Evening star., 1933-02-21

Federal Government, including de-
| frauding the Federal Government out
of income or other taxes, and the like.
The other class of Federal criminal
statute deals not with offenses directly
against the Federal Government but
with crimes against the individual
citizen. This second class of statutes
is enacted as an incident to the Fed
eral power to establish and protect
postal systems and prevent the use of
the mails to defraud, and to the Fed
eral power to regulate interstate COM
merce, which enables the Federal Gov
eminent to punish transactions in in
terstate commerce which are crimes
against the individual citizen. OF these
the principal law IS the antitrust law,
under which conspiracies to interfere
with and levy blackmail on legitimate
| business may amount to an unlawful
interference with interstate commerce.
The Federal Government may only
inject itself into local crime conditions
through its power of taxation or its
power to regulate interstate or foreign
commerce. Racketeers who fail to pay
income taxes on their ill-gotten gains
may be punished by the Federal Gov
ernment for violation of its income tax
law, and organized criminal gangs
which prey on private business by in
| reference with interstate transporta-
| tion of merchandise may be punished
under the antitrust laws.
The Harrison anti-narcotic act, which
| is an ect of Congress directed at the
suppression of the drug traffic, is moth
| ing but a taxing statute which pun
ishes sales of drugs on which Federal
stamp taxes have not been paid. The
criminal codes of all States make Of
| fpy1cac docrrihol iel, Ii
under State law. but because of the
Federal powers and the fact that the
criminals incidentally transgress some
Federal statute, appeal for action is
made to the Federal Government at
Washington, II municipal authorities
are Indifferent, inefficient or corrupt.
Local Officers Fail.
We have an act of Congress passed
under the commerce clause of the Fed
eral Constitution making it crime to
transport a stolen motor car from one
State to another. One who steals a
car or who knowingly possesses sto-
len car commits a crime against the
State law where the theft or posses
sion occurs. Yet, because the COM
merce power of the Federal Government
Is involved, State authorities are dis
| POoC0 " lCdfG W Vic TCuCIdl NTON6IIl-
ment the task of Furnishing the thief
The Department of Justice at WASH
ington is frequently importuned to pun
iSh racketeers for violation of the anti
| trust laws or other acts relating to
commerce, when the direct and real
responsibility rests with the States or
cities whose officers for one reason or
another fail in their duty.
In many places concerns engaged
in selling securities have by false rep
resentations persuaded people to in
vest their savings in worthless stocks
or bonds. These acts are crimes
against the laws of the States where
they occur, and the States have power
to punish them. Yet, because the
offenders often send letters through
the United States mails in further
ance of their schemes to defraud, the
Federal Government having the power
to protect the mails against such uses,
is importuned to take the principal
burden of bringing these malefactors
to justice
! How futile it Is to expect the ma
tional Government to eliminate GRIM
inal organizations by Furnishing them
| Tor failure to pay income taxes on
their Illicit gains, or by prosecuting
them under the antitrust laws for
interfering with the orderly distribu-
tion of merchandise coming into a
city through interstate commerce! All
that the Federal Government may do
is to aid and supplement local au-
thority in those instances where the
activities of criminals enter the field
OF interstate commerce, or directly in
terfere with functions of the Federal
| Government.
The system of organized crime and