The Chapel Hill weekly., 1930-05-23


pie. .he SIR Of tne community. the ex-
tent O. -he participation u :he people
In -ne exercise u tneif political rigsyts
are al important factors IN me deter
n1ins.son of n0a Ear 4 community can
go IN restricting individual liberty for
comm snity good.
The peculiar characteristic u .he
government of ne United @tates Is
Is federal torm. Under tna, form Of
government wee .ook II our several
states n perform certain govern
n.ental functions and - oar federal
government u perform other govern
mental functions.
With tne coming INTO force of ne
prohibition amendment. vast new
criminal jurisdiction was assumed By
the federal government. TINS invoiv-
Cd not only the organization of d new
police force, but--wnat is even more
imp,ortant-it involved new attitude
u the people toward their fedef al
government and " the federal gov
eFnment toward The people The ez-
tremely delicate and sensitive prob
!ern II interfering with the individual
liberty ~ mar for rhe sake Vi the 30
c.a good of the community was there-
after dealt i4th not N terms u small
communities but in terms u m.gnt )
nation Of 1z5,o00 900 people, with
great climatic. racial, and social d.
vcryences.
In many statef. where i il in az
cerd with popular sentiment. national
prohibition il generally believed n
De succe1aful II il successful b.
caus+ of the active cooperation of the
people and their officials. In other
gtateE, including thoEe with the great
est populations, the system wotks bad
~ because the people and their Off
Gals do no, cooperate with the fed
eral agents, and the federal agents
alone are not able ~ exercise effec-
tive control In these states there
exists resentment against the at
tempt u oppose control which the
prevailing conscience of the people
does not accept l. ii well that large
portions Of our people should con
celve Of the federal government az
ar alien and even hostile power? 1t il
well 70 have as result lawless
unregulated liquor traffic, attended
by shocking corruption?
believe that the way out Of the
present difficulty il 10 recognize clear
Iy the fundamental difference between
the nature Of the federal govern
u1ent and that Of the state govern
ment. ! believe TINS involves re
peal Of the eighteenth amendment
and the substitution therefor Of an
amendment which Will restore To the
states the power to determine their
policy toward the liquor traffic, and
vest in the Federal government power
to give ali possible protection and as
sistance 10 those states that desir.
complete prohibition against invasion
from the states that do not
50 long as the eighteenth amend
ment and the statutes hereunder are
the law Of the land, | favor generous
appropriations for their enforcement
! favor the use Of such appropriations
in the first place, for that portion Of
enforcement which is pre-eminently
the duty Of the federal government
This means that the federal govern
ment would first direct its efforts to
keeping liquor from coming into the
country and to keeping liquor from
passing into interstate commerce
While there is no doubt Of the power
Of the federal government under the
eighteenth amendment TO perform, To-
cal police duty in the suppression of
the liquor traffic, it should be remem-
NJ, U,I.r,,te. Ill