Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-18
GOVERNORS REFUSE
ACTION ON DRY LAW
Executive Committee Advises
Against Endorsement of
Crime Board.
Continued From First Page.)


about IS per cent. For the first quar-
ter of 1929 there were 90 per cent.
Cases are tried within three weeks or
less from the date of arrest
I'VE have no State enforcement act
in Maryland. Baltimore City police,
under a ruling Of the Attorney General,
do not arrest for offenSeS under the
Volstead act. and the city courts do
not have to try that class Of cases. The
result is that both police and courts are
free to give their whole time to the di-
rection and punishment of crime, and
we have in Baltimore less crime than
ever before, more arrests, more conv1c-
| lions than ever before.
II say without hesitancy that this
! record is not excelled anywhere. No
city in the country where the VolStead
act is enforced as State measure can
surpass it, and doubt II any can APP
proach it.
I'VE want to remain free to continue
system which is giving such hene-
| fetal results We do not want to be re-
quired to take over the Volstead act, or
| large division of it as now recon-
mended, for enforcement. We want our
police force and our criminal courts to
keep on devoting themselves to major
crimes.
Should Apply Elsewhere.
IT can see no reason why what is true
about Baltimore should not be true
about other cities. Their people are not
worse than our people and their police
| and courts should be able to make rec
ordS just as good as ours If they are
! free to give their attention to crime"
What Is needed is to find some way
Of stopping the class of crimes that
were caused directly or indirectly by
Federal prohibition under the Volstead
act. If there Is any crime wave, there
1t is. There is no use In disgusting this
or trying to make it seem only part Of
q bigger picture or problem. 1t Is sui
generis' and the whole story.
THAT class of crime must be elm
mated If law and order are to be Sc
cure. You cannot do this by compelling
the States to take over the intra-State
| part of the Volstead act, as Mr.. Wick
| ersham suggested. The only way to do
| this is to strike at the root of the trou-
BILE and substitute something better for
the present system Of Federal prohibit
ton, something which the people as q
whole will respect and abide by which
can be enforced.
IF this is done, then believe that
such crime wave as may seem to exist
will disappear and crime can adequate
| ly be handled as 1t is in Maryland by
the efficient administration of justice.
| "a recent survey has, believe, pretty
| well exploded the theory that the GRIM
inal type is neither Unborn nor subnor-
NAL, that he always has a cerebral
! way can undoubtedly be done by i'm
proved handling of juvenile cases and
| by arreSting a drift toward crime in
early youth. Much good will doubtless
result from the studies of psychiatristS.
But certainly, to a very large extent,
the average criminal type, because OF
environments, habit or lack of opportu-
mites, want of character, or what not,
makes crime his business, instead of
something legitimate. Take advantage,
of course, of all the work and diScov-
cries of science and do what you can
TO rehabilitate the criminal morally
after his conviction and show him the
error of his way and make him see the
error of his ways, but also make him
see that crime does not pay, and you
then have taken q long step to keep
ing him out Of the crime business.
"He is very apt to see that crime does
| not pay II the arrest is prompt, the In
dictment prompt, the trial prompt, the
| conviction prompt and the sentence
prompt; in other words, if justice Is
| quickly and eff1ciently administered"
In word, meet offenSeS caused by the
| present system of Federal prohibition
, in the only way there is, namely, by
| changing the system. Teach the iuve-
nile offender that crime is wrong, and
| Is not going to pay and thus arrest 1t
In it's early stages and show the adult
Criminal that crime in fact does not
pay
Gov. Richie made his remarks when
the round-table discussions were begun.
Prefacing his remarks he said he would
oppose the passage of resolutions au-
thorized by Cows. Byrd of Virginia,
Gardner of North Carolina and Rich
ards of South Carolina, which would
| put the conference on record as indorS-
! ing the Hoover Law Enforcement Com
mission and the statements of the
Wickersham letter.
Preceded by Cooper.
Gov. Richie was preceded in the open
discussion by Gov. Meyers Y. Cooper of
Ohio and, although he did not mention
the Wickersham letter specifically, was
interpreted by the governors present as
abiding to it.
Gov Cooper, q bone dry, said that 1t
was clearly the obligation Of all good
citizens to be obedient to the law and
| uphold those who are charged with the
responsibility of its enforcement.
Problems of law enforcement" the
Ohio governor said, "are for the private
citizens as well as for the public OH
| cial, and we should not become impa-
tent if progress seems slow. We need
to make it q popular thing to observe
the law and we should not populari5e
the breaking Of the law"
| Gov. o. Max Gardner Of North Caro-
lima also issued statement today on
the Wickersham letter in which he said:
Mr.. WickerSham'S proposal para
mounts the prohibition aspect Of the
general problem Of crime suppression.
This seems to me most unfortunate and
is contrary to the impression the coun-
| try gained from President Hoover'S
statement made at the time he ap-
pointed his commission.
Enforcement Of the eighteenth
amendment is vital aspect of the gen.
eral problem, but 1t is only an aspect.
Reed Presides.
"The crime situation in this country
embraces vastly more than violations
| Of the prohibition laws and I cannot
believe that Mr.. Wickersham speaks for
the president on this matter"
Gov. Clyde M. Reed Of Kansas, who
was the presiding ofncer today, spoke
on national banking and the obligations
of State and Federal Government in
the matter Of financial taxation. Gov.
Norman s. Case of Rhode Island took
the chair as Gov Reed spoke.
Gov. Cooper addressed the conference
on individual attitude toward govern
ment"
1.-THE ideal attitude of the individual
toward his government" he said,
should not differ materially from the
attitude Of the individual member of
the family toward the family itself.
ANY member of a family who con-
siders that the family and the other