The Connecticut labor news., 1924-10-04
DEMAND UNIFORM FOR "DRY AGENTS"
 MEETS OPPOSITION
nti-SaIoon League Protests and I. Forced From Cover of
 Deceit.

Washing ton, Oct 4.-OppOSitIOn voiced by the Anti Saloon League to the plan advanced for the uniforming of prohibition officers patrolling highways Heads one to believe that the organi- zation Is more interested in the seizure of a pint of liquor than in the saving of human life" Capt. w. H. Stayton, founder and executive of the Associa- ton Against the Prohibition Amend rnent, declared in a statement issued from national headquarters here today. The dry organization went on record ton which has been placed before one hundred Congressmen by Captain Stay tons association with the plea that inn 1 mediate steps be taken to the end that i motorists might be enabled to detect the difference between prohibition officers highway men, whose tactics are identi- cally the same"
 We now see the Anti-Saloon League in its true light" declared Capt Stay ton. Tn the face of many reports from over the nation telling of the shooting of innocent motorists by enforcement officers, this organiza ton announces it's intention of fighting plan which would protect the lawful motorist to some de- gree It convinces one beyond any sha dow of doubt that the League is more interested in the seizure of a pint of H. quor than i'll the preservation of human i life
 Since this plan was advocated by the Association Against the Prohibition 1 Amendment we have received hundreds of letters of commendation from 'drys' as we'll as vets One of the 'dryest' newspapers in the country carried an editorial in which it: heartily endorsed the uniforming of agents patrolling ! highways.
 | ''The Anti-Saloon League points out that such plan might enable the booze runner to evade the dry agent. The same argument may be applied to the policeman and the criminal, yet the po- liceman is in uniform.
 "A revenue agent, like a police off cer, IS supposed to prevent as we'll as detect law violations. If a bootlegger knows beyond any shadow of a doubt that the highway over which he IS plan ming to run a load of liquor is patrolled by prohibition officers, he will not put his plan into operation. It Is the ele nent of chance that is responsible for a great deal of this booze running. Bootleggers not knowing for sure whe ther the road is patrolled by dry officers will take that chance.
 We have no interest, however, in the bootlegger. He is strictly opposed to that object which we hope to attain, namely modification of the Volstead Act to permit the sale of 275 per cent bev- erages. He would fail to support such a plan just as he votes for dry candi- dates on election day, for purely busi- ness reasons We are interested prima- rily in the saving of human life on the highways. We are alarmed at the ever increasing number of shootings of per sons absolutely innocent of violation of the Volstead Law, and with the view of eliminating this great danger, we ad- vanced the plan to uniform road prohi- biton agents only, and 1 am satisfied that the plan has become decidedly pop ular.
 ''In bringing our plan to the attention of individual Congressmen, the Anti Saloon League declares we ignored the dry members and sent letters only 70 wet Representatives. We ask the League to pardon our ignorance, but when did Louis C. Cramton of Michigan; Up shaw, of Georgia; Kitchener, of Michi gan; Yates, of Illinois; Hersey, of Maine; Foster, of Ohio; and Stalker ot New York come to the realization that they had voted wrong i'll supporting prohibition i'll the past? These men and forty three others of whose 'Wetness' we were not aware and who have al ways been classed heretofore by the Anti-Saloon League as dry, received letters from me, If they have changed i'll their attitudes, 1 am glad, 1 had ex- pected them to see the light,
 "The proposal to uniform prohibition agents is not wet and dry issue, 1t is hu1nanitarian I am, indeed sorry that the Anti-Saloon League does not seem to realize this, but I am confident that public sentiment will prevail"