The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-12-03
KNOCKOUT FOR GEORGIA
M00nsH|NE INDUSTRY
MOVE is RADICAL DEPARTURES
Federal Revenue Agents VIII Give In.
formation On Illie'. Disabling to
State and County Prosecutors,


whiskey. the one activity I, ( Georgians
which has not only served to clog the
docket of the Fifth Federal District
Court, but has also nevery allowed
the revenue cases pending at the end
OF each fiscal year to fall below sos
In the last twenty years Is to be given
Knockout blow In the corporation
between the Federal and State courts.
which was commenced in the State
yesterday
1t is officially announced by Reeve
nue. Collector a. o. Blalock and Rev
nue. Agent d. j. Grant that they
have been directed from Washington
TO report to the several solicitors gem
eral and the solicitors OF county and
city courts all facts In relation to
violations of the law AGAINST the lis
filling or selling of whiskey. together
with the names of the offenders, and
the evidence on the subject, and that
they are further directed to permit
their deputies to testify in the State
courts to the facts In the respective
cases when called upon by the
state authorities to do so. and further
to generally assist the State officers
by all means In their power to prose
cute successfully such cases under the
State laws.
Is New Departure.
This Is a radical departure from the
former procedure Of handling the
revenue cases In the Federal courts
alone. according to Mr. Blalock. The
new orders means that Illicit G.stilla-
ton of liquor will be as completely
circunscrihed from December l. as
will the ordinary sale of beverages
under the recently enacted prohthi-
ton regulation. 1t also means that
Illicit distillers will be open to prose
cution in both the state courts and
the Federal courts. II means. too.
that all the evidence collecting ma
chinery of the Federal authorities
viii be at the disposal of the State
conrts in attacking moonehine ac-
tivities.
The stae law against fllici, distill-
ing. which has not been strictly en-
forced. because the cases ii covers
have generally come before the Fed
eral district judges, will now be rigid :
Is observed. The punitive measures
OF this law are feared by the makers
OF corn" because many State judges
refuse the defendant to pay out and
a period in the chain gang In the only
alternative,
The new order from Washington
VAS welcomed hA-tha attaches .sf- ti4e
Fifth Federal District Court rs q pro-
ing toward cleaning up the criminal
docket at the end of each fiscal year.
1t was pointed out that this condition
had existed for the last thirty~rne
years.
Revenue Casee Plentiful.
Investigation of court records at
the postof1ice show that the total
number of cases handled each year
by Judge Newman in many cases
exceeds the number of large cases
handled in ether districts whore two
Judges sit in the same district. In
addition, there are more revenue
cases booked In this district than In
any other important district IN the
United States. Consequently, several
hundred revenue cases have been left
uncoDsidered at the end OF each fiscal
year.
For the last eight years the num-
her of revenue cases only left over at
the end of the fiscal year, June go
follows: $50 In 1908; $40. 1909: 649
1ai0;7ss, 1911: s2a, 1912: sa5. 1919;
s72. ls1s. and 5lo in 1918. The num-
her of cases put off till the second fis-
cal last June marked the lowest ebh
of the statistics for the last twenty
years. Since June 80, however. 246
cases have ben added. At the fail term
of court Judge Newman disposed of
9ss cases so that sos cases are left
10 lie disposed of before next summer.
Those intimately informed concern
Tag the conditions which are annually
met with in Federal courts consider
this an unusual record, and are lib
eral in praise of the judicial dispatch
shown by Judge Newman.