The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1920-09-24
ALL PERMITS FOR
WHISKY WITHDRAWALS
EXPIRE ON OCTOBER |
Wholesale Abuse of Privilege
Demanded the Most Stringent
Action by Government
$4,000, 10000 GALS. REMAIN
Estimated at Present Rate of
Withdrawals Stock Will Be
Exhausted in Two Years

Prohibition officials OF tic govern
mcnt arc cancclling permits ior with
drawing whisky from bonded ware
houses right and lett, and arc also re-
fusing to issue new ones TO whole
sslcrs. These officials admit they
were entirely too frec in issuing these
permits. a large number OF whole
5alcrs have not played fair. They
have Withdrawn whisky TO be used
fer uon-bcveragc purposes and then
have eonniyed with the whisky ring,
and the stuff has been diverted TO
beverage purposes.
AS result il is estimated that
booze has been flowing out OF tie
bonded Warehouses at the rate OF
100000 gallons a month. OF course,
such an amount IS not required for
medicinal and mechanical purposes.
The liquor interests have duped
! Uncle sam and the old Uncle has
found it out and lie intends 10 clamp
down the lid.
All permits for the withdrawal Of
whisky from The bonded warehouses
expire next week-Octobcr |. After
that, Prohibition Commissioner
Kramer intends 10 reduce the amount
OF whisky withdrawn from the ware
houses by probably one-half. He in
tends TO be more careful about issu-
ing permits. Mr.. Kramer declare,
that thousands OF these wholesale
permits will not be renewed by the
federal government. Renewals can be
refused without showing cause.
Wherever there is a wholesaler
who has aroused suspicion, even
though no violation Las been proved,
he will not be given a renewal. Mr..
Kramer estimates that there were
69.000000 gallons of liquor in bonded
warehouses the first OF this year. \
little more than 5O,000,000 gallons
remain. Following the advent OF Pro-
hibition and the passage OF the Vol
stead enforcement act. owners OF liq-
uor stocks told the government they
faced financial ruin and contcndod
that withdrawal OF liquor for mcdiei-
nal purposes would be so slow that
the existing supply would last for 20
or more years and that loans made
them by banks on their stocks would
mature before they could market
their supplies.
According to Mr. Kramcr's figures,
if the present rate OF Withdrawals
were TO continue for two years, there
would be no liquor LETT in any Of the
warehouses. Mr. Kramer says:
The wholesalers arc giving us ths
greatest trouble. The retailers arc
giving us little trouble. They are al
lowed to sell only on prescription,
and many doctors arc refusing to
write prescriptions for liquor. Manu-
facturcrs OF medicine who have Ii
ccnscs TO withdraw intoXicants for
that purpose arc giving Us some trou-
bic in a number OF the big cities, but
it is not general
Mr.. Kramer says there arc between
$50 and 400 warehouses in which
stocks OF whisky arc kept, and that
he has not an average OF ono guard
for each warehouse in the country
where liquor is held. He insists it
would be much easier and cheaper
for the government to guard the re-
naming supply ii it were conferred in
few warehouses.
1--WE now have about 1000 enforce
ment officers" says Mr.. Kramer, and
1 of course VIC never will have a fed
cral force sufficiently large to make
nationwide Prohibition as effective
as it should without the cooperation
OF state and local authorities. Many
states have no state Prohibition law.
In such cases when arrests arc made,
tilev are handled in federal courts cx-
| clusivc1y. The dockcts of many fcdcr-
al courts are now clogged In New
York alone we have about 5000 per-
sons awaiting trial