The American issue., 1922-05-19
OKLAHOMA GOVERNOR TAKES
CUDGELS IN RUNS DEFENSE
Governor Shows Himself Adept
In Use of Saloon Arguments;
Talks Like Wet
DARK PICTURE PAINTED
Oklahonan Convicts Himself of
Non-feasance as Chief
N4, Executive

Oklahoma, state that came inf
the Union dry, has a misfit governe
so far as Prohibition is concerned
he is correctely quoted in the pres
The Daily Oklahoman of April :
quotes Governor Robertson in an AZ
dress before the Rotary Club in Ii
Huckins Hotel, Oklahoma City. Th
governor is credited with saying:
l think any man whether he is
in public, the pulpit or in private
lite, is a coward who refuses to
express himself on the facts re-
garding law that he sees max
ing criminals of thousands of good
men who are decent citizens in
every respect save one.
Nearly every home in Oklahoma
has its own hooch or corn or
whatever you want to call it.
You can get corn whisky in
every county in Oklahoma. You
can step right out of the Hucllins
and get it. You can't go to a
picnic or a get-together in the
country without some fellow hav-
ing load of it on the hip.
You don't need to tell me that
every one of the seventy-seven
sheriffs in Oklahoma is a crook.
i know better. Most of the sher-
ifs and most of the county attor-
neys are trying to enforce the law
but they make it faster than the
peaceoficers can break it.
There is horde of revenue men
in Oklahoma fighting the bootleg
gers but they don't seem to be
getting anywhere.
The jails of the counties of the
state are filled with men thrown
in for offending against the liquor
laws and those jails that are not
full ought to be. My mail is clut-
tered daily with the appeals for
release from jail of men with fam
lilies who want to get out to go
home and put in a crop.
The penitentiary at McAlester
has more than 1,700 men in it.
The reformatory at Granite has
more than 700 boys locked up-a
lot of the individuals locked up in
both places are there on account
of violating the liquor laws.
Congress slipped up on our
blind side during the war and put
this Prohibition legislation over.
What is this Oklahoma governor
tempting to do-dislodge the gov
nor of New Jersey from first place
the hearts of the brewers? 1t is
possible to please these disgruntled
,oze advocates and Oklahoma's gov
nor furnishes evidence of this fact.
| one breath he complains about lax
forcement of the dry law and in the
,xt he yelps because the jails and
are filled to overhowing
ith booze criminals.
He reveals familiarity with boot
ggers which brand him either as in
mpetent or guilty of malfeasancc in
fee. If he is so cocksure that he
uld walk from the Huckins Hotel
ID buy booze it is up to him as chief
ecutive of the state to apprehend the
that are operating near the
uckins.
He says the federal officers are un-
lie to cope with the situation. 1t is
to add that they are get
lg no cooperation from the chief
ecutive.
Not the least of his offenses is his
'el upon the people of his great
ate in his declaration that nearly
cry home in Oklahoma has its own
'och. No one, whether wet or dry,
II believe this.
The fact is, the governors utter
ces sound like the effervescing of a
ale barrel of beer But he has sue
eded in doing one thing, if he is cor
city quoted, and that is convincing
eryone that he is not going to molest
the slightest degree the operations
the criminals who are attempting to
erthrow the Constitution which he
governor swore to support. In his
inion, if he is correctly quoted in
c Oklahoman, it is the law that is
c offender and not the law breaker.