The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1924-11-27
PERRY oUITs.NYE COMING


Clark NJ. Perry has resigned as Prohibition
Enforcement Director for Wisconsin, and it is
not expected that anyone will get aH@het up
over the fact that he is leaving Office He may
have been a success so far as gathering reve-
nue. is concerned, but as an enforcement officer
making the prohibition amendment effective,
he has not won any great laurels. Mr.. Perry
may never have understood that the. prQhIbl-
ton amendment was intended to stop the sale
of booze in Wisconsin as wellas in the rest of
the country. Under his administration the
booze business has fourished, particularly IN
this section of the state, and if any real efforts
have been made to put the amendment into
operation it has gone over the heads or the
booze over-lords Of this section and they ap-
pear to have thunlbed their noses and kept
right on increasing rather Ethan decreasing
their business @,,,, @ ..F
The failure of prohibition to prohibit has
been, an open scandal ifrrWisconsin The men
who make booze have kept right on selling it,
the roads have been congested with rum rum
ners and beer runners and the way-side stills
are still flourishing in many portions OF the
state. The road-house and the soft drink
parlor continue to openly defy the law and the
officers of the law, and there appears to beno
more fear of federal officials than there is for
the village constable, many times picked quit
and elected on account of his willing ness to have
eyes which see not and ears which hear
not. The crooked doctor continues to use book
after book of prescriptions, and the crooked
druggist still finds his best way to make profit
in filing them
Perry may have done considerable to fill the
strong boxes of the government with fees and
penalties, but he has not done much to fill the
iails and the federal penitentiaries with vio-
lators of the law. The prohibition amendment,
according to our understanding, was not pass
ed to increase the receipts Of the treasury de-
partment, but rather to stop the manufacture
and sale of booze.
Senator Lenroot who now has charge of the
federal patronage has recommended the APP
pointment of Ray Nye of Superior, as Prohibi-
ton Director. sa BRA @@sg' sa-t 5a A$ AZ
Nye has a chance to show the people of the
state that he is worthy of their confidence We
shall expect from him some consideration for
Kenosha county. This county contributes
literally to the federal funds. j. Possibly more
literally than any county in Wisconsin with
the exception of Milwaukee county, and Keno
sha county should be entitled to a lot of con-
sideration from this new director The organ
ization of his force should include at least one
outstanding man who can work and who will
work in Kenosha county. 1t is to be hoped
that Nye Will not surround himself with a
bunch of stool-pigeons, mostly interested in
having their pictures taken with a star on
their vests, but on the other hand, will pick out
men who have sonneabelief in the prohibition
amendment and some courage to see that it is
enforced. f@t tTeo aa 1ssf&
If this man Nye has no qualifications for the
Office, he should not be appointed no matter
who recommends him. T. If. Wisconsin. cannot
produceSa man with ability, brains and nerve
to come in and clean up the booze situation
here, some man should be secured from some
other state Prohibition enforcement has too
long been a political football. and . Joke in Wis
consin. The people ofs TIE State lwho believe
in the law being upheld want some man put III
to office who has respect for the law sIid
ability to enforce it. sasa av.a
The force which has been working under
Perry has been incompetent and worthless so
far as real enforcement is concerned. A com
plete clean-out Of the department should be
the first thing that the new director does The
next thing should be the appointment of men
who can be depended on men who cannot be
bluffed or bought, men who will not seek to
interpret the law to meet the requirements of
politicians, but men who will enforce the law
as it was written into the constitution.