Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1922-03-18


whole subject of prohibition and
on the spirit and purpose OF en-
forcement legislation. The peace,
dignity and good order OF the
State are particularly involved IN
the final verdict on the pending
measure, the attainment OF which
is far more likely if it comes from
the court OF last resort, - the
people themselves,-after having
had time to read and reflect on
the main exhibit in the case. than
from a limited number OF legis-
lators, whose decision would al
ways be clouded with doubt as
TO whether it be truly representa-
tive OF majority OF their eonstit-
uents.
There are undoubtedly many
earnest and conscientious per-
sons who have no hesitation in
saying that. If it came to a ques-
ton of having no state enforce
ment act at all or OF having one
Of which they did not altogether
approve, they would vote Tor this
one. This would, however. III
volve going to an extreme IN the
matter of enforcement, and the
principle If carried toiits logical
conclusion. would mean that any
enforcement act presented, as an
alternative to nothing at all.
should be approved. A great
many persons, equally earnest and
conscientious, are not willing to
90 to that extreme. Delegate
Stephen w. Gambrill, the Demo-
cratic floor leader in the House.
is one Of them. He was the
champion Of the dry" forces at
the session of 1920. and is man
Of strong and sincere convictions.
File announced that he was pre-
pared to support any reasonable
enforcement act at this session.
but when. under the present cir
cumstances, he became the leader
Of the opposition to the pending
measure, it is strong indication
that it is peculiarly Objectionable.
The spirit of unrest is abroad
in Maryland, as in other sections
of the country. and made all the
more dangerous by the ceaseless
agitation about prohibition. The
quickest and probably the only
effective way to quell this men
acing spiriti is to provide the safe
tv valve OF. referendum. on the
Only phase of the subject now
open for determination, namely.
the manner of enforcement. The
bulwark of the Eighteenth
Amendment is impregnable., i
is here TO stay and no amount OF
raving can alter that fact. Sooner
or later. realization of this will
come to the people and they will
then at last settle down to the
stern task of concentrating on the
kind of an enforcement act tkey
will have. They are bound TO
have some kind. for the llandwrit-
ING is on the wall, and will event
ually be the kind that can be
and will be upheld. 1t is not like
IL to como in Maryland, however,
until after the electorate OF the
entire State has gone on record in
a test vote.
Ii this present bill be sus-
sained at the polls, it will
be the direct method OF enforce
ment: if it be defeated, then the
acts OF Congress, plus the local
license laws. will continue 10 pro-
vide the machinery. In the lat
ter event, however, oue outstard-
ing effect will be to serve notice
IN Congress that a substitute will
have to be found for the Nolstead
Act, if defiance of this kind OF
legislation is to be overcome in
Maryland,-or at least II Our
State is to be expected to. join
in concurrent" legislation.
1t is bare condition that con-
fronts us. not theory: what is,
not what. perhaps. ought to be,
as Woodrow Wilson pointed out
when. as President, he took di-
rect issue with Congress on ma
terial points since embodied in the
Nolstead Act and urged that beer
and light wines be legalized. The
United States could not be made
a nation of "tee-totalers" inime-
diately, by a single stroke OF leg
islation. The method adopted
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