Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-01
LEHLBACH ATTACKS
HOMEBREW IDEA OF
HOUSE COLLEAGUE
Continued From First Psge.)

Of there would be no subsidiary viola
tors supplying them with the means.
so when we discuss law observance
and law defiance in connection with
prohibition, let's be honest enough to
disregard the incidentals of the queS-
ton, let's not discuss the abbetors of
the violators, the still operators, rum
runners, bootleggerS and their 1lk, but
let's talk about the essential violator
of prohibition, the person who uses
alcoholic beverages.
There are in the country millions of
men and women who habitually or &C.
casionally are such prohibition vio-
lators. Everybody knows this, and
whoever seeks to deny 1t. the truth is
not in him. These violatorS are in
every station of society, in every walk
OF life. My experience differs in no
respect from that of the average
man who gets around and / have
seen laborers, mechanics, merchants,
manufacturers, professional men, bank
ers, judges, both State and Federal;
clergymen, both Roman Catholic and
Protestant, blandly and unconcernedly
ignore prohibition. 1t u idle to re-
iterate that the act Of drinking Is not
forbidden. On 90 and 98-hundredths
OF such occasions the very presence Of
commission Of one or more acts made
felony by the Jones act, and its possess
sion at the time Of its use is declared
a crime. These people and the millions
like them throughout the country are
decent, respected and self-reSpecting
citizens. What's the answer"
PrOhibltiOnists IndOrse Course.
THE answer to this situation is OBJ
viouS. The prohibition statutes-and
the eighteenth amendment is simply q
statute-do not square with the moral
sense of an appreciable proportion of
our population. Hence they disregard
them. Prohibitionists themselves I'M
cons, iouSly indorse this course. When
prohibition is violated in their presence
they may personally deprecate 1t, but
they don't inform the authorities. Yet
they, like all good citizens, would in
woke justice for O person killed,
burglary committed. Thus, even In the
consciousness of a prohibitioniSt, the
disregard of prohibition is not a crime,
the violation of an accepted rule of
conduct
I'm this state of affairs, what about
enforcement? How are you going to
coerce millions Of American citizens to
conform to a standard they repudiate?"
Senator Brookhart, Republican, Iowa,
in statement said high society" had
hampered Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler in
his efforts to dry up Philadelphia when
the stormy Marine officer was safety
director of that city. He proposed that
Butler be selected as prohibition COM
missioner.
In the House, the expenditure COM
mittee revised one section Of the Will
hanson bill to give the Secretary OF
the Treasury and the Attorney Cen
eral joint authority in issuing regula-
tons governing industrial alcohol.
Otherwise the measure, which would
transfer the prohibition enforcement
unit from the Treasury to the Justice
Department. was unchanged as APP
proved earlier in the week.
In the Senate, Morris Sheppard Of
Texas, q Democrat, co-author Of the
eighteenth amendment, said that love
for all humanity Is one of the principal
forces behind the prohibition move
ment
THE statement that hate any one
whether in connection with liquor or
anything else, is entirely in error" he
asserted. IT hate nobody"
Senator Copeland, Democrat, New
York, said he approved of what the
Texan said.
while we are in opposition on many
matters with reference to the efforts
made to enforce prohibition" Cope
land added, IT know of no man who Is
so genuine in his character and In his
attitude toward men In general, and
the statements the Senator from Texas
has just made I thoroughly indorse."
WOULD ELEVATE DEBATE.