Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1920-09-21
u. S. STILL WET.
ADMITS KRAMER
Federal Prohibition Commissioner
Tells of Conditions Under
Dry Law.
BIG CITIES ARE wide OPEN"
Finds 1t Almost Impossible to Punish
For Violation of Volstead Act
Many Arrests, Few Convic-
tons, He Declares.

Washington. Sept. 13.-Any Initial
ed person can obtain a drink more or
less openly il any of a thousand
places in New York. Approximately
one-tenth of the drinking places in the
ten biggest cities are doing business.
About 100000 gallons of whisky is
stored in $50 small bonded warehouses
in various sections of the country, and
it is being smuggfed out and sold in
spite of all that government officials
can do to prevent it.
New York, Chicago, Baltimore and
philadelphia are wet cities. ACCUSE
ton of bribery, graft and general dis
honesty have been so general that not
government agent is free from sus-
picion, although by. far the vast ma
jority are innocent. This startling
condition of affairs was revealed by
Prohibition Commissioner Kramer
here.
1.-The most puzzling problem we face
is punishment of violation of the Vol
stead law. We have made more than
three thousand arrests in New York
alone, and l am sure that practically
everyone arrested is guilty. Still we
have the greatest difficulty in obtain
ing convictions. Very few states have
prohibition laws. This is the case in
New York, Illinois, Louisiana and
Pennsylvania. So we must go to the
federal courts. Federal judges resent
having their courts turned into police
courts, and many of them are not SYM
pathetic.
"ViOlatOrs OF the law operate with
the most startling holiness. They
know the law requires that liquor sold
to agents must be actually produced
in court. Many of our men found
placing liquor in small bottles are
openly attacked and the liquor taken
away from them. Agents who merely
drink the liquor are not disturbed. Vi
olators of the law know such liquor
cannot be used as evidence"
A brand-new kind of squad is oper-
ating along Broadway in New York
and State street in Chicago. 1t is
known as the skirt squad" and con-
fines its activities to exclusive restau-
rants. A beautiful young woman
sweeps in, escorted by a handsome
man in evening clothes. She has a
cocktail and the man takes his straight
While the damsel plays with her glass
and keeps up running conversation
her escort secretes part of his drink
in a tiny vial. Then comes an arrest
The skirt squad" is amazingly sue
cessfuI
Two types in particular seem to find
the liquor business profitable in ten
big cities. The first is composed most
ly of foreigners who have stills and
wineries in their kitchens and sell
liquor about town. The other class,
which includes many small capitalists
and criminals of various sorts, oper-
ates in a far more ambitious way.
II cannot understand the attitude of
many persons who come to US with
stories of law violations, but who pos
itively refuse to give US the evidence
necessary to bring about arrests" said
Mr.. Kramer. MANY New York people
have come to Washington to see me
personally. They relate that such and
such cafe is selling liquor wide open.
but they don't want to be mixed up
in it. 1t isn't hostility to the law so
much as it is apathy with which the
public in big cities regard the law"