The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1935-01-19
NEWSPAPERS OPINION
THOSE BEAUTIFUL PROMISES OF THE
REPEAIISTS

The federal attitude, it seems to US, IS noe-
feasible. Just as the federal authorities issued
beer licenses in Texas prior to the time tnat tne
legislature legalzed beer in the state, 1t Is now
issuing what amounts to whskey license on the
payment of $1,000. The committee takes notlce
of this in the following paragraph AFTER Sep
tember 1884, the federal government began to
collect from the dealers in hard liquor IN this
state what is known as the $1,000 excise tax and
saving in effect to the dealers that paid the tax
that as far as the federal government is concerned
they can sell hard liquor if they will pay this fed
eral tax All the tax does not have to be paid at
one time This practice certainly violates the
spirit of the Constitution, and probably the letter
of it. as embodied in the very amendment that re-
.pealed national prohibition. Section of that
amendment reads as follows: "The transportation
or importation into any State, Territory or Pos
session of the United States for delivery or use
therein of Intoxicating liquors in violation of the
laws thereof is hereby prohibited" Now, it seems
to us that the possession of liquor manufactured
outside of the State and on which all Government
taxes have been paid, is prima face evidence that
such liquor has been imported into the State IN
violation of this provision of the Federal Consti-
tuition If the federal laws are such that the fed
eral government cannot deny Texas liquor dealers
all semblance of a federal license and prosecute
them as illegal importers of liquor, then congress
has been guilty of an objectionable breach OF
faith with the dry states. If the laws are ade-
auate then the administrative officials have been
guilty of such breach of faith, if not breach of
the Constitution itself President Roosevelt, in his
proclamation putting repeal into effect, said: "The
noIicy of the government will be to see to it that
the social and political evils that have existed IN
the pre-prohibition era shall not be revived nor
per1nitted again to exist We must remove for
ever from our midst the menace of the bootleg
GER and such others as would profit at the expense
of good government, law and order" That dec
laration may be said to be in the nature of
pledge, and that pledge has certainly not been
kept so far as Texas is concerned. The condi-
tons which the report of the senate committee
reveals are far worse than any that existed in pre-
prohibition days in Texas, and the federal govern
ment has in effect licensed those conditions in
stead of making every effort to prevent them. As
is well known, the editor of The Texas Weekly is
lifelong opponent of prohibition, and especially
of national prohibition. He took an active part i'll
the campaign to have the 18th amendment re-
pealed, and he believes that the prohibition pro-
vision of the State Constitution should be re-
pealed. Nevertheless we cannot escape recog-
milton of the fact that the gentlemen in congress
who iabored for the repeal of national prohibi-
ton and the executive department of the federal
government have been guilty of gross breach OF
faith with respect to this whole matter. If they
continue to assume the attitude toward the whole
problem of liquor control which they have as
sumed to date, they may wake up some fine morn
ing and find themselves faced again with for
nnidabe movement for the reestablishment of ma
tional prohibition But aside from this the fed
era attitude is indefensible from any angle it is
viewed. For it reveals an absolute disregard of the
fair promises that were made by the government
in order to facilitate the repeal of the Eighteenth
observation-disclosures Weekly.