The Washington times., 1930-01-02
LOOMING
OVER CRIME
DATA
CContinued from Page onsJ

Continued from Page Ons)
report. thoroughly aired even
though never made public by the
White House, dealt with court
congestion, the transfer Of the
enforcement machinery from the
Treasury to the Justice Depart
ment, the codification Of pro-
hibition statutes and unification
of the border patrols. Mr.. Hoover,
according to Jones, will send these
recommendations to Congress as
soon as q joint congressional
committee is formed to handle
them. This committee will be
created shortly after Congress
returns next week.
The commission however, Will
face serious attacks from the
anti-dry ranks on the issue OF its
functions. The Liberals nave
asserted all along that the COM
mission was created to determine
first. whether the dry law can De
enforced. and second, the means
of enforcement if it can be en-
forced.
They will argue that the com.
mission, by abandoning the 1lrSt
half of this program, has rem
dered its findings worthless. This
argun..> will 60 hand in hand
with the liberal contention that
all increase in crime can be lalo
to the door of prohibition and
that once the prohibition prob
lem is properly solved, the gen
eral crime wave can be controlled
and eliminated.
SUPPORT Commission
The drys have taken just the
opposite stand. So long as pro
hibition is in the Constitution
they have said, the only question
to be determined by Congress is
how to properly enforce it. They
naturally will support the COM
missions determination not to in
vestigate the wisdom OF prohlol-
ton"
Il am glad to learn" was the
way Jones announced this de-
cision, that the commission is
unanimous that the wisdom or
unwisdom of the Eighteenth
Amendment is not involved in
their work; that it is part OF the
Constitution and that the func-
ton of the commission is to de-
wise the best means possible for
its enforcement"
Jones added that the commits
Sion's greatest problem was to
solve the industrial alcohol ques-
ton and to determine bone-dry
restrictions for the handling OF it.
He said the commission probably
would conclude all its prohibition
inquiries by July and added IF
it can devise a method by which
punishment for law violations
can be made more swift and
sure, it will have fully justified
its creation"
Liberal Views
The liberals naturally took q
different view. Led by Senator
Blaine (RD of wisconsin they
protested against the commission
ignoring the question of the pro-
hibition laws "enforceability."
Certainly the commission
should inquire into the enforce
ability of prohibition as well as
the means of enforcing it," said
Blaine. If the law cannot be
enforced. the commission nat
urally can devise no means of
enforcing it.
If the statement is true that
the commission will not inquire
into the wisdom or unwiSdom of
the prohibition law, then it has
surrendered one of its most i'm
portant functions. Its primary
function was to determine whether
there is proper enforcement of
all law in the United States, and
if not. to recommend a remedy.
How can it ignore the question
of the enforceability of prohibi-
ton, if that law cannot be en-
forced? Every unbiased man
knows prohibition is at the root
of all evil in this country today.
It seems the commission is dodg-
ing the very job for which it
was created.
+. .W -n~