Evening star., 1930-06-08
BY WILLIAM HARD.

Bx WILLIAM hAND.
The drys are still in the saddle and
the camel is still going strong. That
Is the lesson of the voting of this last
week in the House of Representatives.
The bill for revolutionizing the Grim
inal jurisprudence Of the United States
was pulled through the House only
when the camel was put into the traces
This Is the bill regarding United States
commissioners There are 3,116 United
States commissioners in the country.
They are not appointed by the Presi-
dent, nor confirmed by the Senate
They are named at the discretion OF
Federal district courts. They may or
may not be lawyers. They admittedly
are not judges. They nevertheless by
this bill are empowered to conduct the
first trials of great multitude of cases.
The idea of the bill came from the
Presidents Law Enforcement Commis-
sion. Strong arguments were developed
for 1t on the ground that 1t would help
to free the district courts from conges-
ton. Strong arguments were developed
against it on the ground that 1t was
violation of American traditions and of
the inherent rights of American citi-
zens. A large part of the opinion of the
ablest juriStS in the House, dry as well
as wet, was leveled against the bill. 1t
was ABOUT 10 IalI.
"Drys Want IT. Passed.
Representative Cramton of Michigan
saved it. His speech was short. He
said simply, in sum, that the dryS back
home wanted this bill and that any
body who voted against it would be re-
garded back home as wet. He was
asked to stick to the juriStic facts of
the merits or dement's of the bill. He
replied, in sum, that he was not think
ing of facts but of effects.
It was enough. Members who had
been standing on their toes to try to
catch the rarefied atmosphere Of juris-
prudence came down on their heels at
the tn crossroads; The bill was passed
If anybody wants to know what in
fiuence the Literary Digest poll has had
upon the Congress, this Is 1t. The
camel is so far from hobbled that he
hasn't even a ring in his nose.
1t was q masculine victory. The
eight woman members of the House
were divided four and four. Again the
theory of feminine sex solidarity was
demolished The victory was one for
the dry organizations, in which nine out
Of ten of the dominating leaders are
men.
These organizations are supporting
the President through thick and thin.
The thinner he gets with the Senate,
the thicker are they with him. He is
their lifebuoy amid the wet waves.
Wherever he whistles, they follow.
President Supported.
Many of them were vigorously op-
posed to the transfer of prohibition en-
forcement from the Treasury Depart
ment to the Department of Justice.
They were perfectly satisfied with DR..
James M. Doran as prohibition direc-
tor within the Treasury Department.
They had wholly trusted DR.. Doran's
preacher father and they wholly trust
ed DR.. Doran. They also thought
that he was more acquainted with the
ways of bootleggers than Attorney Gen.
eral Mitchell could get to be In q
decade.
The President, however, said that
bright young lawyers who might not be
willing to enter the service of the
Treasury Department would numerously
aspire to achieve high legal careers as
prosecutors of bootleggers in the De-
partment Of Justice. The dry organ
izations needed to hear him say 1t only
once. They responded amen" and the
bill for sacrificing their old friend DR..
Doran and for clothing Mr.. Mitchell
with his raiment went through both
houses.
Critics of the President say that his
methods are tentative and timid. His
friends reply by pointing to the progress
of his law enforcement program. They
admit that it goes slowly. They claim
with truth that 1t goes. It advances
like q glacier of glue. 1t ooZes through
cracks and crevices till it gets there.
Saro,, uuIs ualu
The transfer from Doran to Mitchell
is definitely, legislatively done. The
providing Of Mitchell with new peni-
tentiaries and new reformatories and
new jails and new prison employments
and new probation officers and new
parole systems for all Federal criminals,
but principally for bootleggers, is also
definitely legislatively done-in seven
separate passed and signed bills. Finally,
this last week, every one OF the four
new bills for eXpediting the prosecution
of bootleggers was irriStibly propelled
through the House of Representatives In
the face of the fact that two of them
were thought by many drys to carry
upon their breathS the aroma OF rum.
These two bills establish q legislative
marriage between q gallon OF rum and
new Federal crime or sub-crime called
a "petty offenSe" II a citizen makes or
sells or transports a gallon Of rum, and
no more, and If he does it unhabitually.
then his fine is not to exceed $500 and
his imprisonment Is not to exceed six
months without hard labor in a jail.
| That Is point one. Point two is that If
a citizen is punishable by fine not ex-
ceeding $500 or by Imprisonment not
exceeding six months without hard Ia
Dor in a jail, then his offenss is only a
petty offense."
An ultimate point three then brings
us back to the bill regarding United
States commissioners. If citizens Of
fense is only petty offense," the Fed
eral Government can proceed against
him on mere Information" or com
plant" without an indictment by q
grand jury, and 1t can give him o drst