Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-25
MRS WILLEBRANDTs DRY LAW RECOMMENDATIONS

.~t
It simply cannot be done. It is local
opinion and vigilance that will bring
about effectiveness in the districts
throughout the country. I well recall
prosecution of an important liquor con-
spiracy case involving local officials at
Mobile, Ala. The United States dis
trict attorney was a man who believed
In prohibition enforcement and was
honest in his efforts. The liquor ring,
however, secured his indictment by a
State grand Jury, and while that in
dictment subsequently dismissed was
pending, we could not use him to prose-
cute the bootlegging ring. 1t was nee
esSary, therefore, to secure the services
of q special prosecutor.
We had the utmost difficulty In Sc
curing a competent lawyer, and one who
could be depended upon to prosecute
fearlessly and vigorously. insisted on
naming q Democrat (Which in Repub-
lican administration is supposed to be a
capital offense). Hugo Black, a young
man of vigor and courage and since
elected Senator from his State, was
chosen. But weeks were consumed in
finding man of his type, and then
more time was consumed in arranging
details Of his compensation.
In the end, a special prosecutor was
put to work, and the cases were carried
to successful conclusion, with the con-
viction of @ number of the conspiratorS,
including local ofacials. But these In
cidents land there were many more Of
q like nature have convinced me OF the
difficulty of doing the actual proSecut-
ing from Washington. The RESPONSE
bility is local for prohibition enforce
ment and only the general direction
must be centralized and responsibility
for policies accurately flXed in Wash
ington.
Enforcement Possible.
I believe, based on my often dis
illusioning but Illuminating experience
and knowledge Of the liquor situation,
that prohibition can be enforced. and
now. was born in Kansas on the
Western plains near the Panhandle of
Texas. That strip of Texas territory
was then a mo mans land" It had
not been brought under the authority
of State law, and no law was enforced
there. It was harbor for criminals.
Just a few months before my birth my
father was almost killed and my uncle
was slain in the defense of their homes
from O lawlesS band that swept over
from that law-defying area. The stories
that my mother and father told con-
corning the situation had q deep In
fuence on my life.
And so 1t seems to me that We now
have throughout the country no
mans land" which Is the refuge for
the dregs of society, the bootleggers, the
thugs, the potential murderers, the
bribers, the grafters and criminals Of
every description, who live by preying
on honest men and women. We have
not effectively organized against them.
These lawless elements took full adj
vantage of the Reorganization Of gov
ernmental agencies and the relaxed
grip of local communities on sturdy ana
normal enforcement Of law during the
confused period following the World
War. Various legal phases Of the eight.
zenith amendment and the Volstead
act had to be tested in the courts, with
uncertainty and confusion, until the
points were settled. The .orce of pro-
hibition agents created under the VOL
stead act was unframed, incompetent
and sometimes dishonest. All these
things we're circumstances the boot
leRKer was not slow to turn to his adj
vantage. Liquor violatorS were there
fore entrenched and in strong position
for several years before enforcement
activity was even fairly well organized.
The bootleggers and their allies stu
have much Of the initial advantage.
But they can and will be routed.
Capitalization Essential.
If one person is given centralized au-
thority to coordinate forces and estab-
lish policies, If he be willing to face the
difficulties and the infinite details OF
the task, and II he will stand up and
take punishment and keep fighting he
can carry the work on to success. He
win have the backing of a President
who has spent his life doing what tinid
men said was impossible.
II is a hard, thankless job. No one
knows that better than l. But have
the comfort of knowing. too, that have
served in its most dificult period and
enforcement has made some advance.
There are some who will count me
Just another out" In the game; others
will say, "She made sacrifice hit"
What Is said matters little, because OF
my sure conviction that the man who
follows me will advance the policies in
which I believe.
In one sense I'm sorry to leave, even
on the wings of the challenge OF avia-
ton law. For in looking back over the
past eight years (the full measure OF
public service for any lawyer who
doesn't want to get "governmentitis' ~
I realize that have had q lot of fun
in the struggle itself, because, as Presi-
dent Roosevelt said:
Aggressive lighting for the right Is
the noblest sport the world affords"
(Copyright, 1879, By Current News Features,
1nc.)