PROHIBITION COMMISSION

Hokitika Guardian, 14 January 1930, Page 7

PROHIBITION COMMISSION

REPORT TO CONGRESS

[United Press Association. —By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) (Received this day at 8 a.m.) NEW YORK, Jan. 13.

The release, automatically, in Tuesday morning’s newspapers of the "Washington Law Enforcement Commission’s definite report transmitted to Congress by Mr Hoover, emphasised in the preamble the difficulties of prohibition enforcement. It is impossible to wholly set off the observance of prohibition from the large question of the views and habits o-f the American people with respect to private judgment and to statutes regulations affecting their conduct'. One must, to reach conclusions of any value, go into deep questions of public opinion and criminal law "We must look into several factors, the attitude of the people both generally and in particular localities towards laws in general, and specific regnal ions. We must note the attitude of the pioneer towards such things. M e must hear in mind puritan’s objections to administrative laws. We must not forget many historical, examples of largo scale disregard of laws in our past.

NEW YORK, Jan. 13. The prohibition report says no reliable figures are available to show the extent of the enforcement of prohibition. I’lie arrest of an excess of 80.0,0 persons under the Prohibition Act, 1929, indicates “the staggering number of local points of infection. It mentions the difficulties of protecting 3700 miles of land border, 300 miles nl frontage to the Great Lakes and 13,000 miles of sea border. The small Federal personnel is inadequate to cope with the huge problem. The Commission suggests the transfer of prohibition enforcement from the Treasury Department to the Department of Justice and numerous steps for the codification of the laws and methods of handling minor cases, etc. The Commission opposes the creation of new Judges or Courts to handle prohibition.