The New York herald., 1922-08-09

uses its personal and professional stand
ing. and often brings political influence
TO bear. that is the very pivot of the
bootleg traffic in America.
Government officials, including those
o. the Department of Justice have the
matter at the moment under considera-
tion and surveillance. The facts devel-
oped so far are carefully guarded. THE
New YORK HERALD. however, Is reli-
ably Informed that the lawyer and
Washington agent allies of the boot
leggers have habitualy made the
sleuths OF the prohibition unit look like
the merest sucklings. Hundreds and
probably thousands of permits have beec
procured under an apparently legit-
innate and legal application which turned
out afterwards to be fraudulent because
the whisky, withdrawn was converted
into Illegal channels.
Methods They Pursued.
A story was told here to-day which
illustrates the methods pursued An at
I torney presented an application for 2
permit to withdraw from bond for ex-
port 500 barrels of whisky worth about
81 900 barrel. The application showed
that a bill of sale had been made by
the owner OF the liquor which was dated
1t was on the face of 1t legitimate
case for withdrawal. So the permit
was granted and an order for the with
drawal was issued. The order was
handed to a big bootleg operator Here
the connection of the attorney ended.
The bootlegger appeared at the ware
house. The liquor was sent under guard
to the port OF export and put in storage
under guard. When the liquor was ac-
tually shipped it occurred to somebody
that an examination was in order,
whereupon 1t was found that the bar
rels were filled with water.
The incident showed that in this case
at least the agents of the Government
who were obligated to maintain the law
had been bought over and were in the
conspiracy. This phase of the situation.
the extent to which the traffic has led
to bribery and corruption among agents
of the Government itself is regarded here
as the most serious aspect of the whole
conspiracy.
The agents OF the bootleggers, the
attorneys who ply the trade on the in
side in Washington, invariably line their
paths with gold. No figures are availa-
BILE as to the number of cases of bribery.
There have been many dlsmissals and
prosecutions of agents of the Bureau of
Internal Revenue in connection with the
acceptance OF bribes but the belief is
that only comparatively few have been
detected in comparison with the num-
ber who ARE in with the bootleggers."
This has been one of the most formida-
bic difficulties that the prohibition unit
has had to face
How the Circle Worked.
The vicious circle worked just like
this: The bootlegger Is the peddler who
distributes, retail or wholesale, IL he is
a major operator. He depends on at
tcrneys who have often procured aid
from politicians to get permits favora-
bly, acted upon. If it becomes necessary
to tamper with the permits on the in
side or a new bolstering is required en-
ployees of the Government on the inside
are offered the lure of big money" and
a chance of not being prosecuted.
IT is a favorite practice to appeal to
persons with political influence when
the lid is held tight and the seeker after
a permit finds the way closed. Every
one familiar with Washington knows