Mrs. Grundy. (Tracy City, Tenn.) 1903-1930, 1921-08-25
PRESIDENT INSISTS WASTE IN
STORAGE OF LIQUOR BE
ELIMINATED.
BoeTLEGGERS MAKE MILLIONS
Opposition to Heavy Expenditures In
Enforcement Announced by Hard
j. Ing After General Meeting Of
cabinet-Use for Alcohol.

WashingtOn.-The government 10
suffering from an embarrassment of
riches, the riches comprising hundreds
of thousands Of gallons Of liquors, and
the embarrassment arising from the
heavy rentals the government Is
obliged to pay for the storage of these
wet goods.
This situation formed, subject Of
discussion at meeting of the cabinet
with President Harding taking the po-
sition that it should be remedied. On
account Of the Presidents consistent
insistence upon economy in the admin
istration of public affairs he thought
that the government was wasting mon
ey in paying these heavy rentals. To
his way of thinking, practical meth
cd should be devised to relieve the
government of drain upon its re-
sources from which 1t obtained no
benefit.
The discussion had to do mainly
with the enforcement of the prohibi-
ton law and 1t brought out general
OplUlOil al Tic CdUiltt that ILLS WI
causing heavy drain on the treasury
at time when the government needed
all the money 1t could scrape together
and when the people were feeling the
burden of federal taxation One of the
statements made at the White House
after the cabinet meeting was that the
President was opposed to an absurd
policy in carrying out the provisions Of
the Volstead act and the inference was
plain that he believed it was the height
of absurdity for the government to
penalize itself by paying great amounts
for the storage of Wines liquors and
beers upon which 1t could not realize
penny.
Attorney General Daugherty brought
up the matter of inquiring. what be-
came of the millions of gallons of spir-
its which the government had seized.
In the course of the. discussion 1t was
suggested that some practical method
should be devised of disposing of all
the wet goods In storage and thus re-
lieve the government of paying stor-
age rentals. One idea advanced was
that the alcohol contained in these
spirits should be drawn off and en-
ployed in a useful way. President
Harding finally gave instructions that
the proper government office should
devise plan of getting rid of this
expensive white elephant
While the details of the discussion
were not disclosed, 1t was indicated
that 1t took wide range. There was
explanation of the controversy over
the shipment of intoxicants in bond
through the United States from Cam
ada to Mexico. AS this phase of the
prohibition law Is now before the
courts the discussion concerning 1t was
largely academic.
Members of the cabinet were con-
cerned over the prohibition enforce
ment situation, which, they feared,
that millions Of gallons of liquor are
surd position unless some action was
taken such as is contemplated with re-
spect to the heavy rentals paid for
the storage of liquors. The bootleg.
ging industry is prospecting at an enor-
nous rate, with its profits running up
into the millions of dollars.
y 1t was estimated that the receipts
Of bootleggers are in the neighborhood
of $500000,000 annually. This means
tina tmillions of gallons of liquor are
being sold in the United States, in
spite of the expenditures of the gov
eminent to stop illicit traffic in liquors.