The Washington herald., 1921-01-02
Kramer Ready to Make
1921 Dryer Than Rep
rebate 1920, He Says.
ADVOCATES MORE
STRINGENT RULES
Says Nations Sympathy
Due to Turn in Favor
Of Prohibition.
By RALPH f. COUCH.


officials last night were ready to put
into operation carefully matured
plans to make 1921 a more nearly
bone dry" year than 1920.
Prohibition Commissioner John F.
Kramer was prepared to promulgate
new regulations to control the with
drawal of liquor from boPded ware
houses.
Police in most big cities now are
cooperating with the Federal oti1-
ciaIs excelIently," said Kramer,
This is especially true in New
York, Chicago and Cleveland.
There is every prospect for more
strict enforcement of the national
prohibition laws than in the first
twelve months of national prohibi-
ton, which will come to a close
January IL.
Says Change Due.
National prohibition has come to
stay. In the next year of national
Presidential elections, all the big
political parties will be scrambling
for the honor of putting dry law en-
forcement into their platforms.
Drinking, now is beginning to die
out"
Kramer and William N. Williams,
commissioner of the Internal Rev
enue Bureau, for weeks have been
al ctr the TaNnT6
of their first year in enforcing the
Volstead law. On the basis of this
study of the record, they have been
perfecting plans for the second year
of national prohibition.
Problem DfficuIt.
Fraudulent withdrawal of liquor
from bonded warehouses has been
the most difficult problem with
which the enforcement officials have
had to cope. - During the hrst year
OF prohibition Withdrawals totaled
approximately 2S,0Oo,0O0 gallons. LII
uuor, under the Volstead law, may
be withdrawn from bonded ware
houses and sold only for noR-bever-
age purposes. Permits for non-bev-
erage purposes are issued under, the
discretion of Kramer.
Admit "1thdraWass
Prohibition officials admit. how
ever, that a large part of the liquor
withdrawn has fallen into the hands
of bootleggers despite their permit
system. Although the, system has
been amended from time to time to
make it more nearly fraud proof,
It still is far from perfect, officials
said today. Kramer's new amend
ments. however, are expected to
draw the lines much tighter than
heretofore.
Another source on which boot
leggers depend for supply is that
of alcohol smuggled into the United
States from Canada, Mexico and
Cuba. Customs officials have been
fighting the smugglers for months
with the result that more than l.
10000 quarts of seized liquor now
are stored in customs houses along
the borders.
Border Smuggling.
The liquor seized, however, con-
stitutes only about one-tenth of
that which actually gets across the
borders, according to the customs
officials.
Kramer and the customs officials
hope Congress will increase their
appropriations this year for law en-
forcement. This, however, seems
unlikely in view of the determine
tion of Congressional leaders TO cut
the estimates for all appropriations
Both the customs and prohibition
forces are inadequate to deal with
the problem of making the United
States really bone dry, according to
officials here. Kramer now has ap-
proximately 1,4OO field agents with
which to cover all districts of the
United States. The customs inspec-
tors available for border duty num-
Der less than 1000, of whom a ma
jority must be stationed in New
York.