, 1922-03-25


compelling the governors of two states
to send soldiery for its suppression.
recently has startled New England.
Intimidation OF feliow-workers by
strikers, destruction of property, in
constituted a situation which the COM
munity would not endure.
But however intolerable were the
lawiess acts which SO recently have
disturbed our peace. they are not the
only form OF lawlessness rampant in
New England. nor r they SO far
reaching and ominous as the most
prevalent form; namely. the wide
spread and increasing disregard of
the national law, prohibiting the traf-
hc in alcoholic liquor.
1t is no exaggeration to say thai
this is the characteristic attitude OF
the mass OF people in our larger
cities. as well as of considerable
groups in the average town.
This contempt for the law is ag-
gravated by the supercilious speech
and self-indulgent practice OF many
people Of high social and political
standing" Tho manufacturer who
breaks n federal law in his l is as
much a foe to the public welfare as
the striker who breaks a law with q
club.
The federal machinery for the IN
forcement of the so-cailed volstead
act has practically broken down
wherever local cooperation fails
through the Indifference or opposition
of municipal or state authorities
This phase Of lawlessness is more to
be dreaded. because more insidious
than the dcpredations of excited
'strtkers-just as tuberculosis is more
to be dreaded than scarlet fever. Con-
especially for laws prompted by IDEAL
the man-power of future generations.
is a national menace
Two winters ago. a stalwart team
ster, driving me through the snow in
a sleigh to an evening appointment,
told me what a blessing had been to
him the new prohibitory law. The
other day the same man-drunk=
babbled to me about our drive through
the snow-drifts.
The instance serves to confirm h
impression that the enforcement of
the law is less efficient than when 1t
first went into effect
Why?
The reason lies in a debased and
vitiated public sentiment. which
might fairly be called four per cent
A~mericanism.
How did the state Of Rhode Island
meet the crisis. tho challenge to its
manhood. imposed by the Eighteenth
amendment
Its general assembly promptly
passed an act defining non-intoxicat-
ing beverages as those containing not
more than four per cent alcohol.
The minimum quantity OF liquor
likely to be consumed by G hearty
man in a thirsty hour is about a
quart. -Four per cent of quart Is
an ounce and a quarter. Therefore
tho statute law of Rhode Island inn
plies that n and ~onefourth fluid
ounces of raw alcohol absorbed in a
short time by a normal man leaves
brain n nerves in a normal condi-
ton.
Is 1t unfair to charge that such a
definition Of intoxicants stands an en-
acted lie on the statute book OF the
state?
Lies on the statute book do not
make for respect for laws in general.
When that law was passed. the call
ing out of the militia to enforce other
laws became only a question of time.
The majesty Of law departs when
lawmakers make sport of aw.
That aw was al real an attack on
the national integrity as the firing on
Fort 6umpter-not as serious. no as
deliberate, but as real-not an con-
sciously appreciated by those who
committed the act. but none the less
a step toward moral secession from
the national ideal constitutionally and
legally expressed and deserving of
conscientious and self-denying trial.
But the four e cent A~mericanism
hunks the test. tries to nu.i,fy the
national law by its puerile evasion.
and hinches from the nationwide line
u bnitiAA