New-York tribune., 1921-05-24
House Votes
To Rescue Dry
Enforcement
An Additional 100000 Is
Provided for Retention
of 700 Prohibition Men
About To Be Laid Off
Kramer Target in Debate
Chairman Good Charges
Commissioner L. Liable
10 Jail Term Himself

WASHINGTON, May 23.-After heated
discussion of the prohibition question,
during which Commissioner Kramer
was bitterly criticized and as vigorous
ly defended, the House to-day voted
an additional 100000 for enforcement
of the Volstead act until July 1.
Representative Volstead proposed the
increase in the total of the deficiency
appropriation bill. which the House
was considering, to permit retention
on Federal payrolls of TOO prohibition
agents who, Mr.. Kramer had an
nounced, would be dropped for the re-
mainder OF the fiscal year because of
shortage of funds.
The Volstead amendment was adopt
ed, n to 38, less than one-fourth Of
the House membership being on the
floor at the time, but another vote
on the increase can be demanded be-
fore the bill is passed.
Even the members who favored the
amendment, however, doubted whether
it would afford relief in time to be
of much value, in as much as the bill,
after passage by the House, must go
to the Senate.
hfaIner Liable, Good Charges
During the wrangling over the ques-
tion Chairman Good of the Appropria-
tions Committee, who opposed the Vol
stead amendment, said Mr.. Kramer had
violated penal provisions of law by
incurring a deficit and chad made him
self liable to jail sentence"
~ want Mr.. Kramer to obey the
law just as much as bootleggers," he
declared, adding that $4,000, 900 already
had been appropriated for prohibition
enforcement during the current fiscal
year.
Representative Madden, Republican.
Of Illinois, said Mr.. Kramer should
have appealed for funds to Congress
through the Secretary of the Treasury
instead of through the newspapers
and asserted that he "ought to be dis
charged"
Mr.. Kramer, on the other hand, was
defended by Representative Burns, of
Tennessee, ranking Democrat on the
Appropriations Committee, as a con-
scientious official doing his best to en-
force the law The Tennessee member
scid he never had heard it charged
that Mr.. Kramer was not conscientious
and was guilty of maIfeasance in
Office.
Mr.. Volstead defended Mr.. Kramer's
dNlli ms tIdLiOli. hCtldilHS btttlt wdS liO
ground for criticism.
No Request Before Committee
Declaring no estimate for additional
funds for prohibition enforcement had
been submitted to the appropriations
committee, which drafted the bill, and
that no one had appeared before the
committee to explain the situation, Mr..
Byrns said that if the secretary of the
treasury had requested funds he would
have got all he wanted,
AS the house milled through the de-
ficiency bill today, provision for the
creation of an office of first assistant
secretary of the treasury at salary
of $4,000 a year and an amendment
by Representative Davis, Democrat,
Tennessee. providing for purchase by
the government of 100000 5000 of farm
loan bank bonds were eliminated on
points of order.
One provision approved would per-
nit the Treasury Department to spend
any part of the $18,600,0O0 appropri-
ated last session for additional hospi-
tai facilities for disabled service men
in the Improvement of existing facili-
ties. The original bill provided that
$12,500,0 600 was to be expended for new
hospitals,