The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1928-07-01
AL. RESENTS "DELIYERANCE"
Does Not Want to Advertise Sign
ing of Repeal Measure; Scene
Dcleted

Al Smith is evidently not proud of the
part he had in repeating New Yo;k's dry
enforcement law, thereby leaving the state
to the mercy of the bootleggerS and rum
runners except for the activities against
them by the Federal Government.
moving picture entitled "Deliverance"
based on Prof Fishers book Prohibition
At It's Worst" showed the New York Gov
ernor signing a bill, which scene was
adapted to picture him as signing the re-
peal measure. His friends Immediately
sent up howl that was heard round the
country and tried to seek an injunction
preventing the use of this picture. It's
promoters deleted the scene At the same
time the friends of Al protested against
certain titles showing the consequences of
the repeal Of the MullanGage law. These,
however, remained. Orville s. Poland,
Head of the Legal Department of the
Anti-Saloon League, makes the following
comment on the Al Smith scene:
"a moving picture, "Deliverance," shows
Governor Smith signing the repeal of the
Mullan-Gage Law. This was the action
which Governor Smith took which made
New York the Eldorajo of the bootleg
gers. In practical effect, he took $4,000
police officers off the job of enforcement
and closed the courts of So counties
He left the job to perhaps 300 federal Of
f1cers and four federal courts. Of course,
tho Governor gave out a brave message
in which he told every officer that he
must do his duty. So far no casualties
have been reported
1.-The Governors Official family protest
this picture. In the first place, the Gov
ernor is actually signing a different piece
of paper. It isn't the repeal of the Null
lan-Gage bill. Of course, he didn't sign
that publicly. Nobody with any sense of
decency would have Furthermore, it is
commonly reported that he had signed
the repeal and had it in his pocket at the
moment of an elaborate hearing against
it. So far as the public knows, there were
no witnesses to that act. But no one of
his official family, who is protesting in his
behalf, denies that he signed the repeal
While the Governor has oppoced film CEN
SorShip, he becomes a party to kind of
super censorship when he is represented
as doing something which he did do, but
which may now hurt him.
"After all, if picture which merely
purports to represent an act is such
terrible thing, how much more terrible
must have been the act itself. Regardless
of what the picture shows, the record
shows that the Governor signed the re-
peal, anu pOIlGlCdl COIlIlon-5eilSe lDul-
Gates that his influence was brought to
bear upon the Smith Tammany contin-
gent of the legislature which voted as an
Inbroken unit for repeal
This isn't the first time that the Gov
ernor has resented publication of things
he has done or said. Newspaper men all
agree that he has never been happy about
his famous statement that he wanted to
put his foot on the brass rail and blow
Off the the foam" Now he is in the role of
super-censor of the movies It is infelici-
tous that he should have assumed this
role when his own actions are involved,
and on a matter concerning which there
is no dispute as to its truth, and about
which the only indecency is the fact that
he did it."
In one day recently, New York judge
padlocked is places in New York city for
persistent violation of the Prohibition law.