Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1923-06-25
HARDING THREATENS
FEDERAL POLICE TO
Emf FORCE PROHIBITION
New York EIavdted Train Crashes To StreetMM
President At Denver Today
Criticizes States That Fail
To Enforce Law
WOULD AVOID CONFLICT
States Must, However. Accept
Burden Which Is Theirs Un-
der 18th Amendment

DENVER, June 25.-President
Harding in his address at noon to-
day declared empathetically that
"the prohibition amendment is the
basic law of the land" To which
he added, when state deliber-
ately refuses to exercise the pow
ers which the constitution confers
upon it, it obviously commits itself
to a policy Of nullifying state ers-
thority, and of which we are re-
luctant to conjecture"
And as though criticizing direct
ly the action of certain states IN
refusing to enforce the Volstead
act within their borders, the Pres
ident threatened that "if the bur
den of enforcement shall continue
to be increasingly thrown upon the
federal government it will be
necessary to create at large ex-
pense, a federal police authority
which will in time come to be re-
garded as an intrusion upon and IN
reference with the right of local
authority to manage local con-
|cerns."
The president spoke in part as
follows:
There has always been those
who insisted that particular poll
cies could not be carried out be-
cause Of the conflict Of jurisdic-
tions; but experience has proved
that whenever a given issue be-
came SO acute that evasion was I'M
possible, procedures have been de-
vised for dealing with it. Whoever
will go back to the debates over
the enactment of the antitrust law
or the discussions Of the inter-
state commerce measures must
recognize that these were but
varying phases of the same gener-
al question that comes before US
ini connection with the enforce4
ment Of the prohibition law.
"But for the present there are
immediate problems Before us
which can not await the possible
creation Of any such slow moving
mechanism of philosophy consider
ation. The prohibition amendment
to the Constitution is the basic
law Of the land. The Volstead Act
has been passed, providing code
of enforcement. | am convinced
that they are a small, and great
ly mistaken, minority who believe
the eighteenth amendment will
ever he repealed. Details of en-
fo1cement policy doubtless will be
changed as experience dictates.
Further, / am convinced that what
ever changes may be made will
represent the sincere purpose of
effective enforcement, rather than
moderation Of the general policy
1t win be the part Of wisdom to
recognize the facts as they stand.
"The general policy of the
States to support the prohibition
program, and to cooperate with
the Federal Government regard
ing it, is attested by the fact that
almost unanimously the States
have passed enforcement laws of
their own. A difficulty, however,
arises at this point. Communities
in which the policy was frankly ac-
cepted as productive of highly
beneficial results, and in which
there was no widespread protest
so long as it was merely State
concern, report that since the Fed
eral Government became in part
responsible there has ben a grow
ing laxity on the part Of State
authorities about enforcing the
law.
Doubtless this is largely due to
misconceived notion, too widely
entertained, that the Federal Gov
eminent has actually taken over
the real responsibility The fact is
quite contrary The Federal Gov
ernment is not equipped with the
instrumentalities to make enforce
men locally effective. 1t does not
maintain either a police or a Ju-
dicial establishment adequate to or
designed for such a task. If the
burden of enforcement shall con-
tinue to be increasingly thrown
upon the Federal Government, it
will be necessary, at large expense,
70 create Federal police author
ity which in time will inevitably
come to be regarded as an intru-
sion upon and interference with
the right Of local authority to
manage loacl concerns.
THE possibilities of disaster in
such situation hardly need to be
suggested. Yet it IS something
that we must recognize as among
the menaces in this situation.
At this poinbis is worth while 10
raise a voice in protest against the
vast volume Of half baked criticism
that is constantly aimed against
Americans, on the ground that they
are alleged to be an undisciplined
and rather lawless community The
criticism, 0f course. arsises out of
the fact that during the period OF
a,N4ir.7taI life Gup1nF