The New York herald., 1921-01-28
DRY LAW CHANGE
| ENDS ALL PERMITS
TO WHOLESALERS
Palmer Asked So to Inter-
pref VOlstead Law to
Stop Leakage
WITHDRAWAL HALTED
State Prohibition Director
Holds Up Applications
for Renewals.
ALL BOOZE TO DRUGGISTS
Ruling Would Limit It's Com
mercial Handling to Them
Alone.
WITHDRAWAL HALTED
ALL BOOZE TO DRUGGISTS

A radical change in the interpreta-
deny the issuance Of liquor permits to
all wholesale liquor dealers. may re-
suit from a decision now pending with
Acknowledgement Palmer, it was an
nounced yesterday by Charles r.
O'Connor State prohibition director,
on his return from Washington. Such
q. ruling would confine the legal COM
mercial handling of liquor to drug
gists alone.
The Importance of this step, if it is
taken, becomes apparent when it is
realized that practically the whole of
the vast leakage which is known to
have occurred since prohibition went
into effect has been traced by the in
telligence agents of the Internal Rev
enue Bureau 10 wholesalers permits
which were either forged or Illegally
obtained. AS most Of the basic per-
mits issued are to wholesale liquor
dealers. it is plain that a decision
which ruled them out would have a
considerable effect upon the actual
drying power of the Volstead act.
Attorney General Palmer has been
asked by Federal Prohibition Commits
sioner Kramer whether the wholesale
liquor dealers, whose basic permits for
dealing in the contents of the bonded
warehouses are now pending renewal,
shall not be denied these renewals. re-
gardless Of their record with the prohi-
bition department in the last six months.
Attorneys for the Anti-Saloon League.
both in this State and in New Jersey,
have held that the Volstead act permits
of no Interpretation by which wholesale
liquor men may be allowed TO traffic
in booze. and SO insistent have been the
demands upon the prohibition depart
ment to interpret the act more strictly
that Commissioner Kramer recently took
the question to AttorneyG General Palmer.
AS result of this situation, Mr..
O'Connor said last night, all applications
on the part of wholesale liquor dealers
for permits have been held in allegiance.
In this district there were about LOO
wholesale liquor dealers who held basic
permits last July That number has
since been cut down to 900. and recently
Mr.. O'Connor has been working over the
records of these permit holders, with u
view to cutting down the number OF re-
ncwals as low as possible. There will
not be more than 500 permit holders In
this class. II the Attorney Generals de-
cision is favorable to the wholesale
liquor dealers. His ruling is expected to
L., t1a
All further Withdrawals have peen
stopped, Mr.. OConnor said. with the
exception of permits TO retail druggists.
who are at present being permitted TO
draw no more than FIVE cases OF liquor
at any one time.
Dan ]. Chaplin. supervising enforce
ment agent for this district, went TO
Washington yesterday. and Is not ex-
pected to return for several days. Mr.
Chaplin denies any knowledge of rumors
that Samuel x. Brame, enforcement
agent in charge of the Virginia-Caro-
linas district. will soon be named 10
succeed him in New York.
Angelina Fansay. secretary or liquor
Arm at 124 West Twenty-first street
was arraigned before United states
Commissioner Hitchcock yesterday on
a false liquor permit charge. He was
arrested Tuesday by Enforcement Agent
Fleischer who said he found Fansay IN
possession Of ESQ cases OF liquor. ana
that Fansay had obtained 1000 more
cases. which had not yet been located
The defendant was held in $4,000 for
hearing.