The Winslow mail., 1919-12-26

| DI SoSuIO IlIO OClOAo III VI IIlS law
will be no mere figure of speech.
This federal police force will be akin
to the secret service, in that it will
operate without regard to state or
municipal boundaries, and may be
counted upon to descend upon the
aw breaker Eat a time when he
1nOWeth not"
Mr.. Roper and his associates know
rom experience where to look out for
noonshining, bootlegging, the abuse
If non-beverage alcohol and the
character of the population of every
section of the country, the attitude of
its courts and the public and it's geo.
graphical location will be taken into
account
Information gathered by the state
directors will be available for the
raiding agents, but they will have lit
lie else in common. None of the
agents of the state directors will
make arrests, and the men who make
the raids will be comparatively un-
known in the places in which they
operate. All this is calculated to
impress on Mr.. American Citizen
hat he must either cooperate with
the state director in observing the
eighteenth amendment to the cOnsti-
tuition, or he must live in fear of
feeling the hand of the raiding agent
on his shoulder.
the service Of the bureau in this work
must be strongly in favor of the en-
iorcement of the prohibition and
,ther laws, and must have had no re-
cent connection with the liquor
trade
Congress long time ago passed
aw which provided that whoever in
ormed the government of certain
classes of tax evasions should be en-
titled to a share of the money re-
covered. This system which Mr.. Ro-
per characterizes as savoring Of q
spy SYSTEM was at one time much
in favor, and there is one instance of
an informant receiving $4,000 for do
ng what any good citizen should
have done for nothing, when he knew
The law was being evaded.
Mr. Roper, therefore, takes much
pride in the following paragraph
which appears in his annual report
to the secretary of the treasury, made
public last Friday:
Recommendation to the secre-
sary of the treasury were prepared in
The cases of eleven claims for reward
during the year. The amount paid
)ut on this account during the year
was $5,361.12 The small amount Of
this item is indicative of the general
policy pursued by the bureau with
respect to securing information re-
garding violations of the law relating
solely to revenue taxes. 1t is the be-
lief of the bureau that every citizen
should be prepared to cooperate
without the inducement Of reward in
the tax gathering functions of the
bureau.
If, after dealing directly with more
than 100000 taxpayers, Commis-
sioner Roper can still trust the great
body of them to observe the law of
their own volition, there must be
some justification for the final para
graph on prohibition enforcement in
his report to Secretary Glass, which
reads as follows:
"The bureau of internal revenue
undertakes the task of enforcement
intrusted to it with sense of as
surance prompted by the same abid
ing faith in the American people that
5udD10u IL W appear Successfully U
them for cooperation in the enforce
ment of the war revenue laws. The
people have so Loyalty responded to
their heavy tax obligations that there
is no reason to doubt that they will
respond with equal loyalty to the eff
forts which the bureau will make in
good faith to enlist their cooperation
in the enforcement of the measure,
which, like the income tax, is now a
part of the constitution of the United
States. The adequate and impartial
enforcement of prohibition will sus-
tain the majesty of the law and the
honor of the American citizens and
of the American institutions. ."-Ari
zona Gazette.
Banks Carry the Load
Banks have retained a remarkable