The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1921-02-01
VOLSTEAD LAW
To De GIVEN MORE
AND KEENER TEETH
Prohibition Leaders Propose
Confiscation for All Booze
JAIL FOR FIRST OFFENCE
Fight VIII Open with New Session and
Dry Leaders Say They Have
the Votes.

W dsH4l4S LOui JAh- O4'i iohlOiN4Oll
readers in Congress are hoping to
t ghten UP the Volstead law.
They are psanmng new legislation
to provide a MT jail sentence fcr the
hrst oflense OF selling liquor. without
giving the courts the optional right
of inpos ng q fine.
Other changes being discussed
among the prom oition leaders relate
to the search and seizure clause, so as
TO reach the home brew and to make
more sweeping the present law under
which a person buying liquor may be
punished equally with the person sel
sng it.
Conhscation of every drop Of liquor
held by citizens, regard ess as to
when or how it was acquired, also is
being urged. This would egallze
seizure OF all stocks held IN private
cellar-or a safety deposit vault Oh
lection to that, however. has been
made by some dry leaders on the
ground that little such liquor finds
its way into channels of bootleg trade
and that it won't be lDng before all
such quor will be used up.
Unless a pending bill, which would
permit Federal Commiss oners TO try
minor liquor cases is passed, a pro-
posed amendment to the Nolstead
law would take care Of this. Federal
Court dockets are now badly congest-
Cd with Voistead violations and Gov
ernment otlic,as have reported q
change cf procedure necessary,
The big fight for amendment will
start with the opening Of the new
session in April, according TO dry
leaders. They said they have enough
votes in the House now 10 put
through any added restrictions they
might desire, but that there is not
enough time left
Meanwhile Cha rman Volstead OF
the House Judiciary Committee, on
whose shoulders VIII fall the task Of
revising and tightening up, is await
ng word from prchib ton enforce
ment officers as to suggestions for
making the law bullet proof. He
wants the advice of the men charged
" tn responsibility OF breaking up
the outlaw traffic.
Chairman Volstead had expressed
satisfaction with the iaw, believing It
was born with teeth, but in ia ks
with members he has expressed the
belief that others might be added.
Reports show ng heavy transporta-
tion OF quor and Wholesale smug'
Cling prompted the movement to put
persons transporting and selling 1t In
tail right Cfi the bat.
In the effort to stop home brewing
and operat on of kitchen or garret
d soller es, turning cut small quanti-
tics of liquor for sac, prohibition
ledders aduSt they will run into q
storm OF cpposition When the Vol
stead bill was before Congress 1919
the lfg fight was on the search and
sc zure provision This, as finally
drafted, stipulated that no search
warrant should be issued to search
any private dwelling occupied as such
unless II were being used for un aw-
ul sale of iquor contain ng more
than one half per cent CT alcohol.
Elimination of this provision, It was
said, would leave any place open to
search.
Regulat ons covering the transpor-
tatlon of lawfully acquired liquor
from storage in commercial ware
houses to owners homes practically
have been completed, Bureau of In
ternal Revenue officials said tonight
They probably will be announced
within a few days
Tho bureau has been-at work on the
regulations ance the Supreme Court
decided early in November that trans
portatlon Of lawfully acquired liquor
from commercial warehouses to the
home Of the owner is not prohibited
by the Vostead act
or the 44,5O0,00O gallons of liquor
stored in warehouses before national
proh bition Cnly about 100000 gal
Ions VIII be affected by the regula-
tons, officials declared, as Of the to-
tai amount OF lawfully acquired liquor
remaining in storage about 42,000,O0O
gale is IN bonded warehouses and
its status was not disturbed by the
dpcia on