The New York herald., 1922-01-10
GOVERNMENT MAY
BUY ALL WHISKY
Proposal Made to Simplify
Federal Machinery Under
Volstead Act.
$5O,OO0,00O is INVOLVED
Subsequent Sale to Dealers in
Medicinal Supplies Is
Suggested.
$4,000, 1000 is INVOLVED
Special Dispatch to THE New YORK HERALD.
New York Herald Bureau.
Washington, ID. C., Jan. g.

New York Herald Bureau.
Washington. ID. c.. Jan. 8.
President Harding will be asked
within the next few days to adopt as
an Administration policy the purchase
by the Government of all the whisky
and other spiritous liquor held in bonded
warehouses throughout the country and.
thereafter. take full charge of it's dis
tribution for medicinal and other legal
use.
The proposal is to be put forward with
tion advisers as a solution to the trouble
some method of guarding and distribut-
ing such intoxicants, as provided at
present under the terms of the proh:-
bition law. The scheme is to be In
clrded in the departmental reorganiza-
ton program now being worked out in
preliminary detail by Walter F. Brown,
who is serving as President Harding's
personal representative on the joint
Congressional committee on the reorgan-
ization Of the Government departments.
Briefly. the recommendation provides
that the Government buy all the whisky
and similar spirits held now in approx
imately 140 bonded warehouses. an
amount estimated at slightly in excess
Of 35.oo0.oo0 gallons. This can be
bought. according to the understanding
of Government officials. for about $780,
0C0, 900.
Turn Over I'm One Year.
| 1t is proposed that the Government
| in turn. so that the purpose Of the pro-
hibition law be carried out. sell this
whisky to those responsible dealers and
others who are engaged in its distribu-
tion for medicinal purposes. According
to the scheme. the Government will get
its full investment back the first year.
Prohibition Commissioner Haines es.
tir;ates that 100000 gallons of whisky
is required to fulfil the legitimate re-
| quirements of the country every year,
that is whisky sol through physicians
certificates for medicinal use. If this
were to be sold by the Government at
S12 gallon-an arbitrary price re-
| gsrded as fair and reasonable for medic
nal whisky-the return In single year
would amount to 100000, 900, a sum
Sufficiently large to meet the cost OF
| original purchase. administration and
the like. The Government would, at the
same time, still have on hand not less
| than 80 100000 gallons of spirits valued,
| at S12 a gallon. at $360.000.000.
| 1t is not the financial possibilities Of
the enterprise. however, that IS to be the
basis of the argument that President
Harding adopt the recommendation. The
siinpli1cation Of the Governmental ma
| chinery is the primary ground The
adoption of the scheme would, Admin
| istration advisers believe, do away with
all the various objections that now are
being raised to the proposals that the
prohibition enforcement service be trans.
ferred from the Treasury Department to
| the Department of Justice
At present the work of the enforce
nlent service Is divided into two general
! phases--one. the protection and distribu-
| ton of the spirits held in bonded ware
houses. and the other the running down
OF violators Of the prohibition law. In
many ways. of course. the two overlap
One feature of the law provides that tax
tx to be collected on whisky that is
withdrawn from the warehouses. The
tax is at the rate OF $2.20 a gallon. T.,
the tax were to be collected on all the
whisky now held in bond it would
amount to S11 900 600.
The taking of all the whisky by the
Government and its distribution by Fed
eral officials, according to the figures of
those who stand sponsor for the scheme,
would mean considerable saving for
the Government. The prohibition en-
forcement service last year cost 81, $780,
900. and for the next fiscal year the es-
Inmates provide for an appropriation OF
100000 IL Is figured that not less
than s5,o00.000 of this sum goes for
guarding the spirits held in the ware
houses and for its protection in transit
and in other ways while being dis
tributed.
Prohibition Commissioner Haines and
officials OF the Treasury Department
have been consulted on the scheme, as
has been Wayne u. Wheeler. general
counsel for the Anti-Saloon League. The
first mention of the proposal brought
great amount of criticism. but the dis
cussions have been continued, with the
result that those responsible for it's in
ception believe there is reasonably