Book Reviews : Politicians in Business: A History of the Liquor Control System in Montana. By LARRY D. QUINN. (Missoula: University of Montana Press, 1970. Pp. 171. $4.95 paper, $7.50 cloth.) Church Lobbying in a Western State: A Case Study on Abortion Legislation. By DANIEL J. O'NEILL. (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1970. Pp. 61. $1.50 paper. )
| Author | Lawrence K. Pettit |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591297102400421 |
| Published date | 01 December 1971 |
| Date | 01 December 1971 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
818
ality,
to
Walker,
is
a
sort
of
pragmatism;
and
it
would
appear
through
his
examples,
more
of
a
personal
propensity
to
placate
all
parties
concerned
than
a
philosophy.
The
book
begins
with
a
systematic
and
rather
well-balanced
presentation
of
the
aims
of
a
penal
system
and
the
scope
of
the
criminal
law.
Walker
claims
to
be
an
&dquo;economic
reductivist,&dquo;
maintaining
that
&dquo;the
reduction
of
prohibited
conduct
must
be
the
main
aim
of
any
penal
system,
but
must
be
tempered
by
both
economic
considerations
and
humanity
if
the
system
is
to
be
practicable
and
tolerable.&dquo;
He
derives
his
sentencing
philosophy
from
Lord
Devlin’s
justification
of
the
criminal
code
as
necessary
to
ensure
the
smooth
functioning
of
society.
One
wonders
about
Devlin’s
reaction
to
Walker’s
employing
his
premise
to
justify
the
very
ends
he
was
attacking
in
The
En f orcement
of
Morals.
Walker
maintains
that
in
the
whole
Devlin
is
much
less
burdened
with
limiting
moral
overtones
than
the
Utilitarians
and
their
descendants,
and
a
smoothly
functioning
society
is
necessarily
a
pragmatist’s
goal.
The
author’s
approach
touches
many
issues
of
contemporary
dialogue.
Chief
among
them
is
the
desirability
of
preventive
detention.
If
the
society
has
the
right
to
protect
itself
against
the
possibility
of
irreparable
harm,
then
precautionary
im-
prisonment
can
be
a
workable
program.
Conditioned
by
a
scientific
analysis
of
the
probability
of
recidivism,
an
economic
balancing
between
the
positive
harm
to
the
society
and
the
costs
of
detention
and
the
assurance
of
a
corrective
effect,
then
the
conclusion
is
that
the
offender
should
be
kept
from
society
for
a
sufficiently
long
time
that
the
desired
effect
be
accomplished.
Free,
he
would
add,
from
the
interference
of
the
appellate
process.
Walker,
of
course,
does
not
attempt
to
present
a
definitive
analysis
of
the
issues
of
sentencing.
His
approach
prohibits
that.
He
is
attempting
to
present
a
way
of
looking
at
the
penal
system
with
the
good
intentions of
improving
it.
However,
his
method
of
regarding
penal
reform
brings
up
the
question
of
whether
one
can
tamper
with
the
penal
system
in
a
haphazard
&dquo;pragmatic&dquo;
way
and
assure
some
modicum
of
justice
and
equity
to
the
offender.
It
is
a
question
inherent
in
the
rather
equivocating
nature
of
an
attempt
to
balance
a
smoothly
functioning
society,
economic
costs,
and
individual
rights.
University
of
California,
Santa
Barbara
SAMUEL
S.
KUSHNER
Politicians
in
Business:
A
History
of
the
Liquor
Control
System
in
Montana.
By
LARRY
D.
QUINN.
(Missoula:
University
of
Montana
Press,
1970.
Pp.
171.
$4.95
paper,
$7.50
cloth.)
Church
Lobbying
in
a
Western
State:
A
Case
Study
on
Abortion
Legislation.
By
DANIEL
J.
O’NEILL.
(Tucson:
University
of
Arizona
Press,
1970.
Pp.
61.
$1.50
paper. )
Quinn’s
short
book
is
a
welcome
addition
to
the
new
genre
of
non-Romantic
treatises
in
the
colorful
history
of
Montana.
The
focus
is
on
the
evolution
of the
state
liquor
monopoly,
and
the
work
is
replete
with
implications
of
corruption,
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