Hide Article Text (OCR)
Enforcing Law with Old Party Officers.One of the commonest questions of the defenders of drunkard-mills is: “Why don’t you enforce the laws you alrendy have?”An incident related by the Liberator, Springfield, 111., will help to explain why the laws are not better enfdlced:Last week we called attention to the fact that the proprietor of Krous Park in West Springfield had been arrested for Sunday liquor selling, that he had entered a plea of guilty to the charge, and lie had been taken with a Statesthat hewarrant for tjie same offense, and was to be tried on April 2d. We now desire to inform our readers that the trial did not materialize, for the reason that the prosecuting attorney of Sangamon County nolle prossed the suit. We have in tliis instance a splendid illustration of liow Sangamon County officials enforce the law. Here is a man who was arrested for a crime and who himself actually plead guilty to the charge, and yet the prosecuting attorney nolle prossed the suit. If the officials refuse to bring criminals to trial after those criminals have voluntarily confessed themselves guiltv, then how can we expect to have anything which hears the semblance of law and order in the county of Sangamon? We should be pleased if some good friend would furnish us information on this point.This is one of thousands of cases,where local officers, who are merely the derna-goguic tools of a political party, refuse to prosecute liquor criminals. Such officers are always on the lookout to see liow official acts will affect party interests. If the prosecution of Krous for selling whisky in violation oft law is likely to alienate from the party Heintzelmnn, Gubbersteinhcimer,and Pat Rooney, Mr. Perjurer Prosecuting Attorney will dismiss the case, even when Outlaw Krous pleads guilty.The officer’s official oath to support the constitution and enforce the laws of his State and County does not restrain him; party interest demands that lie shall make himself an official perjurer, to shield some saloon -keeping culprit who openly defies government and law.The men of the prohibition party are not such green goslings as to suppose the republican or democratic officers will “ enforce the laws we have.” Go into any democratic or republican national convention, or into many of their State conventions, and see the saloon-keepersi brewers, and distillers, who sit there as honored and influential delegates. Do such delegates nominate candidates of inflexible moral courage to enforce the laws? Never. They invariably select some weak and facile partisan who will not choke at swearing to a lie when he takes his official oath; a man who will spring to do the bidding of the party machine, whenever the liquor barons issue their imperial ukase.Every State is cursed by these petty satraps of rotten political organizations.The republican and democratic parties of the nation are in a neck and neck race to see which shall have the privilege of prostrating itself first at the feet ot the rum power, and supplicating its political support.As long as official catspaws of corruption are in place, every sensible prohibitionist will see how vain and futile must be any effort to “ enforce the laws you have,” when such enforcement will alienate possible political adherents.Every citizen who wants to see the rum cause forever abolished, must unite with other citizens of similar convictions and put in power a party which has no fellowship with murder mills and drunkard factories.—Demorest Times.
Newspaper Details
Richmond Enterprise
Richmond, Indiana, US
Fri, May 22, 1891
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Brent E.
NA, 02 Sep 2023
Other Publications Near Richmond, Indiana
Richmond Indiana Radical
Richmond Enterprise
Richmond Independent
Richmond Morning News
Richmond Daily Palladium
