Evening star., 1923-02-04

Of the headquarters Of the general Of
an army or the executive head Of some
large corporation doing an extensive
business in every part of the country.
Communications from different parts
Of the United States are constantly
flowing into these and other offices from
the agents in the field. Reports come In
less and by telephone. and now and
then there suddenly appears, without
warning some director or chief agent
who has run upon something Of such
nature that he deems 1t best to make
his report in person.
Despite the fact that you are sitting
in the ONCE and seeing the reports come
In every few minutes from different
parts Of the territory covered by these
agents. you feel that there Is something
being carried on under your very nose
that you cannot see. and while there is
no air Of mystery affected by the OFF,
cials in charge, you instinctively know
that things are being done right before
you that are Of major import, yet, try
as hard as you can. you are unable to
place your finger on that mysterious
something.
UST how this general question of
the enforcement of the law Is
viewed by some of the officers in
charge can be quickly grasped by lis
tening to Col. Jones. who said:
I'VE are winning our fight against
the sale OF Illicit beverages We are
today receiving more hearty cooper
alton than ever before. The local au-
thorities are. as 10 right and proper
taking care. to an extent at least, of
the minor cases. which gives US an
opportunity to strike at the very
roots OF the violations of the law.
Take Chicago. for instance. Last year
we revoked hundreds of permits, and
this put an end to a large extent to
the selling Of liquor by some drug
gtsts who were violating the law.
Take. for instance; our local ac-
tion here in instituting Injunction
proceedings, commonly known as the
paddock method. which shuts I'D
building for a year. This method Is
most effective and Is one that is go
ing to be pursued all over the coun-
try. am pleased to say that here in
washington We have been given the
assurance by owners and managers Of
apartment houses and other struc-
lures that they will aid us in every
way In driving the bootlegger from
his usual haunts. No owner Of prop-
erty wants his building to remain idle
for a yoar. and he is not only acting
as a good citizen but also an a 1ood
business man when he aids US In driv-
ing the bootlegger out of his present
abode.
our action in concentrating liquors
that were made before The national
prohibition act went into effect has
very materially aided in reducing the
leaks from warehouses. and we have
also taken precautions that will
greatly minimize the chances of yio-
lators OF the law securing liquors on
counterfeit permita
I'VE have also formulated aucb
plans as will prevent legitimate
manufacturers who legally make al
cohol for legitimate uses from d,lut.
ing their product. A large firm Of
this character recently paid a sub
stantial hne. and 1t has promised to
stick to the straight and narrow path
from now on. This plan now pre-
vents the bootlegger from getting
pure alcohol. and he has resorted 20
redistilling denatured alcohol. with
tho result that he is literally poison
ins people every day.
why, you take the last few se,x-
ures we have made OF stuff that was
supposed to have come from foreign
shores, and you will find that less
than two pints Of the liquor seized
was legitimate stuff. The rest of II
was OF such q character that 1t might
truly be called sow poison Some
OF the corn liquor. in fact the ma
5ority Of that we have seized, was SO
bad As not only to eat through the
rubber bands on the top of the Jars,
but also to eat through the zinc tops
Of the containers and this chemical
action formed q most dangerous pre-
cipitate.
NH
&C 4 IL sorts Of tSs lowest forms
"A OF viliainy are being resorted
to by the bootesger who cares not
a whit whether the purchaser Of his
stun dies. so long as he gets the
money. He has no conscience. The
fact that death. blindness. paralysis
or a lingering illness may result is a
matter of Indifference to him, and
there are still people who are gull
lible enough to believe that they are
getting genuine liquors or wines, be-
cause this known violator Of the law
assures them that the stuff he is
selling is genuine. that 1t was manu-
featured either before the national
prohibition act went into effect or
that it comes from a foreign shore.
''It is really incomprehenIbIe how
people who are supposed to have at
least a modicum OF intelligence can
be such 'boobs' as to pay out $40,
$12 or more a bottle for poisonous
stuff. It costs the bootlegger only