Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-12-29
Washington, D. C., Dec. 2s.-The

Washington, d. c., Dec. 26.-The
president of the United States, to-
gether with his cabinet, and many
members Of both houses Of congress
and other government officials are
giving a good deal of thought to the
moral ~by-products of the. prohibition
amendment to the constitution. mr..
Harding, announced recently. that
practically the whole of that days
cabinet session was devoted to e dis
cussion Of the public attitude toward
prohibition. This has been true of
other cabinet days and in addition
many lawmakers and administrators
of h law at Washington are spend
ing much time in earnest discussions
Of the effect Of the eighteenth amend
ment. 81.
The problem which is worrying the
president and other officials is: Are
the American people in danger of los
ing their innate respect for Law.
through the spectacle of wholesale
and continuous violation Of the Vol
stead act?-Will the effect Of viola
ticn Of this law bring other laws into
Prohibition has been a vehicle for
the whole gamut of jokes which can
be attached to such laws and funda-
mentally to the idea Of Intoxicating
liquor. This has aided measurably in
building up in the minds Of many
Americans the opinion that prohibit
ton Itself is d humorous matter.
What worries the, officials here is ,that
it is possible for the people to persist
in the Joke view Of any law, no mat
ter what it's subject. They are wor-
ried because theirs is the task, first,
of. making the laws and, second, of
enforcing them, and il a situation de-
velops where public cooperation is
will become extremely difficult.
While prohibition ia the most per-
picking problem Immediately before
the administration, the moral atti-
tude which the president has defined
has extended already to other statutes.
Members Of the house committee on
the judiciary recently had a Discus
sion OF the astonishing relaxation In
the public mind on the subject of
perjury.
In the British law, where most of
our laws find their springs. perjury
was considered a very serious crime.
In this country, until recently. the
same opinion has been held. To
swear to a falsehood liz heavily pun
ishable and the old -fashioned Amer
lean recoiled from the crime almost
as strongly rs from murder. A can
vass Of the situation in the courts OF
the United States made in the discus
sion by the members. OF the judiciary
committee revealed that perjury is
getting to be a common thing and,
Furthermore, often goes wholly un-
punished.
One member Of the committee
pointed out what he regarded as a
curious moral twist in tho minds of
modern perjurors. They were, he
said. inclined to regard perjury in
court as a sort Of technical crime
rather than a@.high moral crime Per-
jury, 1t appears, ts not an index to the
ordinary honesty Of the perjuror.
Many a man who would recoii from
telling a lie to his neighbor or III
business or in any of. the. usual at
fairs IF life. thinks nothing Of max
ing oath in court to a statement OF
which he may not be at all certain
and sometimes knows to, BE- untrue.
Ina word, the, court oath has come
I'm the minds offsmany citizens, the
n1embersr OF the committee discover
ed, to mean nothing more than a
matter of technical court routine.
The solemn function OF placing the
right hand IN the Bible and pro-
many cases into the making Of . ges-
ture and the mumb1lng Of a Few
words.
IT can readily be understood that
the men who are charged with the
making and the enforcement OF laws
are aghast Sat such q DEVELOPMENT.
lWhat6the president and his advisors
tfSar = that this attitude gradually
Wall creep into the opinions OF the