Salt Lake Telegram | 1923-10-23 | Page 7 | Enforcing Prohibition

j C 4 J I Enforcing ing Prohibition tion I II I J 7 t G OVERN RS of two two-thi two thirds ds of the states of Vl the Uri Union n are lare re preparing for war on the bootleggers bootlegger and the th manufacturers t h of illicit liquor the The Ehe decision to to launch vigorous efforts efto ef ef- ef- ef forts to to enforce the dry laws is is in response to the the criticism of of the federal government by Pi Pinchot chot of Pennsylvania nia a The Pennsylvania executive thought that I s f. f d l Coolidge should have th the dry laws f enforced d went so far as to say the president Alone v Avas s responsible for their theft enforcement 1 That r at a different conclusion was vas reached when F 4 g met with President Coolidge Ii Saturday satur ay is indicated in the program I The liquor conference en e could have 1 had id ad no no other outcome i t Strict prohibition cannot prevail until the states zealously enforce the dry laws While J thet eJ initiative in in national prohibition may may be bea JI a f federal d ral responsibility each tate state is a co conS contributing con con- S tri ting factor to the showing made The i i governor of a state can no more demand that L the federal government come In and enforce enforceS S the th the dry laws th than n he can expect the the federal federalS S government to come in and enforce other ther laws in which the responsibility is joint We cannot have national nation prohibition and w state indifference One or the other must got go t states tes of course rely somewhat some on pop popular poP poP- ular Jar sentiment nt for the guidance of their poli poli- T cies In some states the popular sentiment is distinctly wet This in turn prevents a sincere sincere sine sin- sin e c cere cere re cooperation between the police officers of the state and nd federal governments If the r state stat officers are lax then the responsibility for failure rests with the sf state te and arid not with the fed federal ral gov government As a matter of fact it if should not be necessary for the fe federal eral government government government gov gov- to maintain an army of officers to enforce oi ori statute The poli police e authorities of the several states should be able to enforce this law which is 5 not only the law of the Union but the law pf of of the state If there is any breaking down downin in i enforcement 1 the people my look to the s state sate te organizations for explanations of the thet t f failure and not t to the president of the United Ji t States ta es We Ve believe this is the impression the v jI o 4 g vernor received when they conferred with f I Mr Coolidge