The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1923-07-14
BY c. A. RANDALL

30 EE the DdDy . HoW oHOCoi
- Judge, those are whisky
shoes"
Hardly day goes by but Judge
Adams or Chief Probation Officer
Lewis Of the Cleveland Juvenile court
are given some such evidence the
elimination of the saloon has reacted
to the benefit Of the poor of the Ohio
metropolis.
The juvenile court is allowed so
cents per day for the families Of men
committed to the workhouse for
neglecting their children. In 1916 the
court disbursed $14,959 in this way.
For the succeeding five years the
figures are: 1917, s13,1S5; 1918,
$780,; 1919, 1878; 1920, $2.Ss6; 1921,
| 50 $40.
Poor Out of Luck
7 Prohibition in Cleveland, as else
where, is simply a matter of money.
The man with funds can buy whisky
and gin with little difficulty. The
poor man cannot get beer, for, as
throughout Ohio, saloons are rigidly
supervised and blind pigs" are
limited.
Just or unjust. prohibition, as re-
f1ected in the figures of the Juvenile
court, has made life better for the
extremely poor. In New York City
at Bellevue Hospital has shown de.
cline as compared with pre-prohibition
years.
The records of the Juvenile court
OF Cleveland and the municipal hos.
pital of New York are typical of the
recent experiences at institutions
which come very largely into contact
with the poorer classes.
Sanitariums which cater to the
needs of alcoholics who are able to
afford cures" show no falling of
In patronage.
Kelley Cures Close
Kelley cures closed up shop just
on the eve OF good times" as on.
Gals estimate there are today twice
ae many alcohol sufferers as in 1918
and 1919.
Arrests for drunkenness showed
decrease in practically all OF the larger
cities during 1920. Instead OF drop.
ping more in the following year the
trend was upward. and in 1922 the
number again mounted.
That prohibition would empty the
jails and prisons Of the Nation was
long a claim OF the drys. This predic-
ton has not been realized. Accord
ing to the latest report on number
OF prisoners in penal institutions" com
piled by the United States Bureau
OF the Census, figures show total
OF 14e,90e for July 1. 1922. as com
pared with 146,161 for July 1, 1917"
There are more prisoners in all
classes OF nstitutions-Federal, State,
county. city, chain or roadgang-
than at any previous time in the
history Of the Census Bureau. though
the ratio Of prisoners to the total
population was less in 1922 than in
1917, the figures being 1872 and 143,
respectively.
Crime on Increase
1t Is true. however, the number Of
serious crimes committed in the
United States is showing a steady in
crease.
IN IIllS article anu III pTFNipuS al
ticles of this series. have shown pro-
hibition enforcement is neither uni
form nor effective. Instead Of being
more difficult to buy than one year
ago. whisky is now cheaper and more
readily obtainable in many parts Of
the United States than 1t was a year
ago.
Nevertheless. the cost Of attempted
enforcement of the Volstead act is
mounting each year. The Federal APP
preparation for enforcement Is
SO, 900 900 per year. This sum Is RI
diculousIy inadequaet.
The direct cost to the Federal Gov.
eminent, however, is one of the minor
items In the general cost of enforce
ment. The greater part Of the bur
den falls upon States and cities. Over
$40 100000 was appropriated by States
during 1922 for the enforcement of
prohibition laws. and the increased
cost of policing the cities of the coun-
try added another s15,0o0,O00 to
$40 900 900.