The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1924-01-11
Denies Having Spoken For
Law Repeal
ENFORCEMENT MOVE
FAVORED BY PUBLIC
Duty Of Officials is to Enforce the
Law
SALOONS CALLED CRIME DENS

SALOONS CALLED CRIME DENS
On December 81, at the y NJ. {.
A., in an address before a meeting of
Chicago ministers under the auspices
of the Chicago Church Federation,
Mayor William A. Devcr said:
when | started this drive did not
think any great moral agency would
think OF opposing such a necessary
thing as enforcing the law. thought
that no decent man or woman would
raise voice against policy of law
enforcement. There has grown up an
important opposition to this work.
Whole columns are written in news
papers against policy OF law en-.
forcement. This opposition is not
withstanding the duty OF mayor TO
enforce the Constitution OF the United
States. 1t is Notwithstanding that
after the adoption OF the Eighteenth
Amendment, an emphatic. definite
state law was passed which makes it
the particular duty OF the chief exccu-
tive of a city to enforce the law
Il do not consider it my business to
carry on propaganda fight one way
or the other.
Denies Newspaper Statement
1T has been printed in the newspa-
pers that said that the easiest way
to repeal a law is TO enforce it.
never made such a statement. The
only question have to ask as mayor
is. what is the law? That is the only
question | have asked myself.
The papers say have made
great political mistake. That is not
true. because could not make a po-
litical mistake. | want you to under
stand just what racan by that. [
keep in touch with public opinion.
need public opinion to carry on my
work. The best opinion in my party
seems to be that my political career IS
about over. So nothing ! do can be
called political mistake.
Other Failures No Excuse
"They say that this law should not
be enforced because the l4th and
18th amendments are not enforced.
Does il follow that if an official in
Alabama or Georgia does not enforce
the law that | should not do my duty
until he does his? That is too child
ish for anything. Formerly no pubic
official would have had the effrontery
to claim merit for not enforcing the
law. Whether they did it or not thcY
claimed to do it any way. If once t
is considered that a public official can
decide what law to enforce and what
law not to enforce there will be an
end TO all law. If we follow the ad-
vice OF some OF our newspaper advis-
ers, soon no law-common law, stat
ute law or constitutional 1aw-would
control officials.
Faced Wicked Gang
"When | became mayo. soon
found that | had to contend with tho
most desperate and wicked gang Of
criminals that ever infested the city.
They dehed the law, they laughed at
the law. That criminal gang dehed
federal, state, county and city officials.
They not only carried on their busi-
ness on the streets, but killed on the
streets. had the choice of allying
myself with the vice interests or seek
ing the cooperation of law-abiding
citizens
Booze Joints Crime Hatcheries
81 have been criticized for paying
particular attention to this one law.
But there is hardly murder in Chi
cago that cannot be traced to this IL
legal traffic in one way or another.
We decided to close the places that
were operating under soft drink liz
censes, Twenty-Five hundred of these
licenses have been revoked. Many
other places have voluntarily gone out
VI OusiiSoS. vi lllC SiA vi StNtIl luOu-
sand in business when the drive began
not over four or FIVE hundred remain
today. They, in the main, are COM
plying with the law.
Have Stopped the Traffic
Il realize that it is impossible to
make the machinery of enforcement
run so smoothly that there will be no
law breaking. We can't prevent all
violations. But this much we have
done. We have put an end to the
liquor traffic in this city as traffic.
The breweries cannot do business il
seriously interferred with. While the
traffic was going on, beer cost five
dollars barrel to produce to thu