Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1922-05-26
AMENDMENT CALLED
FOR READJUSTMENT
Kramer Shows that Difficulties of
Elimination of Intoxicants
Must be Squarely Met.

Which of you, thinking to build
for himself home, sitteth not down
first and counteth the cost to see If
he hath wherewith to complete it;
lest peradventure after he hath laid
the foundation thereof and hath not
sufficient to complete the structure,
those who look on will mock and
laugh" -..
With this Biblical quotation, John
F. Kramer, former Federal Prohibi-
tion Enforcement Commissioner,
opened his address at the Congrega-
tional church Sunday morning on
1.-THE Law, The Officer, The People" Z"
Mr.. Kramer is speaking at different
points thruout the state in the In
terest of the National Anti-Saloon
League. ..
''It is to the first part of the pas
sage" said Mr.. Kramer, ''that 1 de-
sire to direct your attention. 1t has
been my opinion sometime that peo-
pie of our country never really sat
down and counted the cost in making
the principle of prohibition effective
in the lives and hearts of our people.
They never counted the cost in pa
tience, endurance and labor which
would be required to erect a struc-
ture of prohibition upon the founda-
tion which was laid in the Constitu-
tion.
I'm adopting prohibition we adopted
possibly the most radical measure that
the people of our country had ever
adopted since we existed as a nation.
Nothing ever so got hold of our peo-
pie as did the liquor traffic. View
ing it from a personal standpoint,
men have been drinking and becom-
ing drunk for six thousand years;
viewed from a political standpoint,
nothing ever so controlled and DOM
mated politics in this country as did
the liquor traffic. Our politicians,
our office seekers, our Office holders
in the main were more fearful and
solicitious of the attitude of the
liquor traffic toward them than they
were of the attitude of any other set
or group of men. From an economic
nous sum of money for intoxicating
liquor and had invested in the busi-
ness countless millions of dollars. In
view of this I desire to suggest that
whenever you attempt to tear by the
roots principle that has fastened
itself deeply into the personal, the
political, the economic history of
people, you have undertaken a diff
cult job. 1t is work which cannot be
done in day or in a year nor in five
years. You cannot change the cur
rent of history and change it over
night, you cannot get millions of
men, who have been headed in one
direction, to face about and move in
an opposite direction, without some
difficulty. This is the first mistake
that our people made when they
adopted the principle of prohibition.
They thought the work was done.
when in fact we have merely laid the
foundation for the building. For
this mistake we have suffered grieve-
ously"
Mr.. Kramer then cited some of
the outstanding difficulties which the
government had encountered in the
carrying out of the provision of the
prohibition enforcement law. They
were
First to keep safe and secure the
69,OOO,OO0 gallons of whiskey on
hand when prohibition became effec-
tive. This was stored in five hum
dred warehouses of all descriptions
in various parts of the country, and
subject to theft both actual and ar
ranged. Mr.. Kramer said he had al
ways considered the eel the slipperi-
est thing in the world until he had
experience with trying to hold the
whiskey in warehouses.
Secondly, there are thousands and
thousands of ways in which alcohol is
leg1timately used in the manufac-
lures and when a barrel of alcohol
is withdrawn to be used in manu-
featuring it has only to come into the
hands of an INSCRIPTIONS person to
be diluted and colored and reappear
as three barrels of whiskey.
Thirdly, to- prevent the smuggling
in of whiskey over the border lines
Of our country from Canada, Mexico
and the islands in the Atlantic. The
prohibition commissioners force if all
were assigned to border duty would
each have to guard II miles of bor-
der.
Mr.. Kramer said that most states
are cooperating in the enforcement of
the 18th amendment, but that back
Of all laws must be the officer, and
back Of the officer must-be the voters.
and he therefore appealed for a more
general recognition of the citizens
duty in completing the elimination
Of the liquor traffic for beverage pur-
poses, the foundation for which was
laid in the 18th amendment.
al Giesen Iniured