Evening star., 1923-10-31
REVIEWS
MELLON CRITICISM
Second Letter Says Secre.
tary's "Defense" Shows
Dry Law Neglect.

prohibition enforcement - expressed
last night for the second time this
| week in a letter to Secretary Of the
Treasury Mellon-occupied the atten-
tion of state and federal officials to-
day.
In his second letter the governor
termed Mr.. MELONS answer to his
previous letter "a defense Of things
as they are' and declared what is
needed 'is not a defense of past and
present evils, but the determination
! to abate them, followed by effective
action" He asserted that IF the
present situation represents the best
| the Treasury Department can do.
then my previous suggestion that the
enforcement service should be placed
| directly under the President has
greater force than I suspected when
] made It,"
! The suggestion to which he re-
! ferred was voiced by him in a speech
before the recent citizenship confer
ence in Washington, in which he de-
| clared the federal enforcement serv-
I Ice In Pennsylvania lost it's soul
| through politics" and urged the COM
plete elimination of politics and di
rect control of enforcement by the
| President.
Text Of Second Letter.
| The governors letter follows:
| Il am in receipt of your letter of
| October 29. First of all, let me thank
you for your courteous expression
concerning my efforts to enforce the
| law. L appreciate 1t greatly.
| Your letter is in effect a state
ment that the present system of fed
eral enforcement and it's results are
sufficient and satisfactory. My dis
more keen because 1 understood you
to be fully in accord with the Presi-
dents desire for cooperation. / have
laid before you. first privately and
then publicly. the situation in Penn
| sylvania, which is everywhere known
to be intolerable, together with sug-
gestions for a remedy. Your answer
is a defense of things as they are.
am sorry.
What is needed is not a defense
or past and present evils, but the
determination to abate them, follow
ed by effective action. 1t is a matter
or sincere regret to me that your
answer to my letter is merely an
EFFORT to justify the present system
or enforcement. which all America
a breeder of corruption.
Efforts In Pennsylvania.
My letter asserted, and you do not
deny, that the state government OF
Pennsylvania is using to the utmost
every power it has to combat the
present outbreak of lawlessness.
Every man familiar with the law
and the facts knows that the fed
eral government is not, and that the
main fault is divided between the
failure to use the federal permit ef-
fectIvely as means of law enforce
ment and the system of political
appointments to the enforcement
service.
Your letter contends that I am
wrong when I say that plants de-
tected in violation of the law are per-
mftted to continue operation under
federal permits, and then proceeds to
show that the plants l mentioned had
been convicted and fined for violation
actually in possession of federal per-
; Tnits for 1923, as / said they were.
Under such circumstances a fine
amounts to nothing more than high
license for law breaking. I ask Xou
! to refuse to reissue permits for the
operation of plants where the law has
! been broken.
Disputes Point in Law.
Your letter asserts that the law
requires your department to reissue
permits after a year to applicants who
are admittedly law breakers. There
is no such provision Of law. The law
does forbid the reinsurance of q per-
| nit to such offenders until a year has
passed, but does not require you to
renew 1t afterward. If you have any
| doubt of your power to refuse a per-
init to a lawbreaker after a year.
| suggest that you do so refuse and
let your refusal be appealed to the
courts. The applicant can appeal. but
when you relicense lawbreaker the
public has no recourse.
| You have been good enough tc
grant my request for the right of the
state police to inspect for violations
at any time. plants operating under
federal permits. I thank you heart
lily, and / suggest that under the righ,
to modify permits set forth in SUBJ
section B of section Is of Treasury
decision 1898, approved by you, i,
would greatly assist enforcement II
this right were given to the state
police for all permits Immediately.
"All but one of the Ave breweries
which I named as still operating and
which had been caught by the state
police and reported to your depart
ment were so reported prior to Au.
gust Is. and that one on September s
Your answer is that they have beer
cited or the administration is in mo.
tion for the purpose. If the permits
of these plants had all been promptly
suspended, as my letter asks, one oil
them. the Rettig Brewing Company
of Pottsville. could not have beer
caught violating the law again by
the state police, as 1t was last Satur.
day.
"Hope OF Enforcement.
| II regret that your letter should
show entire satisfaction with the
present regulations regarding alcohol
and brewery permits and contain nc
reference to the suggested insertion
of conditions in the permit which
lwould make lawbreaking, as said
| practically impossible with honest
| enforcement This is the line along
| which the best hope of effective en-
| forcement will be found. I repeat
my offer to help in framing such con-
ditions.
whatever happens, I assure you
THAT the state administration of Penn
sylvania will leave no stone unturned
| to cooperate with the federal gov
| ernment and to free the common
wealth of the present open and scan-
| dalous defiance of law and the Con-
! stitution which Is encouraging every
| enemy Of good government, creating
contempt for all law. enriching crimi-
| nails and running their victims by
thousands and which Is a blot on the
good name of both state and nation.
| II have no change to make in my
statement contained in my previous
/ letter; the facts are as ! there set
them forth. The law-abiding citizens
of Pennsylvania are profoundly
alarmed and anxious for relief. The
| state administration is doing its level
best. If the present situation repre-
sents the best the Treasury Depart
ment can do, then my previous sug-
| sestion that the enforcement service
should be placed directly under the
! President has greater force than I
suspected when I made It,"
|