may have been and however
full for an eventual return TO sanity.
II seems to us that II is time TO indulge in a little optimism as
70 the mental state Of the world. Goodness knows, Il has been bad
s snsass for sr. lsas enough ~s,s.s and /. i d,i is mental ~ and. and moral ,,l. states . are s, not
to be gained by exaggeraiing the maady, even under the pressure Of
Since the time when the Roman tax gathers found piekings thin
and difficult periods Of excessive taxation have found the people
reluctant producers The tax dodFer is as old as the tax. The tax
dodeer, confronted with conscientious enforcement Of legitimate
taxes, seldom gets away with much. Why picture only a depraved
ton Of law.
As for the prevalence Of smoking among woman, we can but
admire the courage Of Mr.. Bowman in listing il as one of his evidences
Of . world gone mad with the spirit Of hHlessness. We wouldnt
it is not. We have just been engaged, in state and nation, in con
iss, ! ss' number, sao af them 'r sSsosr to = sma assea %hls ap ,Ss w %S%e Of NE
species continues 70 increase his consumption Of increasingly bad to-
evidence Of the madness Of the wohdi m4
That the spirit Of iawlessness prevails among boOtleggers. high
There is a need for 9 kind of enforcement Of the prohibition laws in
which al responsible officers Of the law must join, which will make
We have IT in New Mexico as in every other state in the union.
At the same time there is a tendency: IL wouldxeem 10 be almost
a propaganda; to unload onto the alleged lack Of respect for the
prohibition laws and their sketehy enforcement, the blame for every
other unsatisfactory moral trend of the times. We find influential
newspapers and respected men soemnly asserting that bank robber
ies, divorce, forgery, getriehsquiek schemes, wife beating and hard
times all are on the increase as . result Of disregard of law BORN
of non enforcement Of prohibition.
That there are gross and fragrant violations of the law in almost
every community goes without saying. But all progress toward bet
ter enforcement is ignored. An the benefits of the enforcement thus
far obtained are put aside The benefits of prohibition that even the
most temperate booze fighter recognizes are overlooked while the
propaganda Of the evils of nonenforcement holds full sway.
Prohibition is an easy abb. It'll blamed for many things il is not
responsible for and given credit for some things that should be cred
tied elsewhere. To expect complete enforcement Of prohibition in a
nation trained in the too free use OF intoxicants and surrounded by
nations wherein the liquor traffic remains legal, is to expect a mira
Gle. 1t is as reasonable to expect such a miracle as to find in its
absence evidence of a world run mad with the spirit of lawlessness.
q The world rs doing fairly well, mentally and morally, when we
consider what il has gone through Of late. As for the lawlessness
of booteggers high and low, the surest evidence of It's approaching
end is found in just such demands as that Of Bowman, Of Lindsey in
Denver. Of public officers throughout the nation for enforcement OF
the law, no matter what the social or financial position Of the boot
logger or those he serves. t