I HAVE some questions as to the incidents on the border. I deeply deplore the killing of any person. The Treasury Department is making every effort to prevent the misuse of arms. Any case of misuse will be determined by the orderly proceedings of the Department and the courts. I hope that the communities along the border will do their best [p.192] to help the Treasury and the systematic war that is being carried on by international criminals against the laws of the United States. It is these activities that are at the root of all of our difficulties.
Note: The statement referred to a series of incidents along the Canadian-American border in which Treasury Department agents had confronted persons illegally transporting liquor into the United States.
Herbert Hoover, Statement on Prohibition Enforcement Incidents at the Canadian Border. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/209731