LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES.
President Hoover has redeemed his pre-election promise to appoint a Commission to study the problem of law enforcement, particularly with reference to the Prohibition Amendment, by naming a notable group headed by Mr. George Wickersham. It is well known that the President had great difficulty in persuading any prominent person to
accept the appointment. To study the problem of law enforcement in general is comparatively simple. To recom- mend -measures whereby the Prohibition Amendment may be enforced in the face of widespread public sentiment against it is more difficult. The President has specifically avoided asking the Commission to study whether or not the Pro- Aibition Amendment is a good thing. One of , the most uripOrtant members of ;the tom mission is Dean Roscoe Pound, of Harvard LaW.Sehool, n:leadei among intelkectuid students of law. He „delivered a notable address recently, the chief dictum of which was:: " the law his to move behind - public opini6n; not in front of it. 'Certain leaders see a way ahead and point it out, then public opinion cyrstallizes in that path and the law comes, trailing after it." If this sentiment should govern the _findings_ of the Com- mission, a political situation of the first magnitude will arise.
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