Evening Star Newspaper, November 8, 1929, Page 7

WES DENOUNCES - PROHIBITION PLAN Tells Radio Audience Shep- pard Proposal Would Give -~ = Bootlegger Security. Law enforcement would be impeded and lawlessness promoted by the adop- tion of the proposed amendment to the Volstead act to make the purchaser of liquor equally guilty with the seller, in the opinion of Senator Harry B. Hawes of Missouri, Who denotmced the plan in an address last night in the National Radio Forum arranged by The Star and. sponsored by the Columbia Broad- casting Co. “It would give additional security to the bootlegger, provide a new field for the blackmailer and create an enlarged ‘gangland’,” declared Senator Hawes. Senator Hawes spoke in reply to Sen- ator Sheppard of Texas, sponsor of the sed amendment, who delivered an address in favor of it last week. “T should much prefer,” said Senator | Hawes, “to discuss an amendment to the Volstead act which would, by modi- fication, aid law enforcement and lessen crime.” Frank Confession of Failure. 5 called the Sheppard amendment a ~nfik confession that under the present law has measurably failed. “Because of this partial failure,” h added, “we are now asked to include many millions of our people in a new criminal class and to add to the power and immunity of the bootlegger b; closing the mouths of his customers under threat of five years’ servitude in the penitentiary and a $10,000 fine for the purchase of a beverage which con- tains more than one-half of 1 per cent of alcohol.” < If the law is to be changed to in- jude the purchaser, Senator Hawes de- d that the question should be sub- mitted to the people in a referendum and in the form of a new amendment 0 the Constitution. He predicted such a referendum would show ‘“some very strange results” and that every boot- Tegger and vender of liquor wouid favor £ *as they did in the recent Nova Scotia election.” “Nova Scotia is the last of the big Canadian provinces to change from ‘dry’ to ‘wet’,” he said. Underworld Has Grown. Senator Hawes said that since the passage of the Volstead act “the under- world in America has grown to such alarming proportions that the nations are amazed at our record of crime.” “If this amendment is adopted,” con- tinued Senator Hawes, “and you should then be a witness to such a sale of lguor or have information of it, you could be called upon either to testify or commit a perjury. Three newspaper reporters have been sent to jail in Washington because they refused to testify regarding investigations of boot- legging made & em.” Senator Hawes' speech in full follows: Pellow Citizens: Senator Sheppard of Texas, my per- sonal friend, an able, conscientious and industrious legislator, proposed & mew amendment to the Volstead act. /#“This proposed amendment is a frank n that' prohibition under the t l]aw has measurably failed, and use of this partial failure we are mow asked to include many millions of our‘people in & new criminal class, and to 8dd to the power and immunity of the bootlegger by closing the mouths of his customers under threat of five years’ e in the penitentiary and a $10,000 fine for the puxchase of beverage 'gl contains more than one-half of 1 cent of alcohol. In my opinion, this amendment would impede’ é&w enforcement and promote Iawlessnefs. It would give additional security to the bootlegger, provide a new field for the blackmailer and create an enlarged “gangland.” ‘The eighteenth amendment limits its inhibition to manufacture, sale and transportation. It does not include pur- chase, and the congressional debates . m!::tt{::b'i? not an acclldenm; on, Was purposely anc designedly eliminated from the constitu- tional amendment by Congress. Prefers Plan fo Lessen Crime. T should much prefer to discuss an | ™ amendment to the Volstead act which would, by modification, aid law enforce- ment and lessen crime. But we have under consideration only S Mage e puers y e under Volstead act. o3 Since the passage of the Volstead act the undcrworld in America has grown to &ch alarming proportions that the natlons are amazed at our record of crime. Public executions of gangsters by gangsters, murder after murder are comiitted largely because this new and profitable industry of bootlegging has mfl 1;'.0 contact nv‘\;lth the thief and urglar a new a rosperous class of eriminals, .p I hope my audience will forget they are “wets” or “drys,” prohibitionists or antl-prohibitionists, and will look upon new proposal in the light of com- mon sense, and with sound thought of gn future of our country and our e cannot close our minds to the fact that, with one exception, the United States is the only Nation in the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, Austra- lia, Central and South America,which prohibits the absolute sale of vinous, spirjtuous and malt liquors for bever- 8ge purposes. The one exception is the litle_state of Pinland. and even there the €le of 2 per cent beer is permitted. ‘With this world-wide fsolation in our experiment, we should, before further amendment, consider some of the pro- visions of the present law. “Today, if you happen to have a bottle of Wine, or whisky, containing 12 to 75 per.cent of alcohol, you may defend its fon in one of three ways: First, contending that you have had it 11 3" Tor Sacrumental purposcs: or ental purposes; or, third, by showing that you obtained it on 2 mg’diclnll prescription, No Defense for Beer. But do