The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1921-10-07
MARYLAND DRY Chief
ADMITS HIS INABILITY
Says Law Is Violated on Every
Hand and That He Is Power
less to Check Violations
UNPOPULARITY OF LAW
One Excuse Is Law Is Unpopu-
lar; Appeal Made to Blair to
Remove Him From Office

The Baltimore Sun of Friday, Sep
TENDER %, quotes Prohibition Director
Budnitz as saying that enforcement
of Prohibition laws in the state OF
Maryland is not possible. Following
are excerpts from the Sun interview.
Mr.. Budnitz, however, in a converse
ton with a minister Of the city Of Bal
timore claims that the interview is not
entirely correct Mr.. Kent, editor OF
the Baltimore Sum- and Mr. Tompkins,
a reporter for that paper who received
the interview, both claim that the in
terview is correct and contains only
Mr.. Budnitz' own statements. The
Prohibition Director is quoted as
saying:
q have consistently refrained from
making statements to the newspa-
pers," he said, because | believed |
would be misunderstood by such
! groups as the Anti-Saloon League and
its supporters, the ministry and the
uplift elements, if not actually accused
OF being out OF sympathy with the
law l am pledged to enforce l want
it understood that | shall enforce the
law to the best OF my ability and that
the men under me are loyal and eager
to help. II our attempts to enforce
it are not successful | can not feel at
| fault.
Men Drink More Than Ever
at is perfectly plain to everybody
that the Prohibition law is being VIC
lated at every turn. 4 force of eight
men is, OF course, totally inadequate
to detect lawbreakers in city of
nearly million persons. must adj
nit, as everybody else must, that the
law is unpopular. Men make no
bones about telling me, the Prohibi-
ton director, that they drink more
now than they ever did and that they
get it by means that are illegal under
the Nolstead Act. They are proud Of
it rather than ashamed of it. d.
/ Prohibition will only be completely
effective and the law will only be
properly observed when people cease
to want to drink liquor"
When asked by the reporter, "Whcn
do you think that will be-" Mr.. Bud
nitz replied, "Not as long as the earth
lasts, am afraid"
at is only repeating what every
body knows" Mr. Budnitz went on,
ito say that if Prohibition were to be
voted upon in Baltimore city again,
there would be bigger wet majority
than there was the last time. People
are out of sorts with the law, and seem
determined to circumvent it at every
opportunity. 1t is my sworn duty,
however, as | have said, to enforce
it and l am trying to do so with every
means in my power consisting of
eight agents"
Superintendent Crabbe Replies
Superintendent Crabbe of the Anti
Saloon League of Maryland in COM
menting upon this remarkable admis-
sion by the Prohibition director that
he can not perform the task he is as
signed to perform, says:
"The question naturally arises if
Mr. Budnitz has eight men and
worked them why are they not doing
something; that if liquor is being sold
on every hand and the town is wide
open as the commissioner says, the
eight men working every day and
working in pairs ought at least to get
some Of the violators of the law. An
other queer thing is that according to
the interview Mr.. Burnitz admits that
the men tell him how much they are