The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1947-03-13

DOQy-5OLuG btlltEo btAdb are NUM-
orous and yet that have also a SER
ious aspect. / was greatly amused
one day when a member from Sill
yer Bow county arose and argued
in support of a bill he had intro
duced. It was a bill to repeal a
present statute that makes illegal
any form of entertainment in an
establishment where beer or LIQUOR
is sold. He said this law is violated
all the time in Butte by night club
owners and others, insisted with a
perfectly sober face that il was a
shame to make criminals out of
those boys and therefore that the
law ought to be repealed. And the
House, then in committee of the
whole, with an equally sober face,
voted to support the Silver Bow
mans bill. The next day, however,
on a roll call vote, his bill was
showed under by a heavy majority.
What struck me so humorously
was that a man would stand up
in a law-making body and argue
in all sincerity that because some
of the boys were bound to violate
certain laws, why. then, the laws
ought to be repealed That was a
new approach to law enforcement.
| l laughed at it at first and then
/ got to thinking what a wonderful
way that would be to solve the
crime difficulty. Just repeal all the
laws men are inclined to break.
BY that means we could empty that
big, dark bastile at Deer Lodge
within a very short time. We could
thereby do away with probably go
per cent of our police officers and
sheriffs. We would no longer need
our penitentiary and our county
and city jails. Most of the sheriffs
could hunt other jobs. And just
think of the hundreds of thousands
of dollars that could be saved the
taxpayer if all these penal insti-
tutions, police officers and sheriffs
could be done away with.
/ still smile when / recall that
sober faced member standing up and
arguing to repeal a law because
some of the boys persisted in break
ing it.
If you had had your radio tuned
in to the Helena broadcasting sta
/ ton last Thursday evening about 10
o'clock you would have heard over
/ the air waves a report of the various
steps taken leading up to adjourn
ment The Helena station had its
mikes set up in the House cham
! Der and the proceedings were sent
out over the air. One could have
heard the speaker announce his in
tention to sign the last four bills
of this session. The chief clerk
could have been heard making GER
tain required announcements. One
would have heard a committee re-
! turning to the House chamber and
reporting that they had announced
to the Senate and to the Governor
that the House had completed its
labors and was ready to adjourn.
! have been heard moving that
the Both Legislative Assembly stand
adjourned sine die and the speakers
gavel could have been heard COM
ing down and ending the session.
Interviews would also have been
heard with the majority floor
leader with the chairman of the
appropriations committee, and with
few other members. 1t was an
interesting hour or two, made all
the more so because practically
every member was glad to welcome
the end of go days of hard work
and to get ready to head for home
AS plants take hold, not for the
sake of staying, but only that they
may climb higher, so it is with men.
'-BeeCher