New Britain herald., 1921-10-22
Politics is Given As One Big Single Reason For the Rum Deluge-Bribery and Corruption Next.

Corruption Next. .(Copyright. 1921, by N. E. A. Service) The United States, theoretically fry by legislation, is flooded with liquor ,
 Why does prohibition fail to pro- nibit 1?
 Why has prohibition enforcement broken down?
 Who Is responsible?
 What should be done about 1t?
 Politics is the one big single reason for the rum deluge.
 Bribery and corruption are con- tributing evils and causes. But po- litical influence. mostly having noth- Ing to do with cash graft Is the thing that has made enforcement a national joke. ..
 You can buy booze anywhere in the United States, good liquor and bad liquor, bottled -in-bond liquor out of government bonded warehouses, and the deadly product facetiously known in Washington prohibition headquar- ters as "bottled-in-barn' liquor.
 These are the five kinds of liquor available:
 Struggled Liquor-From Bahama Islands, Canada, Mexico and Cuba. Cuba. -h
 Imported LiQuor-Legally imported, mostly from Great Britain.
 Domestic Liquor-Held in ware- houses for use as medicine.
 Moonshiner ,Lquor-Ilhcitly dis tiled mostly In rural districts.
 "Doctored" .Liquor-Alcohol and coloring matter. made by "cellar chemists"
 Prohioition enforcement last year cost the federal government $6.250,- oo5. The appropriation for the pres ent year. ending June 30, 1922. Is ST. 4o0 900. States, counties and cities have spent immense sums in addi- ton trying to enforce the law.
 Yet. in spite of this tremendous cost, it is the lack of money-lack of sufficient, efficient enforcement ,ganization-that is to blame for failure to prevent violations of pro- hibition.
 How Prohibition Is Defeated.
 How muc1i was smuggled in last year nobody knows-but 1t is esti- mated at many millions of gallons.
 The permit system is the key to the noodgates through which pour imported liQuor.s the domestic brands made for medicinal purposes, and the hootch doctored from alcohol.
 Permits are being forged, faxed, stolen, counterfeited and issued through political influence.
 Imports eetaling 2,026,375 gallons of spirituous liquors and wines came 1fu fiyv1A a as in the year ending June 30. 1920. and nearly twice as much as in 1919, before we had prohibition.
 The vaiuss soE- 2ialker. j txaee7%ed--ssst year was S5,o5S .669. At bootleg prices 1t cost consumers at least $100,000,- o0o--leaving $s5,ooo.o0o profit for the dealers.
 Distilleries authorized to make Iiquor for medicinal purposes mum Der only .wo in the entire country Tn two years they made 750,000 gal Ions.
 Yet the years withdrawals o1 whiskey from warehouses-on per mits both good and bogus-totaled s,717. .307 gallons! Except for the small. quantity that actually wal used for medicinal purposes and sole at fair prices, this whiskey was solo at bootler prices and cost consumer, about $180,000,00O.
 These a low cost estimates, fig ured at $5 a quart. Bootleg liquor- good and bad-actually costs from $' to s20 a quart.
 Nobody knows how much doctoret liuuor has been sold. Figure 1t ou yourself-26,034 ,640 gallons of alec hol were withdrawn from warehouse on permits last year. Permits wer issued for it's use for legal manufac turing purposes. but much of 1t wa made into bootleg "whiskey.
 How 4,5O1,17e Gallons Got Away. Huge quantities of liquor wer stolen from warehouses. Governmen {, reports list 4.501,176 gallons lost ol account of leakage, evaporation ant casualty" in warehouses in singl year
 watchmen at liquor warehouse are government employees. They ar paid only 1900 year for guardini millions of dollars worth of liquor.
 Enforcement agents maximum pa. Is $2,040 a year.
 Bribes running into millions hay been offered them. Some have takel graft Only few have been prose cuted. Scores have been .dtschargeo some because they were under sus picion. many for political reasons But many have stood incorruptible
 A bootlegger who made writte confession says he has made $30,Oo profits in 13 months. He says he pal s5 to $1o poodle to fixers for ever case of liquor he sold.
 Booze poodle is paid largely to pc litical fixers, not to agents
 5O,OOO Women in Rum Trade.
 Women are in the bootlegging an rum-running business. Out of ever 100 liquor cases 25 involve womel Ia one year 5o.ooo women were ir volved.
 More struggled liquor comes frol Bahama Islands than anywhere els Miami and Savannah are chief hootc ports. Other coast cities get 1t, to- unloaded from big ships and sma boats at sea.
 An investigator at Miami foun hundreds of craft openly engaged l