Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-22
MELLON ASSA|LED
ASENEMY OF DRyS
Pinchot Sees Secretary as
Chief Factor in Failure
of Prohibition.

BY the Associated Press.
WINONA LAKE. Ind. August q.
Clifford Pinchot. former Governor ot
Pennsylvania. addressing the Con.
gress of the World League Against
Alcoholism last night. assailed An
drew w. Mellon, Secretary Of the
Treasury, as being the ''chicf obstacle
to complete enforcement of Federal
prohibition in the United States"
Back of him and therefore chiefly
responsible, is President Coolidge"
the speaker declared Much of the
former governors address was devoted
to resumption of his attack on Sec
rotary Mellon. whom he charged with
refusing to have the prohibition law
enforced
For many reasons Secretary Mel
lon is utterly unfit to have charge of
the enforcement of the eighteenth
amendment" Mr.. Pinchot declared.
First he is wet. When appointed as
Secretary of the Treasury Mellon
was, if not the largest, one of the
largest makers OF whisky in America
through his ownership in the over.
holt distilery.
Called Wrong Man.
Both because of his personal views
and his business interests he was Just
the wrong man to enforce the law.
The result has proved it,
THE trouble with the Coolidge ad.
ministratiOn is that it has talked in
favor Of the drys. but acted in favor
of the vets. President Coolidge per-
sonally obeys the law. He has. 1t is
true, said In messages to Congress
that the law ought to be observed and
ought to be enforced. He did it Is true,
call conference of governors on law
enforcement. the result of which was
utterly nothing. l was there and |
know.
Under the Coolidge administration
there has been dry talk enough to
keep the drys contented-most OF
them-but not dry action enough to
keep the vets from getting all the
drink they wanted"
After relating his experiences as
Governor of Pennsylvania, Mr.. Pin.
chot declared emphatically that pro-
hibitiOn can be enforced.
MY four years of struggle to make
Pennsylvania dry. proved that what Ia
needed to enforce the law is just one
thing-a determination to see that the
law Isl enforced" he said.
Hampered by Mellon.
During these four years of inces-
SAINT effort to enforce the law, the
chief obstacle against which 1 had to
contend was not the bootleggers and
wet politicians and it was not tho
breweries and distiileries. The chief
| obstacle was the Federal Government
in Washington. The thing which
hampered me beyond all else was the
refusal of Andrew Mellon to have the
law enforced.
When the eighteenth amendment
was first passed criminals generally
assumed that the Government would
respect and enforce its own Constitu.
ton. Consequently the figures of
crime, poverty and drink steadily de-
clined until Secretary Mellon came
into office. The present enormous de-
velopment of boOtlegging has taken
place entirely under Melons admin
istration. If he had done his duty 1t
never would have taken place at all.
Il call upon President Coolidge to
put the whole power and influence Of
his office vigorously behind the Con-
stitution of the United States and
thus cure a cancer that carries in
lection to every part of our country
a cancer which the President, and
the President alone, can cure
Wheeler Says Law Enforceable.
Prohibition statutes in America not
| only are right, but enforceable, de-
clared DR.. Wayne B. Wheeler, gen.
eral counsel and legislative superin.
| tendent Of the Anti-SaIoon League OF
/ America. in another address.
Where national prohibition en-
| forcement has failed in the United
States" DR.. Wheeler said, that fail.
| ure is largely due to the appointment
or election of men who were opposed
Eel,
that they did not believe it could he
enforced. Some of these wet officials
enforce the law, IL at all, in way to
make enemies to it.
"A prohibition law will not be en-.
forced IL it's friends demobilize. Amer.
lea has cast out the saloon, but the
bootlegger, moonshiner and rum run.
ner. must not be allowed to return
in force. The moral forces of the Ma.
ton must array themselves for q
greater conflict now than in the fight
for adoption.
Fewer Changes Urged.
Zone need is fewer changes in en-.
forcement administration methods.
Since national prohibition went into
effect there have been four different
programs.
'The permissive features of the law
ana the control OF nOn-heverage liquors
make necessary esta blishment of an
administrative bureau of prohibition.
"The general amnesty, offered to the
small bOOtlegger by some Federal Of
ticers who declared they would prose.
cute only larger offenders. Is one of
the most dangerous invitations to
crime. The distinction drawn is as
false as to suggest that only whole
sale murderers shall be punished. or
that only embellishments over SIC. 900
shall be penaliZed.
"As long as a liquor criminal con.
tinues to violate law after his first
conviction. no sympathy should be
wasted on him. A bootlegger is
neither a good citizen nor a good
sport. He is traitor to his country,
a leech on society. poisoner and as
sassin of his fellow men. The man
who buys from him also violates the
law.
1.-THE time has come to stop coddling
these criminals and treat them as
conspirators against the Government,
liquor outlaws and enemies OF the re-