New-York tribune., 1921-05-22

cases, so that we are about twelve hundred
tests ahead Of the courts"
Allowing onehalf day to the trial of each
case-some of them will take much longer--it
would take court two years of steady work
to catch up with the police in their efforts to
enforce the Mullan-Gage act if the police made
no more arrests. AS yet no court has begun
to handle liquor exclusively, although
there will be one after June 49, sitting in the
Criminal Courts Building.
At the rate the samples are pouring in the
testing laboratories will be so far ahead Of
the courts that if some middie-aged patriotic
citizen should undertake to celebrate the
Fourth of July in what was considered fit
ting manner when Abraham Lincoln was q
little boy, and carry the ingredients of this
celebration in hip pocket flask to Coney ISL
and and be arrested--if some one should do
that, he might secure his release on bail, happy
in the thought that he will be dead and for
gotten long before his case is called for trial.
And if he should be alive, and hobble into
court with the aid of cane and in spite of
long, white whiskers, it is fairly safe bet,
judging from statistics made available by the
actuaries of the insurance companies, that
either the officer who made the arrest or the
chemist who made the test would be dead, with
the result that the case would have to be noIte
pressed or have its indictment quashed or
suffer some other fatal indignity resulting in
the immediate discharge Of the 1921 Inde-
pendence Day celebrant.
Suppose he should demand that his liquor
be returned to him? 1t would be rare stuff
by then and worth fighting for. But even
though he had not been convicted of vie
lation of the prohibition laws he could not
recover the prized corpus deficit in this in
stance because his possession OF it had bern
illegal.
In order to recover any seized liquors held
by the police, the owner must go into Coun-
ty or Supreme Court of the state and get an
order compelling the return. Deputy Police
Commissioner Leach who is directing the
prohibition enforcement efforts Of the police,
sees in the storage Of seized liquors one Of
his biggest problems. He has asked Corpora
ticn Counsel O'Brien for ruling that will,
make it possible for the police to seize the
warehouse containing the liquor as we'll as the
alcoholic contraband itself In this way
seizure would be a simple matter of sealing
UP doors and tacking a notice thereon, stat
ing that the building and contents are in the
possession of the police acting for the State
cf New York. 1t has this possibility. 1t may
create a new housing problem just when
rents are beginning to sag.
"Did you know we can bring an action
against barrel of whisky or even bother"
asked Commissioner Leach by way of replying
to a question as to what becomes of liquor
seized where no one admits ownership.
eyes, SIR he said. "The law specifically
states that if liquor is seized and the owner
of it cannot be found we must prepare the
action as THE State of New York Versus One
Barrel of Whisky If the liquor is found guilty
the court orders it sold, the law specifying
that it must be sold to hospitals; and the pro-
ceeds turned into the public treasury
In every instance where liquor is seized the
court in which "it' or it's owners are tried Is