News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1922-12-06
ENFORCING PROHIBITION
(From the Bristol Herald)

IRON the BrlSCOl Herald)
1t is apparent that the Burlington
Free Press believes there should be
a much stricter enforcement of the
prohibition law in that city and the
stranger within the Queen City's
gates is inclined to the same view.
From what the Herald knows, and
what is common knowledge, as to the
relative strength of the federal pro-
hibition unit in Vermont and the
police department of Burlington, it
seems a perfectly fair assumption
that the heaviest end of the job of
enforcing the law should fall upon
the police department.
1t must be apparent TO the Free
Press. and to every Burlingtonian in
terested that federal prohibition
squad of nine agents, that being the
number we understand is employed in
Vermont, would have to spread out
to the thinness of paper to cover the
state. 1t might be logically inferred
that Prohibition Director Hyland
would want one agent available for
each Of the cities of Rutland, st.
Adams, Montpelier and Barre and
surely in such populOus towns as
Bennington, Brattleboro and St.
Johnsbury. Reckoning on such a
basis, Burlington could not expect
more than two prohibition agents to
be assigned that area as that num-
Der would exhaust the enforcement
squad.
We do not know how or where the
hilton ocCicrnaI h,,f
out knowledge of simple mathematics
convinces us that the major part OF
the job of enforcing prohibition in
Vermont must be done by the police
departments in the cities, constables,
states attorneys and the attorney
general. Common sense tells US the
federal government can aid only
feebly in making Vermont dry if it's
enforcement unit is to be composed
of nine men.
Inquiry reveals that Burlington has
approximately 25 policemen. This
number of officers, thoroughly
acquainted with the city, with facili-
ties for obtaining information rela-
tive to violators of the liquor law,
ought to make a fairly formidable
enforcement squad especially when
augmented by such assistance as
could be given by federal officers and
the states attorney and sheriff of
Chittenden county.
The "let George do it" attitude
must not be assumed by police de-
partments if prohibition is to be en-
forced in Vermont, for upon such
&c 70 FOL 4hA TnK.
part of enforcing law that is I'M
popular. If the mayor of every city
in Vermont and the grand jurors in
every town should start tomorrow on
a strict enforcement of the national
prohibition act and, in sincerity, call
upon every interested citizen to CO.
operate we predict that vendors of
and smugglers of Cana
dian liquor would reduce their activi-
ties so percent within "a hours.
1t is known throughout the land
that Congress did not dream that the
of the Volstead act
would require such an army of agents
as has been shown must be employed.
We are speaking only of that phase
of enforcement that relates to boot
Logging and rum running. The super
vision of hundreds of thousands of
permittees who use liquor as drug
gists, manufacturers or pharmaceuti-
cal preparations, physicians and in
scores of industrial plants requires
the employment of many skilled per-
sons who must check sales if distilled
spirits and account for such liquor
as is withdrawn from distilleries and
A large part of the
of S9,500,000 for en-
forcing prohibition among 10000
900 persons in one year must be
for other purposes than
apprehending the sellers of bootleg
liquor, the makers of moonshine and
the rum runner.
With an international border of 80
miles, across which approximately
ITO highways pass, Vermont has a
mans sized job to capture the SNUG
gler of Canadian liquor into this
country who uses this state as the
route to his market in Massachusetts,
and New York state.
Instead of criticizing the prohibi-
ton unit and the customs department,
t would be fairer to criticize the
government for assuming that such
= mere handful of men could show re-
suits.