The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1929-01-17

| business OF DOOClegglng.
Through it's permit system, the
Government exercises exclusive juris-
diction over the manufacture, stor-
age, distribution, and sale of alcohol
in any form. Here is the heart of
the problem. Only the President can
dominate it.
The Constitution is under attack
at the point of the Eighteenth
Amendment. The President has tax
en- oath to preserve, protect, and
defend" it. The laws are disregard
ed. 1t is his Constitutional duty to
'take Care that the Laws be faith
fully executed" Is it unreasonable
to expect him to do so?
The President can begin to enforce
the Eighteenth Amendment and the
Volstead Act up to the level of other
laws by declaring publicly his deter
mination to do so; by announcing
that he will refuse to offer an ap-
pointment to his Cabinet or to any
other office to any one who is not a
good enough American to obey the
Constitution; by giving public notice
that so long as he is President viola
ton of the Eighteenth Amendment
by any public servant will carry with
it immediate dismissal; and by an
nouncing that Federal enforcement
will be wholly divorced from politics.
Having thus notified the people
that the Government takes the Con-
stitution seriously, let the President
proceed to-
Call together in the White House
the heads of the Bureau of Prohibi-
ton and other Federal enforcement
services and notify them in open
meeting that they and their subordi-
mates must not only be dry but eff
cient, and that unless they begin to
produce results within three months
better men will take their places.
Call together in the White House
all United States District Attorneys
and give them also notice to show re-
suits within three months or get out
The known failure of enforcement
in the City of Washington has i'm
mensely encouraged lawlessness
throughout the country. Let the
President give the Commissioners of
the District of Columbia notice to be-
gin cleaning up at once and make and
keep the District clean under pen
atty of dismissal.
Having thus notified the enforce
ment officials that the President will
stand for nothing less than real en-
forcement, let him set over the en-
forcement services as his personal
representative a coordinating officer
with large executive experience and
a real interest in law enforcement,
and direct him to make these agen-
cies work together, and to attack the
flow of illegal drink at the source.
Let the President also at various
times invite to meet him in the White
House, the Governors of the several
States, the mayors of the 100 great
est cities, the leaders of the great
professions, industries and corpora
tions, and the heads of the churches,
the dry organizations, the women's
organizations and others, and ask for
their help in enforcement and in the
arousing of public support for the
law.
The methods above suggested for
the President require no action by
Congress, and add nothing to the cost
of enforcement. They are practical,
appropriate and within the Presi-
dents Constitutional duty. Every
one of them has already in very SINH
lar situations been shown to be eff
| fective by the test of actual use.
Although the President can en-
force the Eighteenth Amendment
with the statute law we have, GER
tain improvements in the law and
regulations are doubtless desirable.
But these changes, which a President
determined to enforce could easily
secure, as well as the proposed re-
moval of the Prohibition Bureau to
the Department of Justice, are far
less important than the firm inten-
ton of the President himself that the
law shall be enforced.
Still other ways of reaching the
situation are open to the President
For example: the free and unlimited
importation of liquors by diplomatic
representatives is a chief source of
the wetness of Washington. If the
President, following the far stronger
precedent set by the British Govern
ment years ago in the matter of
slaves, should suggest to all foreign
governments that he would regard it
as a friendly act if they would in
struct their representatives to i'm
port no more alcoholic liquors, the at