The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-21
POLICE TO JOIN
! FIGHT TO HALT
| SALEOF LIQUOR
Each Inspector VIII Be
Held Responsible for His
Own District.
MAY BE BOOZE SQUAD
Will Act Under State Law
Prohibiting Selling With
out License.
MORE UPTOWN RAIDING
Saloon Men See New Danger
and Take Unusual Pre-
cautions.

Police participation in the enforce
ment OF prohibition will begin without
delay. To the traffic squad and the
riot squad the hootch squad may soon
be added. John A. Leach, Acting Po-
lice Commissioner. in announcing yes
terday the Police Departments de-
cision to tackle the job of making New
York dry, said that detailed plans for
the attack had not been made; that
there might be a special division of
the force assigned to the work, but
that in any case each inspector would
be held responsible for the job of
banishing booze from his district.
The decision followed upon the re-
ceipt of an opinion from Corporation
Counsel OBrien, In which Mr. O'Brien
held that according to judicial opinion
30 far handed down in this State the
State liquor tax law, in so far as it pro-
hibits the sale of liquor without a IL
cense. is still in effect. AS all liquor
sold in defiance of the Federal amend
ment Is sold without license the valid
fly of police action is clear.
AS a1Ilenueu ny lHe Ndlker Dill ldSl
spring, the State law permits the sale of
ITS per cent. beer in hotels and res
taurants. but this provision will be ig
nored by the police. as it conflicts with
the Federal enactment
The Corporation Counsel quotes an
opinion by Justice Tuthill of Tompkins
county. in which he states that the
test by which 20 determine whether a
State statute prohibiting an act as a
police measure is nvalidated by an act
of Congress prohibiting the same act is:
Can the former be upheld and enforced
without obstructing or embarrassing the
execution Of the latter for if so there is
no invalidating conflict
VIII Act Under State Law.
ut Is no objection to the concurrent
validity Of State and Federal statutes
that both penalize the same act, since
the same act may constitute an offence
equally against the United States and
the State subjectlng the guilty party to
punishment under the laws of each.
provided the act is one over which both
sovereignties have jurisdiction"
Mr. O'Brien said that the statutory
provisions of the United States do not
impose any duty upon the Police De-
partment to enforce any part OF the ma
tional prohibition act It is plain, how
ever that enforcement by the police of
the State liquor tax law, under the con-
ditions obtaining at present, amounts to
exactly the same thing.
Therefore" acting Commissioner
Leach said in a statement issued in con-
nection with Mr. O'Briens opinion the
provisions Of the liquor tax law Of the
State of New York will be enforced by
the Police Department of the City of
New York until such time as the courts
of this State decree otherwise"
Frank L. Boyd. who has been acting
temporarily as chief Federal prohibition
enforcement agent in this district since
the transfer of James Shevln TO the
Southwest district two months ago, said
that he understands his successor has
been chosen. but that he has been de-
tanned in Washington because of an
emergency in the department with which
he is at present connected
Raids on Upper West side.
Mr. Boyd expects to remain here for
several DAYS before he returns to take
up his work as chief OF revenue agents
ia Washington in the division of excise
and income taxes. The new agent for
this district, II Is reported, has not
heretofore been connected with the pro
A squad of twenty-five agents under
j. J. Quigley made a sally yesterday
afternoon in the uptown West Side dis
trict, made ten arrests and confscated
several barrels OF wine. forty quarts OF
whiskey. twenty-five quarts Of gin and
four cases Of beer. Only one arrest
was made on the charge OF selling. and
that was at a place kept by August
weilman. 2425 Fifth avenue. Every
where bartenders and proprietors APP
peared to be taking unusual precautions,
having In mind the threatened thirty
day attack which is TO leave New York
convinced that tits here"
over in New Jersey an automobile
truck containing whskey valued at
$50 600. which was being transported
under permit. was held up at a lonely
spot near Woodbridge A dozen men
jumped out OF three or four touring
cars, according TO John DAILY OF Newark,
the driver. and pointed rcvolvers at him.
He was placed in an automobile and
driven off three or four miles on the
way back 70 Newark and left there. He
walked 20 Woodbridge and reported 90
the police who found the truck two
miles from where the holdup occurred.
with the whskey intact