The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-02-26
Frederic Haslkin's L.efter'
Prohibitions First Birfhdov.

,ro.,s LILY weakened and unit n.
WORK. For wood alcohol dos. y
always kill or blind its victim. inns !, sa
1t never fails to have a dan.s.oe
effect upon the brain, eslOa
In addition to the hosnits,. I.
prisons are also SHOWING :
mendous increase in nonn,.. n
after a short period in tha ~.
part of 1920 when the comm,. s.le
rate noticeably declined Whsss
the present state of unenfc.s,
pronloition is or is not respons;s'
for this seems to be a disnns ..sA
question. The ants are inclirsss
blame the entire crime wave on u
18TH amendment, while the pros !
slst that the two are wholly nm.
lated. In support of this co...
ton, they call attention to tho :.
that, a similar crime wave is snl..s |
ing over Europe where M assa
has been made to restrict tho ~. :.
flow of liquor. ~ ue
fronlDltionists Optimistic.
New York prohibitionists mc,.
over, refuse to admit that nrohN'
ton has so far proved unsuccessta,
in New York. They point ONT ,Ss,
liquors of all sorts and descrintiasa
valued At $2.75O,00o have ~
seized 9y the authorities and sto,ss
in impregnable warehouses. NJ.
hundreds of persons have been sa !.
rested for violations of tho WI
stead Act, which has proved az q.
ficacious warning to other wor,a
be violators, and that the rest,;s
tons on the withdrawal of liouo,
are ever becoming more rigid. An
OF these things must. in time thay
assert, have their effect.
All these reports about Nox
York being wide open are grea.lv
exaggerated" declared one sueb
optimistic pro the other night ss
he went to dine with an anti ~
course. it is only to be supposs
that some people would attempt ia
break the law-especially those NJ
the underworld-but they are h..
ing successfully combatted. Sa.
looms have gone. and the distrihu.
ton of liquor has been practically
stopped, except at prohibitive
prices"
AS the pro hurled this opinion
forcefully at his companion. the
two debaters turned into dimlv.
lighted East Houston street, where
there are certain famous cafes, On
the pavement before the dingy, pic.
turesQue doors of the two of these
strobe tall, watchful policeman
There, you see," said the pro,
"the police are everywhere on the
job. Conditions are better than you
think"
Eyes, SO I see," said the anti
complacently, land now let's 70 in
and have a drink. The same police
man was here the other night, and
We had a large coffee-pot full Of
Chianti and really delightful cor
dial"
1t must not be supposed Aom the
foregoing that the United States
revenue officers who are patrolling
New York are not at all vigilant in
enforcing the law; it is simply that
the task is altogether too much Tor
them. As soon as they put an end
to the liquor traffic in one place. it
breaks out in another. In spite
of the fact that % revenue agents
patrol the st. Lawrence
river, bootlegging continues praa-
tically unchecked in that vicinity
by boat. by train and by automo-
bile. One bootlegger, who was
caught and arrested the other day,
that he could get as much
liquor as he wanted across the
Canadian border.
Yet in spite of all this mass OF
failure piled up by the Volstead
law, prohibitionists. On the whole,
refuse to be discouraged. The
United States may never be fully
dry" they say, but prohibition will
never be rejected. While it may
not be successful in this generation,
Or even in the next, it will eveAtu-
ally, is their claim.
Sentiment throughout the coun-
.ry is continually growing strong
er for prohibition" said Prohio'-
Jon Commissioner Kramer, in an
address here the other day. De
spite evidences Of lawbreaking IN
some sections, the country as a
whole is behind the amendment 10
he constitution. New York and the
,ast cannot be considered as re-
1ecting the attitude of the coun-
ry at large, and in general ives.
II Pittsburgh the country is dry