Evening star., 1927-10-31
RUM AUTO ISSUE
ST|RS OHIO VOTERS
Justice of Peace System Un-
Ger Fire in Referen-
dun Campaign.
EY DAVID S. WELLER.


Special Dispatch to The star.
CINCINNATI. October Sl.-Those
sqfrty-first advocates who warn that
''booze and gasoline won't mix" have
overlooked the potentialities of Ohio
politics Liquor and automobile fuel
have produced n strange blend in
the Buckeye State. whore oddities ~
politics have been the rule. rather
than the exception. for many years
1t all came about through the ref.
erendum on The Marshall hill. which
Ohio voters viii ratifN or defeat No
vemher s. And today there is no
issue in any part of the State that
eciipses in interest this measure.
which its opponents term IAN effort
of the Legislature to ovcrrulc the
Supreme Court of the United states"
The bill. the only issue on the
ticket that voters discuss, resulted
from the decision Of, chief Justice
Taft that lit is unconstitutional fn,
any man To lac tried by n court that
has a pecun;ary interest in the out
come of the case The issue arose
from the arrest Of Edward Tumer of
North College HILL near Cincinnati.
on charge Uf possessing liQuor.
The effect of the Taft decision WAS
to knock ont the hundreds of dry law
and speed trap courts presided over
by justices Of the Deace and village
mayors. Under Ohio laws magistrates
VI both classes have jurisdiction
throughout their count :. hence
around each city of Importance there
spranC IN kangaroo" courts. into
which urban residents were taken 10y
rural constahles. No juries were per
mitted, and the only ,-oters Who had
a chance to get even with the Justice
or mayo were those in his village or
township.
So far the liquor phase predomi-
mated. but the Ohio Automobile Asso.
citation entered the case With the gaSo.
line angle as soon as the Legislature
passed bill drafted by the Anti-Sa-
loon League and sponsored BY Senator
l. I. Marshall of Nenia. This meas
ure provides that justices and mayors
may collect UP to $3.50 a month from
the fines collected from prisoners con.
Nlcted in their courts. This. of course
preserved the salient feature of the
law knocked ont by Chief Justice
Taft's deciSion-the provision that the
dry court would profit to the extent
OF $3.50 monthly finding the pris-
oners guilty.
j ne organized motorists, carefully
q oidin- the wet-and-Ciry side of the
argument. entered the camnaign
against the Marshall bill to prevent
revival of the justice-of -the-peace sys-
tenn
Attorney General Edward G. Turner,
who is leading the fight against rati-
fication Of the bill. has challenged the
drys to present one able lawyer who
will defend the measure and deny that
il fosters ''partiality. perjury and
plunder." In Piquta. debate before
the Ministerial Association was con-
Quoted behind closed doors. Although
the participants were the Anti-Saioon
Leagues chief attorney and a promin.
ent State Senator, nobody has been
found who will tell what was said. In
Cincinnati an even more striking de
bate took place-the Methodist Mini
sters' Association heard one side and
then refused to let the opponent of
the Marshall bill talk.
A third popularity Of the situation
is that Gov. A. Donahey. after
writing what read like scatbipg
veto message, allowed the bill to be-
come law without signing it. The
governors friends, however, explain
this by saying that Donahey wished
10 let the voters pass on the mea sure.
fCopyrIght. 1927