The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-02-21
By wEsrBRooK PEGLER

CHICAGO, - Charlie Chaplin's cure t
troubles with the department Of justice are
messy come-uppance to little migrate who
found opportunity, appreciation and wealth in
a cordial country to which, nevertheless, he
never gave allegiance. He is not nice, he is
stingy and he has had the impudence to
associate himself with the communist enc
mics of the country in which he took refuge
from two wars while his native England sat
right under the guns of the Germans.
Nevertheless, his indictment on charges of
violation of the mann act and an obscure law
to punish those who deprive others of rights
guaranteed by the constitution is bad bust
ness. For years, by common consent and con-
firmed practice, the mann act was held to
apply only to cases in which females were
taken across state lines for prostitution. The
first mann act case of importance, also a.
California case, concerned two young men and
two girls who went off to play house with
out benefit Of clergy. 1t raised a great fuss
and several similar cases ensued in which
ladies of mature years were indicted to give
testimony against woebegone gents with whom
they had willingly run away on mischievous
business. Jack johnson, the negro fighter,
was one of them. In time, however there came
a change Of sentiment. The law had been
passed to put down the interstate commercial
traffic in women, many of them poor, ignorant
farm and mill town girls who were being re-
cruited by professional hunters from Chicago
for service in the dumps which then thrived
under popular sanction and political license.
The debates showed this to be the intent of
Congress but, as often happens the text made
no distinction between one thing and another
and some district attorneys had made serious
crime of a. proceeding which Mr. Dickens
described as an aniable indiscretion.
The Chaplain case under the mann act,
even if the allegations can be proved, OBJ
viously comes under the latter heading and
the Federal Government, especially in these
times, could better use its manpower and
money than than to fog a man, however
mean for taking guest on a trip. California
probably has state laws and New York certain
lily has, under which, if it were worth the
bother, the offense of seduction, impairing the
morals of a minor unlawful cohabitation
could be punished This is strictly police court
business and beneath the notice of the U. 5.
Department of Justice which here again re-
sorts to tricky practice and NEEDLES in af-
fairs of the states.
The charge of depriving the young woman OF
a constitutional right is equally pallid and
insincere If Chaplin and his agents and
certain public officials of SNUG and cor
rupt little California suburb railroad preg-
inant girl out of town that should be local
that they will tolerate this doing by one OF
the neighbors ard their local officials, they
should be let to stew ii their own evil juice
It is not the business of the National Govern
ment and the whole proceeding is garish and
disreputab1e. >.
These are just further manifestations OF
shysterism which has pervaded the department
of Justice in recent years. Al Capone was a
imonstrous criminal, but Chicago was rotten and
he finally got IL years for failure to declare
his income and pay his tax The sentence was
excessive and the whole country well under
stood that he was punished under law for vio-
l1ations of many others, mostly state laws
Similarly, in Kansas city, the Federal Gov
eminent used the old law against the denial
of constitutional rights to clean up corrupt
election methods of the pendergast machine,
a purely local responsibility, and, in Louisi-
ana. when the state failed, the Department of
| Justice distorted law against fraud by mail
to punish men for the actual crimes of grand
larceny and conspiracy.
! In several union prosecutions, federal laws
were invoked to punish violations OF state
laws, although, in most of them, the supreme
court held that unions had special right
to commit federal crimes and reversed the
convictions.
All this may tend to create fear OF the law
but it does not instil respect. On the con-
trary, it gives people to believe that their
| government is not above resort to those sly
tricks which President Roosevelt, in another
/ issue, described as clever little schemes nav
ing the color Of legality.