The New York herald., 1921-02-03
BARS UP ON ALL
| WAREHOUSES; AND
| STILLS in COUNTRY
Withdrawals of Liquor For
hidden in Order Includ-
ing Island Possessions.
HALT ON BOOTLEGGING
Wholesale Dealers Not Per-
mitted to Take Whiskey
Out of Bond.
DRUGGISTS NOT STOPPED
DRUGGISTS NOT STOPPED
Attorney General Palmer's
Opinion Base Of Drastic
Measure to Curb Flow.

WASHINGTON, Feb. doors Of dis
tilleries and bonded warehouses in every
State in the Union, Hawaii and Porto
Rico were ordered indefinitely closed
against liquor Withdrawals to-day by
Prohibition Commissioner Kramer. At
the same time wholesale liquor dealers
were ruled out of further participation
in the sale of intoxicating beverages by
Attorney General Palmer.
Commissioner Kramer's order stopping
the flow of liquor from storage and the
Attorney-Generars Interpretation of the
volstead act, prohibition officials said.
mean the elimination of the wholesale
liquor dealers and make possible the
prevention of "bootlegging' through
forged permits and illegal disposal OF
Intoxicating liquor.
Stoppage of liquor Withdrawals all
over the country and in two Of the Terri
tories was in extension of the order
issued last week putting q ban on re-
movals in New York, Pennsylvania,
Maryland, Massachusetts. Connecticut
Rhode Island and New Jersey. The
order does not apply to Withdrawals of
ties of sacramental wine. and makes IN
exception in the case of retail druggists,
who are permitted to make withdrawals
up to five cases of liquor at time.
All Distillers Warned.
Warning against attempts to obtain
whiskey despite the nationwide ban was
sent out by Commissioner Kramer, who
directed all owners of distilleries and
warehouses not to honor permits for
whiskey withdrawals ''purporting to be
issued by any State director. irrespec-
tive of the date such permit Is issued
or approved by the director No such
applications are being approved, he
said; adding that failure to comply with
the notice would deprive owners OF their
license TO hold their stock still in
storage.
Mr. Palmer's opinion was made public
~+rr,- Revenue Commissioner Will
iams, and wah said by Revenue Bureau
>..-... :. SU.4-.l.ulc tne authority
upon which the sweeping closing orders
Were issued.
Wholesale LIQUOR dealers, the Attorney
General held, are entitled to dispose OF
their warehouse receipts for liquor
stored in bonded warehouses to manu-
facturers and wholesale druggists, but
the right to withdraw said liquors from
bonded warehouses is granted to manu-
facturers and wholesale druggists only
on the question of the authority of the
prohibition commission to issue permits
to sell liquor in wholesale quantities
the Attorney-General held that power
was limited to manufacturers and
wholesale druggists.
With respect to industrial alcohol, Mr..
Palmer held the authority to issue per-
mits for it's disposal in wholesale guam
titles was limited to manufacturers and
wholesale druggists, If the alcohol were
fit for beverage purposes. but not If 1t
were denatured.
VIII Simplify Regulation.
"It is obvious" the Attorney-General
declared, that the conduction OF the
liquor business in the hands of few
people is well calculated to render more
simple and effective the restraining of
the business within proper and legal
channels"
Liquor now in commercial warehouses,
however, prohibition officials explained,
is exempt from the Attorney Generals
ruling and Commissioner kramer's ban,
| since such liquor Is considered to be in
the possession of the owner.
The possibility of the lifting of the
withdrawal ban upon the completion of
new regulations. now being worked out
| by the bureau. was suggested by the
statement of Commissioner williams in
! connection with the Attorney Generals
opinion.
'Since under the law" Commissioner
Williams said, permits to do a whole
sale liquor business as distinguished
from a wholesale druggist cannot le-
gally be issued. II will be necessary to
redraft the regulations of the bureau
which work is now being done II is not
the purpose Of the bureau to prevent
the legal disposition of any liquors
which have been Withdrawn from bond
by wholesalers holding permits issued
by prohibition officials. On the contrary,
1t is the bureaus purpose and desire to
afford all legal assistance in the matter
of permitting these stocks to be dis
posed of within the law. For the pres
ent there will be no change In the per-
mits, except that an order will be is
sued allowing wholesale liquor dealers
to dispose OF their stocks to wholesale
druggists who hold permits to buy"