The New York herald., 1922-01-15
NEW YORK NOW WETTEST
CITY IN THE WHOLE NATION

spect the New York city man is per-
haps a little worse of than his up
State neighbor. for the sale over the
counter OF cheap liquor Is rather more
general in some of the cities In the
upper parts OF the State than 1t is in
New York.
There are. however, many saloons in
New York city where whisky can be
bought over the bar. Tie price for a
drink is high considering the quality
generally offered. These places are
well patronized. however. but the total
trade compared with what the saloon
trade alone used to be Is not great.
MulIan-Gage Act Powerful.
When the volstead act went into
effect two years ago tomorrow there
were in this city between 5000 and
5000 saloons. According to figures
obtained from several sources. but
which. Of course. cannot be entirely
accurate, about 2,2oo are left. The
decrease is regarded as due chiefly
not to the Federal law but to the pas
sage Of the State Mullan-Gage act,
effective April 4. 1921. That statute
put the city police on the work of en-
forcement and between April and
November 81 last the police Of the
city made 9,669 arrests for violations
of the law.
In place of many of the saloons
that went out Of business there are
now drug stores, some real and some
nf triA 1a y-a<
ter. In many Of these. il one is known.
liquor can be obtained by the drink
In several Office buildings, too. both
up and down town. there are suites
occupied by tenants who sell liquor
usually to q carefully chosen trade.
Thus the number of saloons still re-
garded as such is not clear index
to the number Of drinking places In
the city.
Price OF Rye Goes Up.
Recently more or less intensive ac-
tivity against the bootleggers. which
has been noted in the news columns,
has had one noticeable effect. Rye
whisky OF good quality Is not nearly
as plentiful as year ago. Then the
price for a case was between $50 and
s75. Now good rye whisky of spe-
cified brand costs 800 to $3.50 a case.
On the other hand Scotch whisky is
more readily obtainable. and gin. beer
and ale may be had in a great many
Of the saloons.
The most plentiful supply is of So
called "hooch." the quality Of which
is not at all dependable and the origin
of which Is unknown. Some saloon
keepers will not handle this at all
fearing consequences should the result
to the drinker be serious. Neverthe-
less a considerable amount Is con-
sumed In the city, sometimes with
fatal effect, as the news in the holiday
season and Immediately thereafter
made clear.
Much of the Scotch being sold in
New York never has gone through
the bonded warehouses. 1t has been
smuggled into the country either from
across the Atlantic or over the Cana
dian border. Some Of the gin has
passed through the same channels,
but greater amount, apparently, has
been made illicitly In nearby places.
Much of this domestic gin. too, Is in
bottles bearing fraudulent labels.
There is also, OF course, a quantity of
what was once bonded iiqnor Obtained
legitimately or BY the misuse Of per-
mits.
1t is no secret in New York that
some men have made large fortunes
by bootlegging. One guess is that GER
tain influential men have cleared
$20000,000 since the advent of pro-
hibition. In many instances these
men have now retired from the busi-
ness. but their places appear to have
been taken by others at once, for the
number OF men 80 operating is large.
Enforcement in New York has been
an up and down affair, with rather
frequent changes of Federal agents;
some spectacular raids. many scan-
dals, and some contradictory court
decisions which have confused the sit
uation. This situation does not seem
to discourage the drys, for the Anti
Saloon League in its current year
book, says OF enforcement In this city:
while enforcement is far from per-
feet in New York. the situation from
some angles being nothing short of
deplorable and scandalous, IL Is max