Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-12-06

Just as an example of what happened
IN this department, take the case at
Richmond last year." continued Mr.. Van
| Nuys, "A Federal prohibition officer was
sent there to investigate conditions and
| the next day he was fined in the Rich
mond city court for drunkenness
| CITES CONDITIONS
IN OTHER CITIES
"Take the cases of Logansport, Lin
ton and Evansville officials where State
| officials were tried in this court and con-
victed of liquor law violations These
cases were all worked up by the splendid,
| skilled, trained, earnest men of the bu-
reau of. investigation of the Department
( OF Justice and we had no trouble in
! getting convictions
"At one time this liquor law VIOLA
ton was going there waa n Fed
eral prohibition man In Lake County
who was of no help to us. And this
| Is the reason. He was selling stock
In an oil company to these bootleg
gers and liquor law violatc<s. 1t was
form of graft. Since then lie has
| left the service, but that is sample of
what was going on
TO one former member of the prohibit
tion enforcement forces, Edward J Bren-
nan, special agent until recently, when
/ he resigned, Mr.. Van Nuys paid a high
/ tribute.
Mr.. Brennan has done fine work and
has been a high grade, valuable man.,
he said
DOUBTS SINCERITY
/ OF CONGRESS ITSELF.
! 1T strikes me that Congress itself is
not conscientious and sincere he added.
| Lets either appropriate the money
necessary to enforce this prohibition law
and then enforce 1t or drop it. 1t has
! been said time and again that no rich
man who wanted a drink has been forced
to go without one since the State went
dry. The law has affected the poor man
far more than any one else"
There has been feeling around this
building for some time,' Judge Ander-
son interjeeted, that the attempts made
to enforce the law were undertaken so
as to make the law obnoxious But what
excuse have State officials for this cou-
dition?"
IF this law had been enforced as 1t
should" Mr.. Van Nuys answered, sin
place of these defendants we would have
State officials here as defendants right
now"
Edward j. Brennan then arose and told
the court that when he had been in
vestigating statements made by Daniel
MellOy, former constable in a justice OF
the peace court at Gary, to the effect
that city officials of Gary were in on
a conspiracy to sell liquor seized in raids
and split the proceeds among themselves,
that he had been handicapped at every
turn by supporters of these officials.
I'VE were told" he said, that when a
Federal man came around they were to
keep their mouths shut and they would
be taken care Of"
The statements were made during the
consideration of the disposition of the
cases of twenty one defendants, for the
most part residents of South Bend, Gary
and Chicago, who had been found guilty
by a jury or admitted their guilt to
charges of conspiracy to violate the
liquor laws.
JAILED FOR FAILURE TO
REMEMBER TESTIMONY.
Before Mr.. Van Nuys made his state
ment, Alfred Eisner, a witness found
himself in the Marion County Jail on
order of Judge Anderson for failure to
remember testimony given by him be-
fore the Federal grand jury last January.
Eisner. who displayed a fine forget
terry when he was on the stand last week,
was ordered back by the court today.
When asked as to whether or not he
had testified before the grand jury that
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