Pueblo chieftain., 1921-05-06
BY Frederic j. Haskin.

Washington, d. C. May "a meas
ure which would make it difficult for
any citizen of the United States to
obtain a revolver or pistol without
breaking the law is now proposed by
Senator Shields of Tennessee as a
remedy for the crime wave.
1t is agreed by all that something
must be done. The country is overrun
| by armed thugs who shoot down a
few hundred citizens every day, take
their cash and jewelry, and escape
in four thousand-dolla cars which
| they have stolen from other citizens
| without much trouble.
Senator Shields believes that the
way to remedy this situation is to
make it as difficult as possible for
anyone to obtain a revolver, pistol or
other firearm small enough to be con-
/ cealed about the person, and he has
| introduced bill which is to ac-
comp,ish this by barring such arms
from Interstate commerce. The stated
| purpose of the bill is to suppress the
sale of pistols. revolvcrs" etc etera-
that is, to make it as difficult as
| possible for any one, criminal or other
wise-to obtain such an arm.
This bill has provoked sharp discus
sion. Many legislators favor it. on
| the other hand. students of the crime
problem say that it will be wholly in
effective. Some critics of the meas
ure say that it is typical of a whole
school of legislation in this country,
designed to suppress vice and crime,
and which has the opposite effect.
Senator Shields says that his meas
uro is modelled after the prohibition
law. Prohibition. he says, was in
effective as state or local measure
as long as liquor could be manu-
manufactured in neighboring states
and shipped into dry territory. In
like manner, he says the efforts of
police to control the sale of firearms
in given city are futile as long as
any criminal can send away and get a
revolver by mail or express.
| His opponents say that his whole
theory is unsound. They agree with
him that his law is OF exactly the
same type as the prohibition law. and
| they assert that. while prohibition has
reduced the consumption of alcohol
/ which may bo n good thing, IL has
not prevented any man who really
wants alcohol from getting it. He can
get it from bootleggers. Further
moro, here in Washington, one of the
/ most orderly of cities, he can buy n
| slightly medicated port wine contain
| ing is per cent of alcohol at many
materials for making homo brew at
several places together with all di-
rections for the making. The effect of
/ this law. they contend. has been to
restrict the. consumption by makinE
/ II inconVenieut to obtain alcoholic
beverages, but II has not made it i'm
possible for the man with an abnormal
alcoholic thirst to satisfy it.
Wi. Not Anect Criminals
! In like manner. they say. gun prohi-
| bition law will greatly reduce tho
number OF persons owning weapons
! by making IT difficult to obtain them
but it will never prevent the man who
Z really needs one from getting it, There
viii inevitably be bootlegEing in guns
| Just as there is now bootleCEinE in
whisky y whole new class Of Grimm
ais who engage in this traffic will be
created, just as liquor prohibition has
| created "A class OF criminals And tho
] taxpayer will he saddled with another
burden of expense in the effort to
enforce this law. It will disarm the
| peaceahlc citizen. but IL will never
prevent the criminal. who needs the
gun in his business. from getting one