you realize that if you have & bottle of beer containing mstln'e than one-half of 1 per cent alcohol, you have y legal defense and if you sell a bottle beer containing more than one-half ©Of 1 per cent of alcohol you may be Eolecubed and sent to the penitentiary for five years and fined $10,000. Under the present law, the man with Whisky or wine has three defenses. The mani with “beer” with an alcoholic con- tent of more than one-half of 1 per gent has no defense. The doctor is forbidden to prescribe it; you could not ve kept it since 1918; and it is not sanctioned for sacramental purposes. | prohibition | SENATOR HAWES. P I- departure from all previously accepted ~—sStar Staff Photo. sustencies, and in addition place many millions of our citizens for the first time in a new criminal class? Millions Violate Law. You are not permitted under the present Volstead act to make or possess beverages containing more than one- half of 1 per cent of alcohol, but as a matter of fact tens of millions’ do make and do possess these beverages in vio- lation of the Volstead act. It is true that prohibition officers have temporarily abandoned the search of homes and farms for possession of liquor, but this is merely a diplomatic order and a concession to public opinion. But these same prohibition officers may tomorrow change their policy. They have the power; they alone can decide whether you are to face punish- ment for possession in your own home. ‘With all these severities and pe- culiarities, we are now asked to make of the purchaser an additional crimi- nal. I am convinced that this legis- lation would be a boon to the bootleg- ger. It would be his insurance policy, his guarantee of immunity. It would increase his earnings, enlarge his power in the under world and make more Se- cure his position before the courts. Con- victions would become increasingly dif- ficult. In this new situation, either the seller or the buyer could claim consti- tutional immunity from giving testi- mony that would incriminate him. How many persons could be persuaded under any circumstances to testify against a friend? I am not speaking of & man who is making money out of a liquor sale, but a friend who buys it for his own personal use or to give to a friend. You might be persuaded to testify against a professional who was selling for profit, but not against a man who wanted it for his own use or that of his friends. Testify or Commit Perjury. Yet, if this amendment is adopted and you should then be a witness to such ‘a sale of liquor or have informa- tion of it, you could b2 called upon either to testify or commit a perjury. Three newspaper reporters have been sent to jail in Washington because they refused to testify regarding investi- gations of bootlegging made by them. Every one is against murder, bur- glary, theft, arson, kidnaping, forgery and fraud. Prohibition enforcement does mnot make the same appeal to the public conscience. Most of our present trouble originated because we tried to impress the opinion of a county or a State upon another county or a State that had a different opinion. The trouble is fundamental. We are born with the belief in the right to control our own local affairs through our-own local officers and by our own local laws in response to local senti- ent. With this sentiment existing, and we cannot ignore the fact that it does exist, there are large sections of our country and tens of mamms of our people who are Oppos to drastic sumptuary legislation. Why fool or deceive ourselves. There is no other law on the statute books that all are not willing heartily “to support, nor would there be any hesitancy in giv- ing testimony against a violation of any of them. But there exists a dif- ferent feeling about the Volstead act. This new proposal will not intimidate many, but I know that it will infuriate a very great many. Create New Class of Criminals. When we consider that we are the only nation in the world that has this blanket inhibition; that all of our an- cestors were accustomed to the use of beverages and that we have already prohibited the manufacture and sale and are now asked to create a new class of criminals—those who purchase—we may be sure there will be indignation deep and strong at the anem{n to put tens of millions of our people in the felon class with the murderer, the bur- glar and the horse thief. It is after all a new experiment, which wise pro- hibitionists will not term “a noble ex- periment.” 1t is suggested that a provision might give immunity to the purchaser who testifies, but whether hé had immunity or not, he would, nevertheless, be placed in the criminal class. It would put him in the informer class; it would put him in the spy class; it would ruin him in the opinion of respectable men and women if he did testify. Thereby we would not only create a new class, but we would also produce a new class of perjurers. Moreover, we would make it possible for the bootlegger to blackmail the purchaser and in that way strength- Hfl‘t himself and provide greater immu- nity. '1¥hc spy and the informer have been despised throughout all history. The boy or girl who tells tales on a playmate, the woman who gossips abput her neigh- bors and the informer have all been hated as a class by real Americans. Manufactured in Home. While formerly liquors were not tak- en into the home, now in millions, man- facture is carried on in the home in the presence of