Norwich bulletin., 1922-12-15
.ETTERs THE EDITOR
The Awakening.

Mfr. Editor: AS a teacher of morality and religion I have always felt 1t to be a necessary duty to be informed on all questions which pertain to the moral. well being of my country and especially on, the great outstanding question of the pro-. hibition of the manufacture and. sale of alcoholic drink. .s.,.>q-:
 confess to feeling of intense relief since reading President Harding's mes sage, especially that part of it which re- feFs to the enforcement of prohibition: 'tHe views with alarm" F.
 He has evidently seen a great light and become aroused by the. great menace to, all law that the winkiRg of authority In regard to the enforcement of the prehihi- tien law has bred. Too, the message seems to have been written with the knowledge of the de- ciSion of the supreme court on the mat ter of the enforcement of the eighteenth amendment, so recently given to :! the l country. s.-sr,-
 The whole trouble is right here. Our 1 political leaders have more" to do with the making and enforcing of our laws than any other one group of men, and they have played fast and loose with the l whole question. From the president down | through congress, state. city and borough offices, men who are supposed to be high l ly intelligent and to have the good of the country at heart, have held an attitude i towards the whole prohibition enforce ment question which would have dishon- ! ored any group of intelligent boys any where in our country. They have winked | at law violations, and made light of the l eighteenth amendment. -- >--~ Our Connecticut delegation is the wet l test in congress and when an attempt. a | belated attempt was made to rehuke Senator Mclean for his neglect of duty,
 the men of his party and good Christian
 people cried out against it. Now if they think at all as Christians, and net as i paFtisans, they must by this time realize
 how cheap they held their Christianity in
 comparison to their partisan politics
 and if sincere must separate themselves I from their partisanshfp where it inter- I feres with their Christian intelligence and integrity.
 ! Of the men in authority, comparatively few of them have uttered word of pro l test or sounded a single note of warning against this oanker that is eating oui
 the moral fiber of our people and their respect for our constitution and our gov. ernment. ~s ,l It is silly to suppose that this nation cannot enforce any law upon it's statute fDooks. But It never can enforce nrohibi tion OF any other law with large part o4 government officials in the state and na, ton laughing at it's violation. or remain ing silent in the face of constant ant widespread lawlessness. Our public mel
 have seemingly sided with the beetiegger in their efforts to annul the Trohibitfo1 s law. s>-e |;:' 5 A few months of real dead in earnes attitude on the part of the president ant ! his officials together with their opel avowal of prohibition and a determine, pronouncement for it's enforcement woul
 change the face of the entire situation We hope since reading the president
 message that this is what our country i
 now to have.
 But it surely is shame that it Ina
 taken all these menths of law Eiolatio . under soft-handed enforcement to teac e our authorities that our nation can sur
 press anaFcAy and must suppress it c
 wait fer the sudden collapse of all lal e and order in our land. t WILLIAM J. REFREafBS,
 Pastor Lisbon Congregational Church.
 Lisbon, Conn, Dec. 14, 1922