The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1925-03-20

Amendment. Thus Illinois officially declared thu
desired the Eighteenth Amendment to become a
OF the Constitution of the United States. In addition
this every State in the federal union accepts the
ciple that the laws of the federal government shall
the laws of the state. Aggressive enforcement OF
law should be made the definite policy of the state go
eminent.
The prohibition commissioner with skilled assistant
could throw his forces into any place where county
local action effective. Under present laws veryf
vital link i'll the chain of enforcement is almost entirely
missing. Under our theory of government primary re-
sponsbility given to local officials Next county Of
fcias called upon to act. Then state Officials andI
finally the federal government.
In Illinois local officials can act under the Illinois
Prohibition Act or under city or village ordinances.
County officials including supervisors states attorneys
sheriff and county Judge, can act under the state law.
Next in line OF responsibility should be the state. But
lacking prohibition commissioner, the state link is
missing in the prohibition enforcement chain When
county officials are unwilling unable get relief
against liquor awlessness the step now can only
be the federal government. This throws an unjust and
unnecessary burden the federal government and
greatly decreases the horoughness and effectiveness of
enforcement that would be guaranteed the had
adequate legislation for state enforcement action.
prohibition commissioner could take effective en-
forcement action in most of the places where for ore
reason another local county officials have failed to
get results. This would permit the federal government
TO concentrate on the major vioators and the larger
centers of population. In other words prohibition
commissioner would add completing link in a chain
OF enforcement action and thus UNNECESSARILY increase
the certainty and effectiveness of enforcement
An incidental but very important feature of the pro-
hbon commissioner method of state action IS the GER
ainy that fines and penalties brought the treasury
through the commissioners office would much more
than pay the entire expense of maintaining the commits
sioner and his force of assistants
In the state OF Wisconsin, which has state prohib-
ton commissioner covering a period OF four years the
appropriated $80850 for the expense of this de-
partmen and fines actually collected and turned into
the state treasury from this department was $394l7
In Wyoming for period OF twenty-one months the
appropriation to the state prohibition commissioners
office $4,000 and the fines collected $4,000 In
Ohio from January l. 1928, to September l. 1928 a
period of eight months the state prohibition commits
soner office had cost $4,000 and through the activities
of this department there had been actually collected and
paid into the state treasury $1079719
As the official representative of the church and tenn
organizations of Illinois interested in prohibition
enforcement, the Anti-Saoon League has endorsed the
prohibition commissioner bill By direction of its ex-
ecutive committee the An-Saoon League is giving its
support to this proposed legislation This bill is entitled
to the support of the legislators and the citizens of the
state regardless of all partisan considerations is
naturally expected that those unalteraby opposed to en-
forcement OF the Eighteenth Amendment-those under
obligations to the liquor traffic and fighting for the re-
turn of the liquor traffic will oppose the commissioner
bill. But there is why any citizen official
who places duty his and his nation above other
considerations should not render hearty support to the
commissioner bill for prohibition enforcement.
This legislation is needed. 1t will make enforcement
effective 1t will be tremendously effective wea