Paragould soliphone. (Paragould, Ark.) 1918-1950, 1922-12-20
ENFORCEMENT
Y()E.'I5'LE'IAL) ACT
is DISCUSSED


states agreed yesterday on the adop-
ton Of measures necessary to a more
rigid enforcement of the Volstead
Eact
The sole note of discord was
sounded by Governor Richie OF
Maryland, which has no prohibition
enforcement law and, according to
THE governor, WI not submit to the
Volstead law. He denounced the
prohibition law as an intolerable ex-
tension of paternalism in contraven-
ton of state rights which he urged
the states to reassert Enthusiastically.
Defects in prohibition enforcement,
which the conference agreed must be
Iremedied, were cited as follows:
i. Federal prohibition officers,
now numbering 1000 are not SUI
ficiently numerous to cope with eva
sion of the law.
/ 2. In many instances federal Of
ficers are political henchmen who
wink at violations.
stamps out interstate rum running
state enforcement will be difficult.
4. State enforcement laws in many
states are too lax.
1 5. Federal judges are too lenient
in sentencing offenders.
G. The metropolitan press is too
prone 10 treat prohibition enforce
Iment with leyity.
Governors at Luncheon.
The governors were the guest of
/ President Harding at luncheon at
the White House and remained four
hours about the table discussing
ways and means of tightening up
Tho administration of the Volstead
act. Governors of Illinois, New Jer-
lsey and New York which voted wet
i'll the recent election, We're conspicu-
Gus by their absence. Many of the
! governors present are retiring from
office and Mr. Harding, thanking
them for the benefit of their expert
ience,, said he would call another con-
ference next year, including new
governors, to map out a definite
plan of federal and state co-opera-
ton.
\ The president and the attorney
/ general were emphatic in declaring
for more stringent enforcement. Mr..
Harding repeating the alarm for
the future of the republic with which
he has been imbued by the spectacle
Of the national scandal of bootleg
glng and moonshining and condona-
tion Of law violation by otherwise
respectable citizens. All the COVER
nors present, with the exception Of
the Maryland executive, agreed with
Mr. Harding.
Maryland Governor Disagrees.
THE great majority of the people
T Maryland believe that the Volstead
law simply cannot be enforced
there, Governor Richie frankly as
serted Our people are imbued
with a fine traditional respect for
law and the established order and
we were effectively solving the tenn
/ perance question by local option in
the various units of the state. Dur
ing that method, when the people of
la community wanted prohibition,
they ACTUALLY got it..
THE Volstead law changed all
this. Our people in the main regard
it as an unnecessary and drastic
federal infringement of their state
and personal rights. The lack of
respect for law and the actual law
! lessness which have resulted is de-
plorable The only remedy | see
( is to recognize that the Volstead
law is destructive of the rights of
the states and to turn the whole
Question back to the states SO that
each may settle it, in accordance
with the viii Of its own people.
"The necessities Of times, and our
great industrial expansion, have, of
course, made great Capitalization
of power in the federal government
inevitable and desirable; and we
have departed far from the old con-
lception of the inherent rights of
the states; but if the states are
to preserve their autonomy and their
laneient heritage of governing
entities, | feel the time has come
for then to again assert their rights
This apathy as to the rights of the
several states will unless now check
ed, result in extending still further
the mistakes of decentralization
in the future. We are diverse
population with diverse views and
problems; and different states de-
sire different results. For Kansas
to dictate TO Maryland is foreign to
tho spirit OF the federal union and
results in sectional tyrann.s that