, 1923-02-18

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Agent Asher, resulted in the
charges of bootlegglng. the confisca.
ton of about $500 gallons of Illicit
liquor and the seizure of a score of
stills.
At an early hour tonight bonds 70.
falling about $4,000 had been fur
nished for release of the alleged boot.
leggers.
Determined to clean up Washing.
ton. the home of prohibition and
the seat of the national enforcement
agency, before making a concentrated
effort to dry up other cities through
out the country, the prohibition bu-
reau believes its purpose is ear to
accomplishment.
The nations capital as the result Of
raids today and the similar one a few
weeks ago in which about sixty per
sons were arrested will be made one
OF the dryest cities. in the country, of
ficials stated.
Today,a raid, like the first one, took
the bootleggers completely by sur.
prise.
1t was made possible by the clever
work of Asher in collecting evidence
and ferreting out bootleggers' haunts
by means OF his DISCUSSES. Almost
s!ngle-handed. Asher, by using tactics
that read like the fiction of Nick Car
ter, is drying up the nations capital.
Disguised as a colonel, an apart
ment house janitor, ashman, a piano
tuner. n laundry wagon driver, a garb-
age collector. an ice man and a boot
logger c~onfidante, Asher collected al
the information that made possible
the first raid.
After this first success, Asher mys-
teriously appeared. The prohibition
bureau announced he had gone to-
Pennsylvania and New Jersey to try
his DISCUSSES on bootleggers there.
Washington bootleggers breathed n
long sigh of relief at the
ment. But apparently Asher just
took a weeks vacation TO think up
some new tricks to work the liquor
dealers.
About two weeks ago Asher quietly
slipped into Washington again. In
n few days he was one of the most
prosperous oyster and fish peddlers in
the section of the city where the boot
leggers' population is most dense.
As an ass stant, Asher trained A.
bauer. Washington policeman, n
they are now outshininE New York's
famous prohibition sleuths, Izzy En-
stein and Moe Smith. Bauer became
so apt at the Nick Carter tactics that
as q huckster, he sold his mother APP
pies without her recognizing him.
Every time Asher and Bauer sod a
fish or an oyster, they pretended to
be very thirsty and soon had spotted
ut several places where bootleg liquor
was obtainable. The next disguise
was that of hucksters. Every day the
two sleuths brought in many bottles
of evidence buried underneath their
cart load OF apples, oranges. bananas
and cabbage.
Adding q classical touch to their
work, Asher and Bauer then became
Greek statesmen of plaster of Paris
statues and again obtained more evi.
dence.
An invasion Of the Italian quarter
was next decided upon. Resembling
true members of G malta, with their
bristllng boards and long m~oustaches
the two agents were approached by an
italian, who sought to convert them
TO the fascist cause of Premier Mus
solinl.
Not being able to understand Ital-
ian. they simply stood and shrugged
their shoulders as the propaganda
agent pleaded his cause.
Meanwhile a large crowd vas gath.
ering around Asher's peddIer wagon.
Fearing detection unless he could an
swer the Italian, Asher hoped on his
! wagon and shouted to the crowd:
me spik Ingl'sh. Me no under
stand the wop. Me from Athens,
Pfan."
He drove off as the crowd roared
with laughter.
Entering n Negroes home to sell
l fish, Asher offered to exchange some
fine bass for n bottle Of corn. Edgar,
l the negro, readily agreed. but his wife
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