Evening star., 1925-07-25

unyielding loyalty to prohibition. Not
that this great Commonwealth of
apples, timber and Oriental commerce
is ready to abolish prohibition, for it
is not. The significant thing is that
there are apparently enough people in
the State with wet leanings TO
threaten a meritorious public man like
Wesley i. Jones with political oblivion
because he is not liberal" on prohibi-
ton.
AS Lenroot in Wisconsin will have
riva. opposed TO him on the prohibi
tion issue. Jones in Washington viii
probably face a Democratic opponent
who will rely on a wet reputation
as his principal hope Of popular sup
port. He IS the mayor of Seattle, af-
fectionately known as Doc" Edwin
Brown, now serving a second term as
mayor of this magnificent city. Brown
like Senator Henrik Shipstead of
Minnesota, is a dentist by profession.
He also holds a law degree. and one
of his side lines is a public riding
academy in Seattle, for he loves horse
flesh. Brown has proved himself a
highly efficient municipal administra-
tor, and is popular, though some of
his political detractors call him
socialist and class him as a danger
Gus radical. He has announced his
rant for Jones' seat. He does not
proclaim himself a wet, but that kind
of name has been fastened upon
| him. If he is the Democratic nominee
as he expects to be, Mayor Brown s
undoubtedly biggest drawing-card at
the polls will be the appeal he makes
TO the -prohibitionists.
There is another political phase Of
prohibition which is commonly met IN
the West. Enforcement IS farcical in
| certain communities because prohibi-
ton agents are cheap politicians or
cheap henchmen of politicians who
are notoriously corrupt. The West is
convinced that Gen. Lincoln c. An
| drews, the new field marshal of en-
forcement, will never make real prog
! resS until he can exclude the poli-
ticians, from United States Senators
| downward. for meddling with his de
| partment and placing political hang
ers-on in enforcement jobs. The bat
! tie impending, as the West sees it.
is not a finish fight between Andrews
and the bootleggers. but between An
| drews and the politicians.
Blamed for Crime.
| The most persistent argument
| against prohibition in the West is the
claim that the law is so widely fiouted
/ lildt II Is SNSltIIldIlCduN Die6dlng gen
| eral lawlessness among the people.
| Those who make this contention say
| that men, women and children see
| the prohibition statutes so freely vio-
| lated that they are coming to hold all
+, laws in disrespect-Civil as well as
moral. They go so far as to allege
that even Chicago's daily gunmen
crimes are typical of the Irresistible
spread of contempt for the law. In
Montana a prominent business man
supplied what he thought was a char
acteristic example Of this. The State
| Legislature a couple of years ago
| passed a law making betting at horse
races Illegal. This seriously interfered
with the popularity of the annual
State fairs at Helena Thereupon il
was decided to test the law, to see
whether the pari-mutuel system OF
betting machines. with the State par
ticipating in the profits, could be
legally adopted. An impromptu horse
race was staged for the purpose. A
pari-mutuel was set up. The organ
izers of the contest were arrested
They were tried and acquitted. The
courts held that the pari-mutuel was
not betting within the meaning of the
act. This years Montana State Fair