The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1922-12-28
sy EDWARD W. PickARo


ecRGrARY OF AoRIcUt.
~ TuRG WALLACE says the
farmers Of the United Statss
Will GET bstwssn 1850, 900, 900
] and e2,ooo, 900. 900 more Ter
their crops this year than last.
despite the fact that aorieui.
turai prices are lower relative
iy than prices Of other thInes
10 this true Of the farmers In
your ieeaIity7
COv. JOHN N. PARKER Of Louisi'
~ ana, who has promised to squsich
the Ku kiux Khan In his state. took
his FIRST radical action In that line last
week when he ordered a company Of
the National Guard to proceed to Mer
Rouge and Bastrop, In Morehouse
parish, to await his orders. That par
ticular parish has been the field Of
Duch Khan activity and the organi.a.
ton wss said to be connected with
the celebrated Mer Rouge kidnapping
ease Of last August. which the author
tiles have been entirely unable to
solve. Five citisens Of the town we're
Kidnapped and two Of them. MAJ. Watt
Daniels and Thomas Fletcher Rich.
ards, have not been seen since. The
men who were released said the kid.
napers looked like what we know OF
the Ku Klux ~ they had hoods and
robes." There was q rumor wednes-
Gay that the bodies Of the missing
men had been found and that this &C.
counted for the calling out Of the
troops. Another explanation OF the
governors action was that residents
q Jena, In La Sale parish adjoinins
Aerehouse parish. had passed resolu-
lions asking to be relieved from the
suppression Of the Khan"
Al the recent conference Of COVER
nors In White Sulphur SPRING., ".
Va, Governor Parker sought to obtain
assurance Of cooperation frsm other
executives In his war on the Khan,
but he was rather disappointed IN
the result
DREsIDENT HARDING played host
= for 10 Of the governors at lunch
eon In the White House and discussed
with them the problem Of enforcing
the prohibition law. Fourteen Of them
agreed with the President that meas
ures must be adopted for rigid en-
fofcsDent u the volstead act. The
ether. Governor Richie Of Maryland.
denounced the law a. an intolerable
extension Of paternalism IN contraven-
ton Of state rights.
The great majority Of people Of
Maryland believe the voistead law
simply cannot be enforced there"
Governor Richie asserted. Our PEG
pie are imbued with a fine traditional
respect for law and established order.
and we were effectively solving the
Temperance question by local option.
During that method, when the people
Of q community wanted prohibition
they actually got II.
"The vOlstead law changed all this.
Our people. In the main. regard II as
an unnecessary and drastic federal In
fringement Of their state and personal
rights. The lack Of respect for law
and the actual lawlessness which have
resulted IL deplorable. The only rem
edy ! see Is 20 recognize that the Vol
stead law Is destructive OF the rights
Of the states and 10 turn the whole
question back to the states, so that
each may settle II In accordance with
the win 80 It's own people"
These were cited as the chief de
fects In prohibition enforcement:
l. Federal prohibition officers, mum
bering 1900. are not sufficiently nu
merous to cope with evasion Of the
law.
2 In many Instances federal officers
are political henchmen who wink at
violations.
8. Until the national gov eminent
stamps out interstate rum running"
state enforcement will be difficult.
4. State enforcement laws In many
states are too lax.
8. Federal Judges are too lenient.
9. The metropolitan press is too
prone 10 treat prohibition enforcement
with levity.
President Harding said he would
call another conference next year, TO
include new governors, and that pro
gram OF federal and state cooperation
would be mapped out.