Evening star., 1924-07-30
DRY PROSECUTION
FORCE ENLARGED
U. S. to Appoint Special As
sistants to Attorney Gen.
eraI for Various Sections.
]. ]. BYRNE FIRST NAMED
Government Wins 81 of 80 Cases
Taken on Appeal to su-
rreme Court.
]. BYRNE FIRST NAMED

The Department Of Justice is lay
ing heavier hand on violators of
the liquor laws.
Several recent developments, re-
vealing a new program Of prosecu-
ton. were followed last night by
revelation that the department will
inaugurate a system of supervising
liquor prosecutions in the various
geographical sections Of the country
by special assistants to the Attorney
General, sitting in Washington.
The first of those to be appointed
was John j. Byrne of Boston. to have
general charge of prohibition prose-
cution in New England. Although no
further details of the new system
were officially made public. it was
lntimated that other sections of the
country likewise will be provided
with such an official in the Depart
ment OF Justice. Mr.. Byrne for the
past three years has been law clerk
to Chief Justice Taft. He was pre-
viously law clerk to Chief Justice
White. He is a graduate of George
town University Law School. where
he won the prize for the best gradu-
alton thesis in the Postgraduate
course. He also did research work in
Catholic University.
U. s. Wins 81 Of 30 Cases.
At the same time it was announced
from the office Of Assistant Attorney
General Willebrandt that the Gov
ernment had won 81 out of 80 prohi-
bition cases taken on appeal from the
Federal courts to the Supreme Court
Of the United States in the term Of
court ended in June.
These developments follow the re-
cent appointment of Arthur w.
Henderson to be special assistant
to the Attorney General in charge of
prosecution of the greatly increased
number of cases expected when the
augmented Coast Guard fleet gets into
action against the rum smugglers
Mrs. Willebrandt, in reporting re-
suits of prohibition cases before the
Supreme Court, explained that % OF
the cases were petitions for writs of
rertiorari of which the Government
lost only one.
The most important decision from
the Governments viewpoint. Mrs.
Willebrandt stated, was that of the
So-ca!led beer cases." in which it
was decreed that beer or other malt
medicinal purposes. OF IA tax cases,
also handled by Mrs Willebrandt's
division and taken to the Supreme
Court on appeal during the term, 8
were decided in favor of the Govern
ment.
Beer Ban Upheld.
In beer cases. one arising in the
eastern and two in the southern dis
trict of New York, the Supreme Court
sustained the Governments conten-
ton that Congress had full power
under the eighteenth amendment to
prohibit the manufacture, sale and
prescription of intoxicating malt liz
quors for medicinal purposes.
Another case of Importance won by
the Government was that involving
the right of search and seizure. While
the courts have carefully guarded the
rights of the people under the fourth
amendment to the Constitution di-
rected against unreasonable search
they have not allowed the privileges
granted by it to be enlarged by those
who seek to violate the law. So, in
this case Chester VS.. United States),
in which the evidence upon which
conviction was based was found on
the defendants premises, but some
distance from the dwelling, the court
held that "the special protection ac-
corded by the fourth amendment to
the people in their persons, houses,
papers and effects is not extended to
the open fields"
Old Indian Law Up.
Of two cases on the docket before
the Supreme Court on certificate.
which means that the Circuit Court
of Appeal found the questions in
volved so puzzling that they prefer
red to have them passed upon by the
Supreme Court rather than come tc
a conclusion themselves, one, the
Kennedy case. which arose in Usage
County, Okla, was disposed of. That
country being Indian country. traffic
in liquors has been prohibited there
for almost a hundred years, except
the War Department. Viewing the
Indians as wards of the Government,
Congress long ago provided heavy
penalties for those who brought ltQ-
uor into Indian country. The ques-
tion in the Kennedy case was whether
or not these Indian liquor laws were
still applicable or whether they had
been superseded by the national pro-
hibition act The Supreme Court de-
ciared that Indian liquor statutes are
still in effect and SO apply to Usage
County.
Mrs. Willebrandt has been assisted
in this work by Mahlon D. Kiefer,
ters involving appeals to the Supreme
Court