children. Blinds are drawn and the father and mother are aiding grapes to ferment into wine and helping hops and yeast to ferment into beer. Homes which before the Volstead act never had liquor in them are now Wine has three defenses, whisky has | engaged in the making of liquor. two and beer none. At the present time we not only pro- vide for punishing violators of the Vol Stead law by sentence to the peniten- ry for a {)ermd of five years and by e payment of a $10,000 fine, but, upon thelr conviction, their automobiles or ¥agons may be confiscated and their places of residence or business may be Padlocked for a period of years, Y‘: placed a limit of one-half of 1 per En » When no one will have the temerity ‘tfllm that that percentage is intoxi- g. iLet us_ be frank: Every farmer knows that there is an excess of that ount of zlcohol in the liquid which s from his silo. We know that ol is found in bread; that the ac- Hlon of nature, unassisted by man, will bring a greater percentage of alcohol one-half of 1 per cent from any the -grains, fruits, berries or vege- 3 I. cite these characteristics of the law. 50 that may remgmber some of the severities'and inconsistencies ‘which in part-explain some of the diffi- «culty of enforcement. Mew shall w2 add to these incon- Men and women are making beer in the big cities; farmers and their wives are making wine in the country—all of them in_ violation of the Volstead act. Thi§ is breeding general disrespect for law and law enforcement. At this time these violations are winked at and disregarded by enforce- ment officers. Accordingly there seems to be an impression that the Volstead act will permit a farmer to make wine on his premises, or the householder in the big city to make beer. This is a mistake. ‘The prohibition of these acts is writ- ten into the Volstead act. A change of opinion on the part of prohibition of- ficials may prompt them to make ar- rests and under the recent Jones amend- ment cause the incarceration of these men and women in the penitentiary for ;he ybenru. and subject them to a fine of 10,000, Who will draw the distinction be- tween giving away“a drink and sell- ing a drink? How many spies and med- dlers would charge it was a sale when it was a gift? How many neighborhood quarrels, feuds ‘and fights would be started? Under this n2w provision what ) ‘ will. be the difference between posses- sing and giving away, and possessing and selling? ‘The farmer has a neighbor who is an enemy and another neighbor who is a friend. The friend gives him a bottle of wine or beer. The enemy hears of it and charges that it was a purchase. And the burden of proof of innocence falls on the innocent recipient of the gift. Where will such mischief end? Harvest for Informer. Try to viSualize, if you can, what ‘would happen if this law should pass. It would 'be.a harvest for the meanest of humanity, the spy, sneak and informer. It would be an opportunity for black- mail, an opportunity for revenge all created by an amendment which would be futile, and which instead of curbing bootlegging would build it up and make it more sccure. And it is quite certain that all boot- leggers will favor this so-called Shep- pard amendment. After we have by this amendment created a vast new army of criminals, what shall we do with them after con- viction? Chief Justice Taft' stated recently that in 1928 9,928 civil cases were com- menced under the prohibition act, and 55,729 criminal cases, and that, in 1929, there were already 11,237 civil and 56,786 criminal cases pending before the Federal courts, Every one knows that our jails, work- houses and penitentiaries are crowded. Riots and revolutions in these penal institutions have taken place with startling frequency, and we are now asked to add an entirely new criminal class which would necessarily and obvi- ouziytoummb&r the R‘;.t;em class. few ni ago rney General Mitchell, speaking of the crowded con- dition _of our penitentiaries and jails, ::’ela' for $6,500,000 for their enlarge- The new law would mean, naturally, a long list of new Federal judges, new prosecuting attorneys, new enforcement officers. In dealing with the bootl r alone, according to a statement I have read, we have spent $110,000,000 for the pro- hibition unit, $97,000,000 for the Coast Guard, $75,000,000 for the Department of Justice, $24,000,000 for the Customs Service—a total of $306,000,000—to catch the bootlegger. Increased Enforcement Cost. ‘Try and realize what it will cost to punish the purchasers as well as the vendors of liquor. The director of pro- hibition is quoted as having sald that to properly enforce the present law will cost $300,000,000 a year. How much do you think it would cost to properly en- force it with the new enactment? ‘The Treasury Department reports that in 1919, the last year before pro- hibition, revenues collected on alcoholic liquors of all kinds amounted to $483,- 000,000. Suppose we multiply this by 10, the number of years which have followed, and add that to the cost of prohibition enforcement; then add the additional cost of prosecuting purchas- ers of liquor. In order to arrest the seller, 69 pro- hibition enforcement officers and 170 civiiapns, a total of 239, have been killed connection with Federal en- forcement. To these fatalities add all those who were shot or wounded, those who were made blind by poisoned alco- hol and those slain or wounded by mu- nicipal or State officers: How