Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1922-08-28

can only loo Surmisci d" suddenly
goes deaf. dumb and blind" II.
mas i"rEott"H He is no longer sure
81 anything dates names. details
lie cannot uuuunlifiediy !d.n,iiy ia.
culrrit on trial. He has obviously
been tempered with. Uncle sam i,
matte ridiculous The pr-sidlur
)udG" has ~" alternative. Tn" cas-"
dismissed. III" bookkeeping FRA
,"rnitN Skilluily d"ployed to tina, end
Just another prohibition aHru, gou.
wrong ~" - not always brought Ia
r"trlhuiion.
The Federal prohibition service In
I'nnsNiNania. as elsewhere IS not en-
'Ireiy ii!lsd with crooks Hut life for
tn" honest men among them is kept
hurdonsom- by the politicians and
their bootl.RKer friends. No, Inux
ago nm agent seized ntty-ono barrels
"t WHISKY from a Philadelphia 10
loon. II happ"n"d that "a large IA.
forest In tn" goods vas owned by n
state politician o,tcially Identified
with the Organization" OF one OF tn.
."adins parties. \ cull"Hun" warn rL
IN" agent ne ought TO have known
better" than To- modest whisky u,
Such august rr"pri-tVrship. that
Ii
To mend hts strenuous ways II was
not !"nr aft"rw.rd that th- ar.u,
wh" mad" tn" seizure Was trans.
t"rr"d II - n"Id az hC,ihity wh.r.,tt.r,
Is less opportunity for ia" prrrornt-
nn"" az faithful enforcement ser
Vice
stat" politicians. particularly MON
n"rs OF TN" stat" Leg lsia,ur". are SAID
=" 10" fr"pucn, callers at Federal bro
h'nlti"n Headquarters TIA Philadelphia
Perhaps their visits ar. friendly. per-
sonal and ;nno 'rour. Director lavi,
is himself member 80 TIA. l."gIS-
'a'ur" and numbers many acuuatn,-
anc"s among tho statesmen who con
Er"gat" on capitol Hil u, harris
hurs
Politics In Dry Headquarters
II PENNSYLVANIA state legislators
are fond % turning ny a, 2is North
R'oad street. Philadelphia. where
Federal prohibition is administered
they do but emulate Senators and
Representatives al Warrington. who
on their part have frequent bushes
with 1890 + street. wh"r" Federal
Prohibition Commissioner HAYNES
wages hopeless and hapl"Ss national
warfare against bookkeeping and it's
hydra headed ramlhcations The
nNcraG" run %, callers NJ Federal
prohibition Offices throughou, the
country. a. tho writer has observed
them. bears u sinister and significant
semhianc~ TO the types encountered
AZ political headquarters on tho cv"
30 an election. Tn. aroma o! war;.
politics is ubiquitous.
As the bootleEger depends So large
" on corruption ~ prohibition OH
Gals. the government has had to
adopt special measures FOR meeting
that underground attack on Law and
authority. To that end. tho Internal
Revenue Division Of tho Treasury
has established so-callcd Special
Intelligence Unit" whose particular
business II is to trail" prohibition
agents suspected Of Illicit relations
with liquor law violators
incidentally. the unit participate.
actively In experimenting and sup
pressing bootegsers. In both tho
Mcconnell and Hart cases in. respec-
lively. Philadelphia and New York.
II was ~ effective assistance "a the
Federal Law authorities in rounding
up the host Of crooked accompIir.s.
The Internal Revenue Service suC-
gestS the model on which rrohibi-
ton Enforcement Service some dav
VIII have to be nodded II IL IL to
he 100 per cent effective Politics
are virtually divorced from H.
Wherever an investigator goes in
PENNSYLVANIA he encounters the self
same 6t"ry-bootlegginR thrivcs for
two primary reasons: it's alliance
with politics and politicians and
Stat" wide complacency toward li1uor
law violations. ITO hell with the
law" observed Philadelphia club
man, with whom friend rcmon-
stratrd against tho ilegality Of re-
plcnishing his club locker from wock
to week
Zig Sentiment for Vino and neer
Sentiment in favor Of light wines
and beer IL undoubtedly widespread
Those who cherish II resent the Idea
that they are breaking the existing
law. because. II is a bad law" and
in their Judgment. In bound 10 10
modified. Meantime. they are mod-
syinE 1t on their own account hy
ignoring Its existence. That Is an
enormous class in Penn State, as in
othsr States.
Because OF this extensive popular
disfavor. tho laws violation Is
"winkcd at" by authorities Of all
grades. from local Judges and PROSE
cutors down to the policeman on a
beat. In the big towns. like Phila
delphla, Pittsburgh. Scranton, Erie
Altoona, Reading. wilkes Barre and