The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1927-09-17
Some More Prohibition.
New Tork World.)

The Worlds Bureau in Washington reports
that drive for the enactment of Federal blue
laws will be made when Congress meets again,
and that the Lords Day Alliance the Anti-Saloon
League and the Methodist Board of Temperance,
Prohibition and Public Morals will unite in de-
mand that the National Government now enter al
new field of restrictive legislation with laws for
the District of Columbia which Will serve as an
example for the States
1t will not do in 1927 to minimize the chances
of success for any proposal, however remote from
the original conceptions of the duties and respon-
lsbties of the Federal Government. to which
these three church organizations pledge their
united efforts. The day is gone when the pack
ers lobby is pointed out in Washington as the
perfect example of a well-organized machine. 1t
is the church Hobbies which now dominate the
scene. The authority of the Anti-Saoon League,
with its two-mlion- dollar budget for legislative
work its aggressive lobby and its whiphand over
a large section of the House of Representatives,
is now of the major factors in contemporary
politics The Lords Day Alliance distributes, ac-
cording to its reports. millions of pages of
literature" and has its lobbyists at various State
Icapitals Ito oppose all adverse measures The
Methodist Board of Temperance, prohibition ana
| Public Morals claims to have held scores OF con-
ferences with governmental officers regarding the
| local details of Prohibition enforcement and Is
not ashamed to admit that, like the Khan, it
keeps a record of the religious and fraternal az
filiations'' of gentlemen in Congress Every CORE
spondent in Washington knows the power of
these Hobbies. Arthur S. Henning wrote recently
| in the Chicago Tribune
! The church politicians are the mas
ter propagandsits from which all other
| propagandists taking lessons 1t is
/ by the church politicians that the new
/ lobbying has been brought to its pres
ent state of perfection. With
network of central and subordinate
agencies covering the country, with
multitude of interlockng organizations
with an army of seasoned propaganda
tn
with canned resolutions provided at
a moments notice, with tons of ltera-
i ture thoroughly tested mailing lists and
the use of chain letters and kilograms
d and numerous other devices, the new
/ lobbying has been brought to such
q state of perfection that the Invisible
u government has but to press button to
inundate Congress with every sort of rep
; resentation, ranging from plea to de-
mand, and to loose to the ears OF the
Legislators what sounds exceedingly like
: the voice of the people-the whole peo-
ple--and is often mistaken therefor
These are the church lobbies What disturbs
them now and prompts them to make new ue-
mands of Congress is belief that blue-aw legls-
E lation has been made more necessary than ever
q by an alarming lapse in public morals fou' OF
> course know that the increase in crime through
out the United States has been most alarming
during the past decade writes the General sec
: rotary of the Lords Day Alliance in call Tor
! money with which to back the new drive ON Con-
gress "but do you know that our prisons no"
a contain more criminals than at any time in ouI
Nations hstory?"
If we are not mistaken, it was just about ten
, wars ago at the beginning of this same decade
e that the advocates of Federal dry law predicted
h that Prohibition would empty the jails not Ill
: them Empty the jails," in fact, was one Of
! Prohibitions most eloquent and most persuasive
4 slogans. .u,.noo
however that seven years of Prohibition sever
6 years of increasing disrespect for law, sever
= years of making drinking more attractive by at
& tempting to prohibit it, and seven years OF mani
a fest eorruption in Government offices in charge
ID of Prohibition work have anything to do will
n the fact that "our prisons now contain more
= criminals than at any time in our Nations his
tory
The Answ, of the church lobbies to tn,
breakdown of restrictive laws on private morals
Il is to add still more restrictions.