Imperial Valley press., 1921-05-20
'WETSUMMER'
FORECAST
B Y D R !
AGENTS
Fear Carnival of Bootleg
ging as Funds for Pay
ment of Enforcement of
. VOlstead Act Becomes Ex-
hausted.
A long, wet summer is predicted

A long, wet summer is predicted
throughout the country.
The lack of funds which is Gripping
the prohibition enforcement every
where. also promises to handicap
Southern California dry officers -
their endless war against bootleggi. :.
The majority of the field officers, the
men who actually detect the bootleg
ger and trail him to his lair, have
been temporarily dismissed from the
service because the appropriation for
the payment of their salaries and ax-
penses has become exhausted, and 10
more money will be available for this
purpose until July /. The enforce
ment of the Volstead act is consequent
ly UP to the administrative office force.
Despite the handicap. Arthur o.
Kriete, chief deputy prohibition of
ficer, is as active as ever in the sup
pressing of illegal liquor traffic, and
every effort will be made to prevent
the "bootleggers' carnival" which
dispatches from Washington state
will occur between now and July /.
Officials of the prohibition en-
forcement bureau at Washington
frankly admitted that bootleggers will
probably run wild" for the next 40
days because of the lack of funds to
support the officers working against
them.
! 1T is stated that the prohibition of
ficers throughout the country have
been reduced to skeleton, there being
only 500 Officers left in the service,
ny nj I'll, :, nft tLnx ocf
ministrative capacities.
Field prohibition work, it was
stated in Washington, will be almost
at standstll until more money is
furnished the prohibition department.
The Washington dispatches placed
the responsibility for the situation on
congress. Prohibition Commissioner
Kramer recently asked for 100000
deficiency appropriation to be used in
field enforcement work. but congress-
refused to provide the funds. In Wash
ington the prohibition officials stated
they would not ask for any outside
help in enforcing the dry" law, ex-
planning however, that state and NUM-
cipal authorities might swear in police
officers as prohibition deputies to
handle the situation.
Commissioner Kramer stated that
the lack of funds will work an "I,tter
decentralization of the present prohibi-
tion forces" but added that after July
l, when the new appropriation of ST.
100000 granted by congress for the
coming fiscal year is available, the
dry forces will be reorganized and
more effective than ever before.
Imperial Valley. however, is some
what better off than other sections,
because of the fact that the leading
towns and the county itself, has dras-
tic "dry" ordinances fashioned after
the Volstead act, and in most eases
carrying many prohibitions that he
Federal act does not contain.
The border line customs force is not
affected by the depletion of Commits
sioner Kramer's funds, and their ca
pacity will be little more pronounced
during the predicted wet" spell, than
ever before. But the big towns and
centers of heavy population can look
for the flood"
The dispatches announce that hi
cago is wide open with whisky selling
directly over the bars at 25 cents, and
the open violation of the law is only
a little less noticeable in most of the
| other large cities of the country.