Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-31

mine, but an authoritative legal conclusion.
A law Of this sort is unenforceable by methods
which can be tolerated among a free people.
And all unenforceable laws are sources Of cor
ruption.
One Of these grand jures before whom my
friend appeared asked the policeman who made
the arrest in given case: You and brother
officer arrested this man for selling liquor on
Sunday"
Yes, and we tasted the whisky and had it
analysed and here is the chemical analysis"
That saloon was on a corner?"
Eyes"
CROSSE"
Eyes"
And how many other saloons are there. If
any. on the three other eorners?"
Three saloons"
"And you arrested the bartender in only one
saloon?"
Yes"
why didn't you arrest the three others?"
The truthful answer would have been: Be
cause they paid up"
And the grand jury failed to indict.
The policeman was merely carrying out orders
according to custom. He was TO blame only in
. minor way.
L do not recall the number of licensed saloons
in New York City at that time, but there were,
roughly, 10000. The custom was for each pre-
cinct TO make two arrests each Sunday, that
when cry was set up that the Sunday law was
being fiouted the captains in command Of pre-
cincts could point to these arrests-tWo to each
precinct. 1t did not matter that the convic-
tons averaged less than three to a thousand
That was not the fault of the commander Of
the precinct, it was the fault of the juries!
THE truth was that it was not the fault of
] any one in particular. It was the fault of
q system that wrote and kept these I'M
enforceable statutes on the books of New York
and other States, thus making it easy for COR
rupt members Of the police to wax rich by
permitting saloon keepers to satisfy the de-
mands Of the people, which were unlawful and
yet not unlawful Here let me observe for the
information Of those unacquainted with the
police, that they are probably just as honest
group as are others of similar background in
private life
We could not stop the old saloon racket, be-
cause public opinion would not support the
authorities in their efforts to enforce Sunday
closing. And public opinion had very def
mite and decisive method of expressing its
opinion-through the action Of its juries.
But the vice racket, and the gambling racket
we could and did stop. In these matters the
public conscience was with us because it was
opposed to gambling and vice. The average
man-and, after all, it is what he wants that
q State must eventually give If 1t Is TO survive
Is opposed to vice and gambling.
When we had the saloon the proprietors Of
these places annually paid the State of New
York sac, 100000 for licenses. Millions more
were paid TO the Federal Government every
year.
But those millions that used to tighten the
burdens OF taxpayers, helping them to main
tain their police forces and other agencies Of
government, now go into the pockets of beer
baronS and heads Of whisky rings and their
political allies Nowhere have the evil effects
been more marked than in the Republican
controlled City OF Chicago. New York City,
normally Democratic, has not had the over
lords Of the underworld actually ruling the city,
as has seemed to be the case, on occasions at
least IN Chicago. But q stronger hold must
be taken Of conditions in this metropolis ana
in other communities where the practices born
Of prohibition are slowly sapping the body poll
tie. II they do not wish the fate of Chicago to
befaM them.
The National Commission on Law Observance
and enforcement appointed by President HooN
yer, showed that the illegal sale of intoxicating
beverages now amounts to at least $4,000 900 600
year. It Is the biggest industry in the land.
In other words, 1t means that If the sales
were divided up evenly every man, woman and
child In the country would pay some $25 q
year to the bootlegging industry.
Il It any wonder that this industry not only
hehes the Government but sets up goves&Anent
Of its own. whose laws are enforced by murder?
The army OF the booteggerS mains and kills
civilians and police alike, either when the police
are honest and trying to enforce the law, or
when they have betrayed them; or when
civilians, either members Of the rings or law
abiding members of the community fall afoul
Of them. The deeds Of this army are so afro
cious that decade or 20 ago they could have
been imagined only in troubled sleep.
The licensed saloons Of 10 or more years ago
paid hundreds Of millions Of dollars annually
to the States and the Nation. These places,
permitted by law, although q blot upon our
civilization, numbered 10000. Their owners
conducted lawful business. They were not
lawbTeakers nor were their patrons. Today
the number Of speakeasies is estimated at half
TO three-quarters Of q million, their patrons are