Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-12-05
VOLSTEAD AND THE CONSTITUTION
What Prohibition
Has Done to America

stitution itself. Il would have made the
liquor laws responsive to popular senti.
ment and subject to change % Senti.
ment changed. II would have pre-.
served respect for law and would have
prevented the Wholesale violatioa Of the
velstead act. now going ON. Every
student of the Constitution who re-
Spects the theory on which, It was
drafted will agree with Mr.. Franklin
that this would have been the proper
course to take.
BGt the ertrsme prohibitio1ists
etched to bring about situation IN
ehicA II could be practically isspos.
sible for any change Of sentiment to
register Itself In the lars. That 10
schv they sconted to oct tho police
lcoislatio~ into tho body Of the Con.
stitutioH instead Of getting into II o
oroNt Of poeer to Congress.
The theory, Of the existing amend.
ment. however, can be defended BY
no one, Is Mr.. Franaklin's opinion.
save by those who are willing to
sacrifice everything else to IN effort to
stop the manufacture and sale OF In
toxicants. But, m he points out, they
have not stopped It.
He pays his respects to the sugges-
tion that the volstead act be amended
in way to permit the sale Of light
wines and beer in some scorching para.
graphs. The Supreme Court has de-
cided that Congress was within its
discretion when 1t forbade the sale OF
any beverage containing as much as
one half Of per cent Of alcohol, al.
though. he says. every one knows that
such a beverage is not intoxicating.
To he logical. he remarks. the court,
which snys Congress is within its dis
erection when It says non -intoxicant
Is Intoxicating. ought to say that Con.
grcss would also be within its powers
If it should say an Intoxicating bever.
age containing, say, 10 per cent Of
alcohol. is non. Intoxicating. But he
does not pretend to say what the court
would decide in case such a law should
be passed.
Mr.. Franklin's way out, for which
he admits he hns little hope. is for a
proposition to repeal the Eighteenth
Amendment to he submitted. to the
States along with new amendment
empowering Congress to legislate on the
subject. This would not satisfy the
extreme prohibitionists now nny more
than it would have satisfied them ir
the beginning. They regard drinking
| s,, ,tenle th1u~1. Ann,,
that If they asked for the adoption OF
an amendment making it criminal they
would lose their case. But the effec,
Of the amendment which was adopted
is to make 1t crime.
Mr.. Franklin has braved the con
tumely of the worthy people who insis,
that every one who disapprcves Of pro
hibitory legislation is an agent or frient
Of the whisky ring" and II fightin,
its battles. But as n matter Of fac
he is not fighting for whisky or beel
or wine or anything Of the kind 9,
much rs he is arguing In behalf Of ,
preservation of the principles Of libcrt,
on which the Government was founded
Those who do not know who he il
will be interested to learn that he wa
born in Hungary in 1853. that he wa
educated nt Columbian University Il
Washington and was Il civil enginee
and surveyor for eight years; that h
was fellow in Johns Hopkins Uni
versity in 1s77-70 and associate pro
fesSOr of mathematics in the same in
stitution until 1895. In TINT year h
became editor of the Baltimore News
where he remained until 1908. The,
he went to the New York Evening Pos
ms an associate editor and remaine
with that paper until 1917. He /
now editor Of the Review in New York
with which the Independent has bee
consolidated.
GEORGE W. DOUGLAS,