Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-04

at the Associated FreSS luncheon III NEW L OIK
was shot in the air blank cartridge dis
charged against blank wall.
Everybody knows that the laws ought to be
enforced.
Everybody knows that the President ought to
enforce the laws as far as comes within the obll-
cation of his office.
Everybody knows that the laws ought to be re-
spected; Just as everybody knows that women
ought to be respected, and that women are re-
spected by every decent man.
But occasionally there is woman who is not
respected, who is not respectable, who does not
respect herself, and whom no one in his heart can
respect, no matter what outward observance OF
respect he may render
And so, occasionally, there are laws which
cannot be respected no matter how they are OBJ
served by good citizens.
And there are lawmakers who cannot be re-
spected-such, for instance, as gentlemen who
impose dry laws upon the land and carry whiskey
TASKS in their hip pockets.
RESPECT FOR LAW is good thing when the laws
and lawmakers are worthy of respect.
But if the American people had had respect
for all laws good or bad, there would have been
no Boston Tea Party to protest against the inva-
sion of the rights and liberties of our people; no
Declaration of independence to declare liberty
and equality as the inalienable rights of man; no
United States of America to establish liberty and
equality as the foundation stones Of republican
government; and in that sad case, no President
Hoover, but only certain Herbert Hoover, emil
nent engineer and loyal and law-respecting
subject of His Majesty King George V.
Of course, there should be respect for law in
the abstract but first there should be laws which
deserve respect.
It is better to respect the fundamental Ameri
can principles of liberty equality and justice than
it is to respect laws which infringe upon these
inalienable rights of man.
OF course, there should be respect for the law
makers; but how can lawmakers be respected who
first take drink and then pass law imposing
five years penal servitude and $4,000 fine upon
any citizen who takes drink, and then go back
and take another drink out of bottle of whiskey
which they have struggled through the customs
under their privilege as Congressman!
Of course, law-enforcement machinery should
be respected; but how can it be respected when
the head of the machine tells the law enforce
ment officers that the recent liquor law must not
be enforced against all the community but only
against part of the commandments not be en-
forced in all cases, but only in some cases-and
that the discretion for it's enforcement lies in the
hands of the law enforcing officers?
How wide open this decision leaves the door
to bIackmail and bribery and corruption, when
corruption is already rotting the social and poti-
cal fabric of the NATION!
How this decision skaters the foundation
stones of the REPUBLIC!
The cornerstone of liberty has already been
reduced to dust.
And now another cornerstone-Equality be-
fore the LAWS crumbling before our eyes.
President Hoover says in the course of his
speech at the Associated Press luncheon:
I'VE have reason to pride ourselves on, our i1sti-
tutionS and the high moral instincts of the great
majority of our people,
PT1RI ISEFD nv TEIE TWENTY. RIO