Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-14
TEN SUGGESTIONS MADE
FOR CURLING CRIME INU. S.
Wade III. Ellis Plan Deals With General
Enforcement, but He Offers Novel
Dry Proposal.
BY MARK SULLIVAN.

III RESIDENT HoovERS Commits
sion on Law Enforcement is at
work. What it is doing will
L probably not appear for several
months Its very silence is re-
assuring. provided you know, as those
of us who watch events In Washington
do know. that it is busily at work.
Sooner or later the results Of its work
and thought will appear in the form OF
report.
That report, when It appears, will
constitute one of the most important
events in our domestic contemporary
history. The people are more inter-
ested in this commission than in any
similar body that has functioned with
in the period of the present writer's
experience. The only other body that
was ever attended by as much or more
interest was the Peace Conference at
Paris. The report of President Hoovers
Commission on Law Enforcement, when
it appears, may be almost as proVoca-
tive of public interest in America as
was the Versailles Treaty.
One OF the strongest signs Of inter-
est in the commission is the number
and the quality of the persons who are
taking an eager interest in the commits
sion's problem. If the commission
should never do anything 1t would still
remain a fact that President Hoover
by the mere act Of appointing 1t sue
ceeded in focusing public attention on
the problem-the increase of crime in
the United States-and caused the pub
lie to see the problem and its cure as
one attended by some solemnity. I sus-
pect that at this moment a really for
midable number of fine and praise
worthy persons are giving earnest
thought to this question, thought of
the sort that gets somewhere.
Impressive Argument.
Among current contributions to
thought on this subject the most i'm
pressive the writer has happened to see
comes from Wade H. Ellis. 1t is now
in the form of printed pamphlet orig
inally written as speech delivered
under the auspices of the Washington
Society of the Sons of the Revolution.
While Mr.. Ellis utterance Is in this
form, it is obviously addressed to Mr..
Hoover's commission, and 1t Is safe to
say the commission will receive no
argument better worked out than Mr..
Ellis. One may differ with him or
not, but one is obliged to concede and
admire the careful form and thought
full spirit of his address. In form and
spirit of Mr.. Ellis statement is a prece-
itself.
Mr.. Ellis contribution is impressive
for several reasons. 1t is important be-
cause of its authorship. Mr.. Ellis, now
practicing law at Washington, was for
merly assistant TO the Attorney General
CT the United States. and before that
was Attorney General OF the State OF
Ohio. and before that Assistant Cor
poration Counsel OF the city OF Cincin-
natl. Mr. Ellis, in short, knows the
lob of enforcing law-knows it by ex-
perience in the law enforcing depart
ments of city. State and the Nation
Mr.. Ellis address further commends
itself because he grasps the job of Mr..
Hooyer's commission as the commission
grasps 1t, as Mr.. Hoover grasped it
in short, as it is. Mr.. Ellis sees the
commissions task as one embracing all
enforcement and all crime. He escapes
the tendency, too common in many
circles, to look upon the commissions
work as having to do with prohibition
only. and to expect the commissions re-
port to be solely an answer to the ques-
ton: What shall we do about prohibit
tion?" All the early part of Mr.. Ellis
address deals with the problem OF law
enforcement as a universal thing. And
there is nowhere more thoughful
summary Of recommendations than the
one Mr.. Ellis has made, with obvious
care.
Makes 10 Recommendations.
AS respects law enforcement in gen.
eral, Mr.. Ellis makes 10 recommends
lions. To state them here very briefly
and, therefore, with the handicap of
emitting Mr.. Ellis convincing argu-
ment for each point, his recommended
tons are:
/. Stronger police departments in the
communities where they are most
needed, and more and better paid
judges. prosecuting attorneys, and all
authorities that have to do with the
detection and punishment of crime.
2. Stop at once the manufacture and
sale of firearms. especially the pistol,
except under State or Government sup
ervision.
8. Promptly deport all aliens con-
victed of major crimes.
4. Some central blTeau or authority
which, like Scotland Yard in England.
can act as a sort of clearing house in
assembling the records Of habitual