The Washington times., 1909-10-18
The Governments Crusade
Against Liquor Traffic
Strenuous and Exciting.
AGENTS MUST BE
BRAVE AND ACTIVE
W E. Johnson Has Remarkable
Chapter of Adventures Sup
pressing Firewater.

! There is just one department of the
/ Government service in which lzas ca
pacity to get ones self into Jail now ana
then is presumpttve evidence of peculiar
efficiency as public servant. That Is
! the division Of special agents for the
suppression Of the liquor traffic among
| the Indians.
In the last few months a special agent
of this bureau VINO kept uniformly ont
OF Jail ard out of conflict with the
| state authorities. has been the excep-
non Ihis Is because the Indian Bureau.
| uhder commissioner Valentine, IS max
| ing especial efforts TO enforce the law
| against liquor selling to the Indians and
/ on their reservations These efforts
/ have precipitated number Of sharp
| conflicts with local authorities Who
dind't fancy the idea of Federal o.
| heers coming into their Jurisdictions and
! adopting strenuous means OF enforcing
| Federal statutes.
As q rule. loca! authorities have been
showing the most amiable disposition to
| cooperate with the Federal authorities.
but there have been striking exeantfons
| The general results OF the effort at nut
/ ting down the traffic have been excel
lent The Indians reap the greatest
| oeneht from the crusade: but whites
who live adjacent to reservations also
ind that conditions are fast improving
as result of the betterment of the
habits Of the Indians
JohnsOn's Career.
The head Of the division of special
agents for suppression OF the Iiquor
/ traffic, IS William X Johnson, whose
headquarters are al Salt Lake. The
wonder in JOhnson's case is that he
hasn't been killed half a dozen times.
He has had a most remarkable chapter
Of adventures, IN watch he has been IN
conflict with the Indians, with state and
county authorities, and with the indig-
nant liquor dealers. Recently he went
into the White Earth reservation region
in Minnesota. smashed a line of saloons
in true Carrie Nation fashion, got
locked in Jail for his pains, secured re-
lease on writ of habSGs corpus and
IS now bringing suit against the local
authorities FOR false imprisonment
Johnson is a fighter through ana
through They say OF him that he has
the faculty of looking down a gunbarrel
from the muzzleward end. and smiling
IS sWeetly and serenely as any man in
america can do He is credited with
JolIy1ng several highly competent gun
play artist out of their intention Of
iivest wire in the service He has eight
or nine assistants, and they are ali kept
o1@5 NoihiiiB our Jonnsons plans
Sets Example
Johnson himself sets them an example
that the rest Of the corps seems anxious
to initiate. Many a night he has silent
in the woods or on the prairios. gun in
hand, watching for the enemy to appear
IN force; for there is no form OF ven
delta that gets so bitter and vindictive
as one of these liquor feuds out o.
the frontier. Somehow johnson has
al ways got away with a whole skin
sometimes by reason of a superior agiI-
ity in getting his oUn gun into action.
and at other times because OF the
charming bonhommie with which, when
ne is at the wrong end Of the gun. he
talks the other fellow out of shooting
him
Johnson. anyhow, knows the law ana
knows his rights He never oVerstepz
either. II often happens that the local
authorities within or near reservations
don't understand these so well. and the,
imagine that Johnson and his men are
tTeSpaSSing when they are not This
miSunderst anding is responsible for the
trouble. Thus in the case of the recent
rueuon in the White Earth reservation
country, johnson was acting entirely
within his rights. by virtue Of an an
Gent treaty between the Government
and certain Indian tribes. governing sale
Of liquor within coded lands Thar tyeaf=-
that IL had been forgotten By evervbodv
save Johnson. The local authorize
lost no time making an example Of this
ntrudinE Federal official; but in the END
they discovered their mistake
Similar Case.
A very similar case occurred in Iowa.
where another special liquor agent was
arrested for HIS efforts to Suppress the
traffic. There have been especfailv
bad conditions in California, Oklahoma.
Wisconsin, Minnesota. idaho, and Ore
gOn, with reference to the enforcement
OF the law regarding sales OF liquor to
the Indians, and the Indian Office IS
carrying on campaigns I'm all those
states at this time. The local authorf-
ties at first resented the intrusion. b1f
they have come TO understand the sit
uatiOn, and in almost all cases are now
giving their cooperation in every pos
slble way.
IN some States where conditions were
very bad, and where the IN
dian reservations and their purlieus
were thoroughly demOTalized as a re-
suit of the bibulous habits of the In
dams, matters are now in excellent
shape.
This is true of Nebraska and the two
where some years ago there
was q vast deal Of trouble about illicit