San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1924-04-23
SEEMS A BIT UNFAIR

It must be conceded that any man has
the right to hold any opinion he desires
on the question of prohibition. There
is no law that says he must be for it or
against it, and there is no law that pro-
hibits him from being for it or against
lit. Neither is there any law that says
he cannot work against the existence OF
tine eighteenth amendment. Any per-
son has the right to agitate, devote his
time and money toward furthering the
scope and improving the enforcement
OF the amendment and he has the same
right to work for its repeal.
These facts are elementary and fun
damental. They belong in on the first
page of our political primer. 1t seems.
however, to be the idea of many good
people, who believe in prohibition, to
hold the opinion that nobody has the
right tc be opposed to the amendment
or to work for its abrogation. Governor
Clifford Pinchot of Pennsylvania is the
latest example of this kind.
1t seems that Governor Pinchot is
anxious to be delegate-at-large to the
Republican national convention at Cleve-
land. There are others in Pennsylvania
who do not wish him to have that honor
or who prefer that some other man
should have it. Therefore, these people
have been opposing the selection of
Governor Pinchot. 1t would seem that
there is nothing unlawful about their
conduct and that they have as much
right to oppose Governor Pinchot as
Governor Pinchot has to favor himself.
However, the governor does not see it
in that light.
He has issued a statement to the
people of Pennsylvania asking them to
vote for him for the position of dele
gate-at-large, saying that he should be
chosen because he is opposed by people
who are against him on the ground that
he favors prohibition and the enforce
ment of the Volstead act. He further
declares that their attitude is due to
their opposition to law and that all
good citizens should be for him because
he is for the enforcement of the law.
The governor may be entirely correct
when he says that these people are OPP
posed to him because he is a prohibit
zionist. But surely, he does not claim
that they have no right to oppose him
on that ground or, indeed. on any ground
at all. In fact. he would hardly claim
that they have not the right to oppose
him just because they do not like the
shape OF his face or the cut of his trous-
ers. He knows, that if this is a free
country or is supposed to remain free
country. one man may oppose another,
politically, just because he feels like
doing so.
1t is however, going a long distance
to say that people are opposed to him
because he is in favor of law enforce
ment or that. because they are against
him, proves that they are lawbreakers
or desire to see the law broken.
Political fights in Pennsylvania are
not of much interest in this part of the
world. Everybody knows how Penn.
sylvania will go in the national elcc.
ton and everybody down here know:
that, in OUR opinion, at least, she i.
going to go dead wrong. However, w,
will watch with some interest to Sc,
how the governor fares in his fight t.
be named delegatc-at-large lust becaus,
he has pitched his campaign on tn,
lgrounG that everybody who opposes hin
is either lawbreaker or desires to b.
one.