The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1932-11-02
WANTS DRY LAW ENFORCED
Bismarck, N. D.,
Oct. %. 1892.

GuACOI, 1TlOuIlc.
That the 18th amendment cannot
be enforced has been repeated so
often both by public speakers and
the press that it may be great per-
centage Of the people believe it. For
this reason I want to call attention
to an article written by Theodore
Roosevelt in 1895. We honor Roose-
welt and particularly in this state.
The character Of the man and the
principles he stood for were Ameri-
can ideals.
shall not attempt to quote him in
full. But this article is the best il
lustration of what can be done with
what sometimes is termed an unpop-
ular law Of anything I have read or
heard.
Mr.. Roosevelt said: IF there is
one plain duty for the average citi-
zen, it is to obey the law: and If there
Is one paramount duty for public Of
ficials 1t is to enforce the law.
THE law of the state of New York
Is that all liquor saloons shall be
closed on Sunday. This applies as
much to New York city as to any part
Of the state.
In New York city there is. how
ever, a large per cent of people of
foreign birth and others who wish to
drink LIQUOR on Sundays. Many of
these are entirely honest and respect
able people, who only wish to have
what their forefathers have had for
generations in the old world. Many,
however are lawless and disorderly:
and the worst type of native American
is invariably the drinking man who
freQuents saloons. Over and against
these men there is a large body of
people fully in sympathy with the
general American sentiment of the
average American country district.
which is against opening the saloons
on Sunday.
Those who believe in Sunday OPP
ening always insist that there is a
great majority of the people Of New
York city on their side.
Mote: This Is what they tell us is
the reason the 18th Amendment can
not be enforced because the ma jority
of the people are against it. We shall
see.)
"Onc of the commonplaces OF our
latter day politics has been this in
cessant reiteration that no severe ex-
else law (unpopular) could be en-
forced in New York city.
When the present board of police
commissioners approached the subject
we We're met with this statement on
hand II
as warning, sometimes as threat,
and sometimes with note of despair;
but it was always made We were
told, by the most powerful city Off
Gals that the effort had been made
again and again but had failed and
that any such effort always must fail.
However. after thinking the mat
ter over, We came to the conclusion
that as honest officials We had no al
tentative other than to try and en-
force the law.
land this is how they or he did it
A splendid lesson for city, county, and
state officials today)
I'VE summoned the police captains
before us and informed them that the
law must be carried out rigidly. 1t
took us one or two Sundays before We
could make the force understand that
they had to do their duty. For years
and years the entire body of police
had been accustomed to see the pow
erful men who stood high in the do
minant political party do whatever
they wished unmolested. For years
every policemans well-being had de-
pended upon the hold he had over
influential politicians. With force
trained under such conditions 1t need
ed a violent wrench to sever them
from their past habits.
"They could not at first bring them
selves to interfere with the rich liquor
dealers. aldermen or ex-aldermen,
whom they had always regarded as
bosses of their respective wards.
1.-THE honest members of the force.
however. speedily saw the sincerity of
the commission and turned in with
hearty zeal to execute It's wishes, feel
ing much relieved themselves that
at last an effort for fair play and
impartiality had been made. The
rest of the force was brought to or
der by rough measures. Captains
were transferred and rebuked or or
dered for trial: patrolmen were fined
and dismissed. When. in given
district, we found that certain liquor
dealers persistently kept open, the
captain was told that he would be
put on trial and dismissed If they
were not forthwith shut up. Two or
three weeks of this sufficed. BY that
time the saloons were practically
closed and they were not again OPP
cned
1.-THE basest portion of the New
York press, including some of the
daily papers of large circulation, went
into a perfect agony of rage over
what we did. Indeed, so shameful
Was their conduct &C tn Give riSo RI