Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-09

Whatever may be the differences of
opinion as to the merits of the Jones'
Stalker bill prescribing more severe
penalties for violations Of the prohibit
ton laws, all observers concede the i'm
pressiveness Of dry power In Congress
as again disclosed by the votes on this
measure. In discussion of the new law
itself, opinion divides sharply, favorable
critics hailing new and needed teeth"
for prohibition, while those who are
unfavorable denounce 1t as another OBJ
stacle to effective enforcement.
when it came to the final test on
the bill" the Santa Barbara Daily
News also records as to the House &C
ton, 'the best the wet forces could do
was to muster less than 100 votes. The
opponents of the bill to add more teeth
to the dry law showed no more
strength than in similar tests on other
measures during the session. All claims
of the wet leaders to an increase IN
their forces were proved false. Inc
San Antonio Express feels that the
passage of the measure is "encourag-
ing" and points out that Its objective
SIS to provide the judiciary with a
more effective weapon against the Dig
bootlegger."
"The country as a whole favors the
retention of the prohibition law, as had
been shown in various ways" declares
the Rochester Times Union. with the
added comment on the efforts to estab-
lish a State enforcement law in New
York: so long as the State OF New
York fails to back officially the national
prohibition act, thus tacitly encouras-
ing slackness on the part of its peace
officers, it is not only falling to support
the Constitution but also disregardlng
the policy favored by the American
ueople as whole" The Bluefleld
Daily Telegraph sees for the drys lone
of their greatest victories"
x \. X X
Congress in both houses has en-
phaticallv shown itself overwhelmingly
In favor of strict enforcement" the
Salt Lake Deseret News points out, and
that paper is convinced that prospects
fer the enforcement of the prohibition
laws both in spirit and in the letter
of the eighteenth amendment were
never so bright as they are today.
The Chattanooga News insists that
this law can cure bootlegging If prop
erly applied
while there were many who believed
that all prohibition legislation should
be left to the new administration and
the new Congress-" remarks the Bing-
hamton Press, "it seems likely that
nothing which the Jones bill does will
have to be undone as a result OF any
thing Mr.. Hoover's commission may
find.'' The Elkhart Truth argues:
Chicago has demonstrated what boot
Logging and hiiacking will do when al
lowed to go unhampered, and no one
eIoo rnioof m q 1oW Whinh will nit
criminals in Jail for a longer period
The Evansville Courier comments in
similar vein: Mr.. Hoover believes in
honestly trying to enforce prohibition
because it is the law. That is the
honest policy and one that more quick
" than anything else will really de-
termine whether or not we want tC
repeal or amend the eighteenth amend
ment."
X X X X
Replying to the arguments of the vets
that juries would refuse to convict In
the face of heavy penalties, the An
niston Star observes: IN prohibition
cases the jury or judge take into con-
sideration the character of the defend
ant and similar points. The Jones bill
allows them to continue this practice
and only increases the penalties thai
may be imposed" The San Bernardinc
sun says: "a plea was made for the
unintentional and casual violator, as
though first offenders were all of that
character. The Senate had the CON-
mon sense to defeat it, trusting to the
Judges on the bench to exercise gen.
uine discretion as to the degree of cul-
pability of offenders in pronouncine
sentence"
X X X
Seeing significance in the provision OF
the bill which permits judges to discrim-
mate between offenders, the Charlotte
News concludes: circumstances indi-
cate that the Senate was merely yielding
to pressure or trying to play to the dry
grandstand by passing law that il
hoped would not be taken too seriously
by the judges" If it is taken seriously
according to the Baltimore Evening
Sun: obviously the indispensable re-
! Quisite to more enforcement Is more
jails. The Jones bill is unsound in prin-
cjple, without doubt, But, in addition