Milford chronicle., 1929-03-22
VIOLATING THE LAW

more lasting impression than the
one which touched upon law en-
forcement and law observance. Pres
ident Hoover realizes that our pres
ent wave of lawlessness goes farther
back than the time of the adoption
of the Eighteenth Amendment, al
though of course violation of the
prohibition laws now constitute a
goodly part of our lax law observ-
ance. The delay in the functioning of
the machinery of justice undoubted-
ly has a great deal to do with the
failure of law enforcement today.
But it has become popular now to
blame almost everything which does
not suit us, either directly or indi-
rectly on to the Volstead act. Pres
ident Hoover wisely said:
But a large responsibility rests
directly upon our citizens. There
would be little traffic in illegal liz
uor if only criminals patronized it.
We must awake to the fact that this
patronage from large numbers of
law abiding citizens is supplying the
rewards and stimulating crime.
81 have been selected by you to
execute and enforce the laws Of the
country. 1 propose to do so to the
extent of my own abilities, but the
measure of success that the govern
ment shall attain will depend upon
the moral support which you as cit
liens extend.
"The duty of citizens to support
the law of the land is coequal with
the duty of their government to en-
force the laws which exist. No
greater national service can be Civ
en- by men and women of goodwill
who 1 know, are not unmindful of
the responsibilities of citizenship
than that they should by their exam
pie assist in stamping out crime and
outlawry by refusing participation
in and condemning all transactions
with illegal liquor.
"Our whole system of self govern
ment will crumble either If officials
elect what laws they will enforce, or
citizens elect what laws they will
support. The worst evil of disregard
for some law is that it destroys re-
spect for all law. For our citizens to
patronize the violation of a particu-
lar law on the ground that they are
opposed to it, is destructive of the
very basis of all that protection of
life, of homes and property which
they rightly claim under other laws.
eff citizens do not like law their
duty as honest men and women is to
discourage it's violation; their right
is openly to work for its repeal"
There is little fault to find with
the logic of the above statements of
the new President. Not all of our
people by any means are in favor of
the Eighteenth Amendment. But all |
good citizens, regardless of their |
views on prohibition are supposed to
stand for law enforcement. The man
who denounces the prohibition laws
because they are so often violated, is
inconsistent if he at the
same time participates in this vio-
alton. To hold up ones hands in
holy horror of the bootlegger and
hen patronize that INSCRIPTIONS
gentleman to the extent of eight or
EN- dollars a quart for illegal poison
S inconsistent to say the least.
If law violation is general and is
80 terrible as most of us think it is,
hen it is our duty certainly to dis
courage further violation by not pat
'onizing the bootlegger ourselves.
AS President Hoover says, any
good citizen has the right TO WORK
openly for the repeal of any law of
which he disproves, but he certainly
las not the right as a good Ameri-
IAN to attempt to break down the
aw by helping to violate it. Such
procedure only adds to general pub
ic decentralization and is certainly
against public policy.
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IEnnEREn CTREETC AND YARnS |