many more people will be killed if we include the buyer? In 1922 22,749 persons were convicted of possession and selling. They were sentenced to an aggregate of 1,552 years. Now watch the increase. In 1928 58,813 persons were sentenced to serve 5,631 years in our jails and peniten- tiaries. And again note the increase in pend- ing cases in our Federal courts: In 1921 there were 10,365, in 1928 there were pending 18,005. rt The total arrests for*possession and sale up to June 30, 1928, according to prohibition department reperts, were 483,474—nearly half a milllon men, women and children. Amendment Only Fair Way. 1If we are to have a change to include the purchaser in #he criminal class, the advocates of this amendment should ask that it be made by constitutional amendment through a referendum. For them this would be the only fair way in which to accomplish it. The result of a referendum might show some very strange results. In the first place, it would be quickly demon- strated that every bootlegger and ven- dor of liquor would favor the amend- ment and support it, as they did in the recent Novar Scotia election. Nova Scotia is the last of the big Canadian provinces to change from “dry” to “wet.” and the vote is inter- esting and, being as late as October 31 this year, it may be repeated. For the temperance act there were 61,672 votes and against it 56,024. For government control, however, there was gk;e 8fi|gn|flcanb vote of 89,757, against ,180. So Nova Scotia, while declaring for temperance by a large vote, at the same time, by & much 1arger vote, de- clared in favor of government control and regulation—a significant result be- cause Nova Scotia has been dry for many years. I am sure the friends of the new | amendment could not consistently op- pose a national referendum if they wanted a real expression of ~opinion from all our people. ‘The referendum would cause a strange realignment of forces at the present time. Prohibitionists, leading members of the Anti-Saloon League, are opposing it: newspapers which have been con- sistently in favor of prohibition are opposing it. But as against these we would find the bootlegger and some of those who believe in making the law as obnoxious as possible so that it may be repealed more quickiy. Whatever the motive of its supporters, the result would be an expression that would be valuable. ‘This auxemon of amending the pres- ent law is a common sense mattgr. Our 10 years’ experience has given us facts, not mere theories on which to base our conclusions. State theories. No Aid to Labor. Concluding, I cannot permit one ob- servation to go unchallenged. That is the subject of the Volstead law in re- lation to union labor and prosperity. ‘The greatest leaders of organized la- bor, both Samuel Gompers and Willlam Green, have asked for a modification iof the Volstead law. They could not ! but deride the claim that labor’s pros- rity is due to the Volstead act. We g:mw that labor's prosperity was due to organization and the recognition by the employer that the cost of living had increased and that wages must in- crease. But the claim is interesting. If union labor, which is nearly ail concentrated in the big cities which are “wet” in sentiment, has attracted prosperity, how mbout the impoverished farmer in the “dry” territory who has the sympathy of the Nation and for whose assistance we have called a special session of Con- ess ‘Why, if the Volstead act has helped the manufacturing districts, has it not helped the farming districts? What effect had the Volstead act on the high pyramiding of stocks and the greatest crash in all our history. No, my friends, the Volstead act does not make the sun shine or the rain fall. It had nothing to do with the post-war_flow of gold to the United States. It did not make the laboring man rich, nor did it make the farmer poor; it did not raise the price of stocks, nor bring about the crash. It did not stop the increase in insanity, nor stop the increase in the use of narcotic drugs. It did not prevent the increase lin drunkenness, but it did increase the underworld by adding to ‘“gangland”’ the bootlegger. My friends, theft, arson and murder are inherently wrong and wicked under j every circumstance. They are morally wrong in the absence of all law. But the purchase of liquor 1s legally wrong only when made so by law. Law has not done this in any other State of our Union or any country in the world. In a word, there is no parity between an act like murder, theft or arson, which society everywhere and at ali times has abhorred ‘as a crime, and an act such as buying liquor, which in every part of the world 1s now permit- ted. We cannot make people believe that a new commandment, “Thou shalt not purchase liquor,” has the solemnity, the sanctity or the authority of the llz‘llt]:ll{c.:nl commandment, “Thou shalt not Common sense will prevail. I thank you. HOWARD SEVERE NAMED BUSINESS CLUB HEAD S.’A. Syme, J. D. Wallop, Jr.; W. V. Freeman and J. P. McGrath Also Are Elected. Howard E. Severe was elected presi- | dent of the American Business Club at a weekly meeting of the organization Wednesday at the University Club, Fif- teenth and I streets. Other officers elected at the meeting were: Sam A. Syme, first vice presi- dent; J. Douglass Wallop, jr. second vice president; William V. Freeman, treasurer, and James P. McGrath, sec- retary. Ralph 8. 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