Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1922-05-11
OPEN AFFR0NT TO
AMERICAN PEOPLE
Is Statement Laws Cannot Be
Enforced Says Dry Chief,
Speaking At Louisville
(By Associated Press)

Louisville, KY, May l1-W1tI
| drawals of whisky from bonde'
: warehouses for this year on tn
! basis of the last three or fou
months, will amount to about 2,
! 100000 gallons, (which is per
haps only about one half milliol
gallons in excess of normal me
dicinal requirements" R. A
Haynes, federal prohibition COM
missioner, told the Churchmen':
Federation here today. Mr
| Haynes compared this figure
with 100000 gallons ot
| American made whisky which he
said were consumed in the Unit
ed States annually during the
years preceding prohibition and
with about 12,50O,O00 gallons
withdrawn from bonded warc-
houses on permits in 1920 and
about three and half millions
in 1921.
at is significant" MIR. Haynes
continued, "that at a time when
liquor is more difficult to obtain
than at any other time in our
history; when drunkenness has
decreased to 4 very appreciate
degree; when convictions for the
violation of law are becoming
most numerous; that at such a
time the largest amount of space
is given in some of our newspa-
pers to articles most fiinsy OF
facts, which set forth the idea
that prohibition is failure. |
am inclined to believe that this
propaganda has its origin in the
interest of large personal gains
on the part of a comparative
few, who have felt most force
fully the effects of the law. rs
long as enforcement officers
could be easily bribed; as long as
the traffic went on unimpeded by
taxes, fines or jail sentences; as
long as only small ofendersi
were brought to justice, there
was little cause for the insidiouS
propaganda.
Nothing can affront the peo-
pie of America more than the
statement that we cannot en-
force Our laws. In this state-l
ment lies the death warrant cfI
the republic, for this nation can
not endure without reverence
for law, without the recognized
authority of law. The perpetrl-
tors of this new treason have
overlooked one of the great es-
sentials of the American people
that law is but an expression of
the nations will, and the will
power of America has ever met
apparently insuperable difficult
ties and changed them into world
achievements.
This law was ratified by 90
states, the largest number Of
states that have ever ratified a
constitutional amendment.
"The real issue that underlies
all the contest over prohibition
is Americanism in
with old world customs
and concepts; it is democracy
against avarice, lawlessness andt
anarchy. 1t is no mere expfes- !
sion of~pride to say that when
.Aneriea'swills to- do that which
other nations have not done, size
will not fail of that achievement.
"This is an hour when the bur-
den of the war rests heavily upon
the people through the imposi-
tion of taxes, and the astute
has pointed to the
fact that prohibition will cost
the government nearly $10,OO0,-
900 this coming year. However,
if we were to collect the fines,
penalties and special tax imposed
upon violators of the law in the
first six months of this admins
tration, they would more than
pay two and one half times the
estimated cost of enforcing the
law for the next year
these enormous figures do not !
include near $3,O00,00O in bodns
that are being forfeited to the
government, or 100000 that
have been offered in compromise
by 21 of the largest violators of
the law, and do not include So
100000 in differential or prohibi-
tive tax"
immigration Bill Signed