In the period following Governor Cox gave Ohio its first example of strict law enforcement, the result of which was his defeat for re-election as a result of a definite deal entered into which would provide for a little less strict enforcement program. This deal was made in certain wet centers by dry leaders in behalf of a professional dry candidate. The spectacle which followed brought definite recognition of Cox as a law-enforcement official.
In Ohio the Anti-Saloon League has always been the Republican Party auxiliary, and has always opposed Governor Cox, who has adhered to the definite principle of recognizing no class of people, holding himself answerable to all the people in strict conformity with his oath of office. That was his stand in 1918 and when Ohio voted prohibition into the state Constitution and re-elected Cox for the third time as chief executive.
Cox’s Letter to Pollock
In this connection I was shown the copy of a letter which Governor Cox wrote to John H. Pollock, a Kansas City attorney. The letter was dated June 23, 1920, and was in response to a letter which Pollock wrote to the Governor on this question. The Governor’s reply was as follows:
“I have read your letter with interest. The question before us now is law enforcement. As the constitution and statute stand, they are the express mandate of the people and must be respected by public officers and citizens as long as they remain. There is no difference between neglect of the law by public officers and an attack against our institutions by the Bolsheviki. We contend, and properly so, that there is no need of revolution in this country because we have the government facilities to change the existing order by rule of the majority, but we can hardly create the proper attitude among aliens, unaccustomed to our ways, if public officers close their eyes to their oath and obligation.”
Investigation shows that Governor Cox signed every piece of legislation on prohibition enforcement which passed the Ohio legislature. The Anti-Saloon people themselves state that he was the first Governor of Ohio who closed the saloons on Sunday. So far as the amendment of the Federal Constitution goes, this has been passed once and for all. Moreover, the Governor plainly tells his friends so. “We must never turn back the hands of the clock. We must go forward and not backward,” says he.
He knows this and the intelligent brewers know it also. Hence they are changing over their plants for the manufacture of legitimate products. Moreover many of them are now making more money than in the old days. Although some people may vote for Cox with the hope of a more lenient policy, I am sure they will be much disappointed. Personally, I have no fears in this direction. No one recognizes the evils of intemperance more than does James M. Cox. He is earnestly interested in eliminating these evils. He simply wishes to do what will be best for humanity in the long run and to avoid making hypocrites of the people.