Evening star., 1923-10-20
Reminds Governors
of Oath TO Uphold
Constitution.
DECLARES PEOPLE
ARE LAW-ABIDING
Federal Agencies to Be
Used TO Fullest, But
Problem Held Local.

Placing squarely up to the state
governors responsibility for local
enforcement OF the prohibition laws,
President Coolidge told the execu-
tives of thirty-eight states at the
White House today that he pro-
posed to assume his own share of
the burden by employing federal en-
forcement machinery TO the fullest
extent of its capacity"
The occasion was the conference
called by the President with the gov
ernors OF the several states to con-
slider the problems OF law enforce
ment, particularly as regards the
traffic in intoxicants. narcotics and
immigrants. 1t was President Cool
idge's first official expression upon
the subject OF prohibition, and he
lett no room for doubt that the bur
den OF enforcement must rest alike
upon the shoulders OF the President
and the governors OF the states.
Reminds of Oaths.
Reminding his guests that they, too.
had taken solemn and binding oath
to uphold the Constitution of the
United States, the President said no
provision of the eighteenth amend
ment or the national prohibition act
contempIates any surrender of state
responsibility. The great body of
the American people, he said, are
thoroughly law abiding, and he warn
ed that they must be supported and
protected ito the limit"
a'fhe ConstitV zion and laws are per-
fectly plain he said, land the direc-
tions which they contain to the Presi-
dent and the governors are equally
plain. The country ought to know
all this. 1t ought to compre-
there is, and can be, no question
about the duty of executives to en-
force them with such instruments and
by such means as the law provides for
securing their enforcement. They
have no alternative. They cannot be
criticized for securing enforcement.
This is not political question; it
cannot be made political question.
If there be any principle which has
been esta bIished by time, by common
consent, by the unqualified assertion
of fundamental and statute law. it
is that executives are the law-en-
forcing officers of this nation
People Law Abiding.
The President solemnly asserted
that the problems of law enforce
ment are not to be decided by preju
dice. nor answered as result of
political intrigue. He clearly in
sinuated that the American people
would obey the law when its enforce
ment was begun when he said: They
are not nation of inebriates; they
are not a people who are charged
with being hypocrites. They have
respect and reverence for duly con-
stituted authority. To them the law
is rule of action. Those funda-
mental national characteristics are
not going to be changed
Referring first TO the question of
smuggling immigrants into this
country, the President said that the
Department of Labor estimates there
is a seepage across the nations bor-
ders of about 100000 immigrants
more than the annual limit fixed 10y
the law.
This, he said. "is a considerable
menace to the success of our immi-
grafton policy" Such an influx, Presi-
dent Coolidge continued cannot help
attracting attention of local police
authorities, who. he said, could be
of very great assistance IN notifying
the local representatives % tle De-
partment of Justice or the Depart
ment of Labor"
Local Aid Vital.
The problem of the traffic in mar
cotics, the President said. is world
wide in some of it's aspects, but it is
of such Importance to the United
States that this government sent rep
resentatives to the league of nations
when il considered the regulation of
the opium traffic. The traffic in this
country, President Coolidge told the
governors, can only be detected and
eradicated through a system of local
inspectors and police The national
secret service, he said, can cope with
the smugglers and the wholesalers.
but the peddlers and retailers cannot
successfully be suppressed without
the assistance of state and municipal
police.
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