The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-04-13
WILSON IS BEING
 URGED ID PREVENT
 PROHIBITION FROM GOING INTO EFFECT
Internal Revenue Commits sioner of Opinion Prohibi- ton Cannot Be Enforced Without Specific En-
 forcement Agency
Bv ASsociated Press

ton, Wnlcn DocOlneS elloCIlNe
 July 1. is not lodged with the
 internal revenue bureau or
 with any other government
 agency, but is merely left to
 United States attorneys, Reve- nue Commissioner Daniel C..
 Roper declared today after an analysis of all statutes and reg ulations.
 Intimation that because of the appar- ent difficulty of enforcement, the Pres ident or Congress might be called on to postpone the laws operation was given by MT. Roper in statement say ing that ''the issuing of licenses for the manufacture of liquors prohibited by
 the war time prohibition act will nat urally cease with July l, assuming, or course, that neither the President nor Congress stays the operation of that law"
 known today that a number of ad- ministratiOn officials and advisers of the President had recently urged him to prevent prohibition from going into effect July 1 by procIaiming the completion of de-
 mobilization by that time. This view is understood to be held by Commissioner Roper, who is represented believing prohibi- ton cannot be enforced adequate Iy without specific legislation es- tablishing an enforcement agency. After explaining in a statement that Congress had failed to pass bills au- thprizing administration of the war time prohibition provision of the agri- cultural bill approved last November q, MT. Roper said:
 UP TO ATTORNEY Enforcement of the prohibition con tained in the act therefore, is not placed with the commissioner of inter- nal revenue, or lodged anywhere in the government. but is naturally left to the United States attorneys to enforce by ] prosecution under the section of the act which provides that any person who violates any of the foregoing provisions shall be punished by imprisonment not to exceed one year, or by fine not to exceed 5000, or both imprisonment and fne.'
 An anomalous condition exists, brought about by the failure of Con- gress to enact at the last session the
 necessary Legislation to provide the necessary money for the enforcement of war time prohibition. Existing reve- nue laws with regard to the control of course, remain in force until re- pealed by Congress. Their enforcement will continue to be given the vigorous attention of the internal revenue of ficers until repealed"
 Tla, -ei ,oy-o 1cr ay r,ra view that the only authority given the internal revenue bureau by the war time prohibition act related to regulat- | ing the manufacture and sale of dis titled spirits for other than beverage purposes and the distribution of wine 1 for sacramental, medicinal or other | than beverage purposes.
 MORE UNCERTAINTY 1 This statement of Commissioner Roper threw a new element of uncertainty into ] the status of prohibition between July il and January Is, when the prohibition constitutional amendment becomes effec- ! tive. Some officials said this uncer- btainty might be partially removed by en- , forcement legislation if a special session | of Congress is called soon, although bu- reau officials doubt whether an adequate force of agents could be whipped into shape between the passage of such legis- | lation, even if it were speeded through ! Congress before July l.
 1 It now develops the revenue bureau will | be unable to assign all of its 5000 revenue agents to liquor work, owing to the ,neces- l sity of employing most of these men on l tax collection business Reports that
 5000 agents would be assigned to prohi- bition enforcement work after July l now appears erroneous in the light of the revenue commissioners decision that he
 has not authority nor appropriations nec- 1 eSsary to carry out the task
 I Commissioner Roper and Secretary lGlass have always been opposed to lodg- ling in the bureau the function of en- | forcing prohibition measures and have suggested that the department of justice I is the proper agency for this work The enforcement of revenue measures which remain on statute books regardless I of the advent of prohibition on July l I win not constitute an adequate policing | or the country so far as making prohi- bition of the manufacture of liquor ab-
 Isolutely effective or even coming near if revenue officials now explain. Cam | paigns against moonshiners, which here
 tofore have engaged a large force of
 revenue agents. have been very limited I in scope as compared with the nation | wide violations looked for after prohibit ton goes into effect for the entire coun- l try.
 l Technically interpreted, the revenue
 laws would constitute sufficient basis
 for detecting and prosecuting illicit man
 ufac or dispensers of liquor, off,
 cials say, since it violates these laws to
 | make liquor without authority of the ! revenue bureau, and without paying the | tax. and the bureau will have no au- | thority after July 1, to issue licenses 1 Despite this. persons detected in the man
 ufa cture of whisky. beer, wine or other
 t liquors would be subject not only tt penalties provided by the prohibition act
 but those established by existing revenue flaws and to the payment of liquor taxes
 in addition.
 l DRYS FEAR RESULT
 Among the officials and influential cit
 fcoutfnued m Page Teul