Evening star., 1932-04-21
NULL|F|CAT|ON HIT
At DRY MEETING.
Rhode Island Bar Official
Says Doctrine Is Most Dan-
gerous in Nation Today.

There is no middle ground between
revolution and obedience" Fred B. Per-
kins, secretary of the Rhode Island Bar
Association, declared last night at the
concluding session of the three-day
meeting in the Washington Auditorium
of the Womans National Committee
for Law Enforcement.
Attacking present day notification
ists," the speaker expressed the hope
that "the former Governor of New
York, once he gets his coat off in
order to carry on his warfare with the
present Governor of New York, may
continue thus ready FOR action and
devote his talents to attacking this
doctrine of notification for there is
much more harm in it to our American
institutions than in any platitudes which
the present Governor OF New YORK
may have uttered in an ofhand way"
Upon conclusion of his address, the
Perkins as a candidate for the Senate
from Rhode Island.
Declared Dangerous.
Nullifcation was characterized by
Mr.. Perkins as "the most insidious and
dangerous doctrine in this country to-
day"
TT is insidious because it is a doc
trine of half-truthS," he continued. 1t
is in fact a doctrine of revolution and
if so named would be harmless, but
masquerading in different guise sounds
plausible. 1t is dangerous because it
has the backing Of men of standing in
this country. It is dangerous because
it goes to the root of successful demo-
cratic government in attacking the
necessity of observance of law"
At another point he said This doc
trine Of notification far transcends the
issue of prohibition. 1t is not ques-
ton of prohibition at all. Any man
is free to advocate repeal of the eight
eenth amendment or change in the
Volstead act. With that amendment
and that enforcement act in effect
no man Is free to disregard them. The
doctrine Of notification is wrong as a
matter of history, law, political science,
logic and morality"
Nullification died Intellectually in
Webster's reply in the Senate to Sen
ator Hayne of South Carolina, Mr.
Perkins declared, and practically it was
the basis of the Civil War and was
buried at Appomattox.
Names supporters.
Recently, however, he said, the doc
trine has undergone renaissance un-
der the leadership of Representative
James M. Beck of Pennsylvania. Among
its supporters, the speaker listed DR..
Nicholas Murray Butler, president OF
Columbia University; George w. Mar
tin, jerome D. Greene and Judge Floyo
E. Thompson and the Illinois Supreme
Court.
The modern theory of notification,
Mr.. Perkins declared, calls for indi-
vidual disregard of law as matter OF
patriotic duty. There is no analogy be-
tween it and the old situation in regard
| to States rights, he said, adding that
| references to reported notifications OF
| the fourteenth and fifteenth amend
ments, give no comfort to any intellec-
tual attempt to justify the present doc
trine. Such disregard as there may
have been for these amendments has
| never formulated itself into theory
sufficient to maintain itself in the realm
of political science. The violation OF
| the provisions of those amendments is
wrong and reference of one wrong as
| justification for another has never been
| good doctrine"
| He said law observance is at the heart
| OF a successful democracy and its i'm
portance far transcends that of law en-
/ fcrcement.
Mrs. Henry W. Peabody, head of the
committee, presided last night. Before
Mr.. Perkins address, there was pre-
sented a one-act play entitled "Chal-
lenged,' by Caroline Atwater Mason.
Insist on Dry Candidate.
During the three-day meeting of the
! Law Enforcement Committee here, the
women have presented to Congress and
President Hoover resolutions advocat-
| ing rigid enforcement of the prohibi-
tion law and opposing modification or
repeal
Throughout the sessions speakers
have emphatically stated that the dry
women of the country will fight either
a wet candidate on dry platform or
dry candidate on a wet platform II
the coming presidential election. They
have indicated that in event they are
displeased with either the candidates or
platforms of both major political parties
they will nominate their own candidate
to run on a dry ticket.
The convention, attended by delegates
from 43 States, has been held in con-
junction with the prohibition fan
being staged at the Washington Audi
torium, which the Woman's Law En-
forcement Committee is sponsoring.