The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1920-09-18
A. Growing Scandal.


fo The prohibition amendment TO the
United states Constitution either
can be enforced or 1t ican not. That
lbs one aiaGtl Another Is that it rs
not being enforced, but on the con
.trary. violations are becoming more
and more numerous and even open.
Commissioner Kramer admits that
the ten principal cities Of the, coun-
Try are wet and becoming wetter,
and admits further that the general
situation is becoming %orss. So no.
t9r.ous has become the case in New
York. aud other arge Cities that the
newspapers are -axpDsing-1h2a.tra tIte
and are claiming without denial that
in The large centers ii is possible for
anyone to secure any amount OF
liquor. even bonded liquor, in any
amount from a drink in saloons to
1000 cases from dealers. The VIC
lation, proceeding cautiously at first,
has grown bold with the failures of
enforcement and has enlisted the
capital and enterprise Of hundreds
icf INSCRIPTIONS persons. so that the
vlo.c situation has gotten away
from the enforcement officials.
Furthermore, if these exposures
iaro true. and no action of Libel has
been suggested, the subordinate en-
lorcement officials themse YES have
become a part Of the rapidly extend
ing businesg The Philadelphia Pub
lie Ledger attributes this to the fact
that a few, Government agents. paid
only $3.50 a ypalr, are supposed TO
run down a con family increasing
numhcp of traltickers of all grades
in the limor business making fOls
tunps In awacE Thus has come
into use What in common parlance
/ called sreas@' Whiskey that in
some way or other is taken out of
bond at a moderate price is shipped
labout to places Iot ultimate consum'
ption at profits 'of 500 per cent. or
more and the course of the whiskey Is
creased by generous bribery of the
ill-pair agents, who feel themselves
heln'es in the situation anyway
+ This, very generally and very
briefly. is the situation as it is
now being exposed in some of the
large conters and the Federal En-
io"cemcut Commissioner admits that
the violation Of the law is gaining
on hm He does not attribute all
his difficulties to the inadequate
number of agents at his command,
or To their susceptibility to bribery
Iby those making thousands while
they receive small remuneration
from the Government In the large
cities he finds the city courts in.
erale courts indisposed to take ON
iwhat they call police cases. Agents
arc compelled to bring into court the
liquor they have seized as evidence
and, even if they get such evidence,
they are likely to be held up and
have it taken away from them be-
lorf they have put it in safe keeping.
If they make a search without a war
rant, as they sometimes do the judges
claim it sin violation of the Fourth
Amendment to the Constitution, as it
probably II.
The upshot of the whole matter
is that the law Is being more and
more generally and openly violated,
and we thus come back to the first
fact, that the law either can be
enforced or it can not If it can
be enforced then the business is up
to the government. If it hasn't
men enough and if what it has are
easily corrupted by the whiskey profit
teers, then more men and honest
men is the bnsiness Of the Govern.