Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1923-05-10
REPEAL OF PROHIBITION LAW
IN NEW YORK is A BLOW
TO VOLSTEADISM


The repeal of the New York state
prohibition law is a severe and unex-
pected blow to the federal prohibi-
tion enforcement officers. At the
prohibition commissions office COM
ment was refused by most fthe Off
cials on the situation that was Great
ed by throwing the entire burden of
preventing the liquor traffic in New
York upon the federal authorities.
The prohibition amendment con-
templates the action of the state and
federal governments in stopping the
manufacture and sale of liquor. Con-
gress has never faced the problem
of setting up federal police force
to duplicate the state police whose
sole duty it would be to pursue the
bootlegger.
Neither are their federal courts in
New York sufficient to handle the
bootleg cases of that popular center.
And with no state prohibition law the
state courts which themselves were
wholly unequal to the task of dis
posing of liquor cases will no longer
be available for trying them.
The supreme court of the United
States can assign extra judges from
other parts of the country to New
York, but there is no such surplus of
judges as to permit of a permanent
drawing upon their number for regu-
lar work away from their own dis
tricts.
Just at the moment when the ad-
ministration was making special eff
forts to check the operations of the
rum-fleet the whole coastline of New
York is stripped of local and state
police so far as guarding against the
landing of liquor is concerned. And
moreover the stat epolice constables
and sheriffs along the northern bor-
der of the state which touches on
Canada will no longer have any re-
sponsibility for stopping the SNUG
Cling in of alcohol.
The New York action is a great
victory for the vets. The parties took
sides almost solidly. The Republicans
against it. The effect will be to
sharpen the division between west
and dries in the Democratic party.
The New York Democrats will go to
the national convention thoroughly
wet. The New Jersey Democrats will
be equally so.
Other eastern and northern states
will send wet delegates and they will
be unmistakably against the Volstead
act. The action Of the New York
legislature, if Governor Smith signs
the repeal bill, ipsures that:
The wet movement will center
around Smith as its candidate, but
his own availability for nomination
will be lessened by the repeal of the
prohibition law in New York. Prob
ably his chances TO nomination to
the presidency were not good any
way because of religious reasons. But
now the dry Democrats from the
west and south will be solidly against
him.
The Republican party under Presi-
dent Harding has committed itself
unequivocally to the dry side of the
fight, the Democratic party under
Governor Smith having taken an
equally strong wet position, a fight
in, the Democratic convention over
the liquor question can no longer be
avoided. The issue is out in the open.
Note-The Charlotte Observer
commenting on the above, hands out
the following:
"The bootleggers may gain tempo
rarily by the debacle in New York
enforcement laws, but they may be
quite sure of a coming certainty. 1t
is going to lead up to insertion of an
out-and-out prohibition enforcement
plank in the platform of whichever
of the two National parties shall first
hold its convection, and following of
suit by the party convention that
comes after. 1t will force both par
ties to come out for prohibition, for
both Republican and Democrats
know that to hesitate on that ques-
tion is to be lost. The New York
Legislature has shaped prohibition
plank for both parties.