New Britain herald., 1926-05-25

ness may be gravely questioned. That it has disclosed lawlessness, and sometimes in high places, is the discerning comment that comes to us from Rabbi Stephen s. Wise, that
 great Hebrew leader. Perhaps for the moment prohibition may be in- cluded in a very limited way as one
 of the causes of this whole present situation, but it should be remem-
 bered that also in England and
 throughout Europe there is today this restlessness which manifests it. self in lack of respect for authority.
 and Europe is not suffering" from
 prohibition.
 "So far as the United States is concerned perhaps of even greater importance than these reasons noted is another. There is a certain fal-
 lacy of thought among lawabiding
 citizens that once they have put a
 law on the statute books the whole
 matter is forever settled and they can turn their attention to other
 things. This is undoubtedly part of
 the American spirit; d desire to
 settle once and for all in the quick and rapid fashion q disturbing situ-
 ation: deal it what we believe is a
 death blow and rapidly turn our at
 tention to the next thing. We lack
 patience in social control. Strike
 and forget,' Desirable as social
 legislation may be it is never a sub
 stitute for social education. They
 must go hand .n hand.
 18th Amendment Storm Center
 "The storm center of all this
 present condition of lawlessness is
 for the time the eighteenth amend
 mcnt to the American constitution
 and its enforcing acts.
 Nineteen amendments have been
 made 10 the American constitution, but aI-endments have been very
 hard to secure. Several times as
 many have been proposed as have
 been finally a .pted. All have been
 the result of much discussion.
 "The cornerstone of the amend
 ments is the first amendment in
 volving the right of free speech, free
 press, free observance of religion
 and the free right for peaceful as
 semblage. It must be the corner
 stone of q republic. It gives to every
 man the right express his opn-
 ion upon any subject in a peaceful al. lawful way that does not incite
 10 rebellion. Ther, ore, we will nc denounce the man who doubts the
 wisdom of the eighteenth amend
 ment. He has right to his opn-
 ion and a right to shout 1t from tho
 hout tops, nd 10 work by all order ly means pr it's repeal--but---if you get this get it all--while it is a law
 he must obey it. A man may dis agree with the income tax Iva and
 work honorably for its repeal, but if he deliberately avoiIs the pay ment of his tax-he is q criminal. No ., an has the right to work for
 the repeal oi any law until he has
 fir obeyed that law. He must come hefo the court of public opinion
 with clean hands. AS has been well
 said, to presume to choose what lective anarchy and selective an- arch iT more poisonous funda- . mentally than general anarchy. We
 must see the full light of that staten ent t--'Obedience to Constitu. tional law is liberty
 l For man to advocate the repeal of any la because in his opinion that law is not s fficiently observed l a"d at the same time to use his own 5 violation, and those like-minded f with him, as evidence for his plea, [ places him, to say the least. in su- ; preme contempt before all good
 citizens.
 , Though we have every right and
 all principle behind us in insisting upon obedience to and enforcement Of the prohibition amendment be-
 cause 1t is the law. and no thought | full citizen can take any other self
 respecting stand. we must say for ourselves that we believe America , will retain and must ultimately ! satisfactorily enforce the eighteenth I amendment, not only because it is , the law, but because it is a good law.
 
 ! the American soldiers who were in [ France during the war. Such q state- , ment is cheap libel on the Ameri. 3 can army. That is was a model tenn ) perance society anyone who was ir ) it will deny, but 10 infer that tho I rank and file of American manhood ' under arms in the great war were . devotees and defenders of the organ. l ized liquor traffic and would havc 9 opposed it's prohibition in America ) puts too great strain on the credu . lity of those who knew something s of that American manhood. War l time prohibition was just an cCono mic phase of complete constitution = al prohibition.
 = That prohibition has brough r material benefits 10 America there f is no doubt. The testimony of sucl
 thoughtful citizens as Herber S Hoover. Roger Bahson, Judge F. II - Gary, and others 10 this effect mus f far outweigh the vociferous froth - ings of certain appetite-controlle Il voices That all of the tremendousl,
 increased bank deposits and othe f material benefi of the last 10 year Q are due to prohibition need not h. Q stated. It would be difficult 10 prov s all the material benefits that prohi c bition has brought and these nee' e not be exaggerated or over-stresse'
 by it's friends. Let the lawless eS t aggerate.
 r. "The complexity of modern Tiff - makes Prohibition imperative. Ther t is a great deal of talk in these day l. about there being too many laws S Perhaps that is true. but we ma c question the sincerity of many wh l. speak about the great mass of un S. S~~~~~~~ooN~~~N~N~O~~~-~~~ ~~o~~~N~NO~~~~So~~~~-