Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-12-21
LAWLESS ARRESTS
|NPROH|B|T|0NH HIT
IN HOUSE DEBATE
Representative Phillips Calls
Agents Methods Under
handed.
RECORDS IN MAYFLOWER
CASE REPORTED STOLEN
Pennsylvania Says Too Much
Emphasis Is Placed on Dry
Law Observance.
b. The Assoclated Press

b the Associated Press
The House prohibition debate
which has waved steadily and warmlv
Tor several days, was resumed by that
] body today as soon as the days pro
ceedings got under way with Repre-
sentative Phillips, Republican, OF Penn
sylvania, leading an onslaught against
present enforcement methods.
Mr.. Phillips declared that the "lau
lesS methods of enforcing the eight
zenith amendment, and the under
handed methods" used in cases, result
! ed lin crimes more shocking to the
public conscience than the evasion
of law"
lie assailed recent" constitutional
amendments 'as a series rf innova-
| tions which have undermined rather
than strengthened our Government.
He described prohibition as IAN e..
pertinent" that should have reason
able time to demonstrate its worth.
hut added that as conservative
House member he condemned our
autocratic, high-handed, lawless meth
DDS in enforcing the eighteenth
amendment"
100 MUCH ElIDflISIS.
Not only does the prohibition law.
he said, seek to make legally wrong
that which is not morally wrong. but
it has caused so much emphasis TO be
placed upon this one law that other
and more important avs have been
overshadowed and all but forgotten.
The very nature of prohibition en-
forcement is in the direction of the
corruption of agents OF the Govern
ment. 1t has caused such a break
down in the vigilance of our guardians
that great holes have been opened
not only for the briber. the CRATER
and the blackmailer. but also Tor the
thug, the murderer and the DE-
generate"
! Prohibition headquarters searched
! today for Government records stolen
/ from its flies, while dry advocates
planned means of more easily opening
! the doors of suspected private homes
/ 10 prohibition agents.
The missing records concerned the
Z much discussed Maytiower Horel
liquor case, IN which an agent spent
nearly $1,000 in arresting two men.
! who were subsequently acquitted. and
which was the subject of a long ad-
=, dress in the House Saturday by Rep
! resentative Gallivan, Democrat. Mas
: SdtnuSt LIZ.
! Prohibition Commissioner Haynes
| revealed that the papers had been
stolen just before the trial of the two
men. Wayne Il. Wheeler, general
| counsel of the Anti-Saloon League.
( also knew. he said last night, that the
/ records had vanished. hut he declined
! to name one or two men to whom h.
7 said suspicion was directed.
Nature of PaperS.
! The records included reports OF tn
work of Agents T.. {. Birgfeld ana
/ Cola NJ. Early, who planned the May
! flower Hotel trap. which developed the
I charges against Venice and BlaZi. to
gether with other confidential papers
! The nature of these has not been dis
closed, except that among the file
We're duplicates of the expense ac-
! counts for the now famous MayfOwer
| Hotel dinner, which cost the Govern
ment 1868 for LIQUOR and entertain
! ment, and which precipitated Mr.. Gal
! liVans attack.
/ In the course of a reply to Repre-
! sentative Gallivan. Mr.. Wheeler won
dered why the matter had not attract
t ed the Representatives attention. At
| the same time he announced that
! bill would be presented soon TO amend
! the Volstead act to permit prohihi
| ton agents to search homes on any
| evidence of manufacture of distilled
! spirits. Present regulations requiring
| that an agent have evidence of sale
! before receiving a search warrant are
! hampering enforcement, he said.
! No Light on Mystery.
! No light could be thrown by the
office of Gen. Lincoln Z. Andrews.
head of the prohibition enforcement
I 10 for IF no n.
pearance Of the records OF prohibition
agents who planned and conducted
the Mayfower Hotel conspiracy case,
which brought forth the lengthy and
sarcastic denunciation by Representa-
tive Gallivan of Massachusetts.
! Gen. Andrews was out of his office
| today. and his Office professed no
knowledge of the whereabouts of the
records. which Commissioner OF In.
ternal Revenue Haynes said had been
stolen from the files. While officials
close to Mr.. Andrews declined To say
whether he had ordered an investiga
ton of the whole case, 1t WAS made
plain at the Urea sury that Gen. An
drewS had not assumed the admins
tration of prohibition enforcement at
the time of the Mayfiower case, and
declared that such enforcement is not
in line with his program of striking
at the source of liquor supply rather
than at actual illegal sales.
James f. Jones of the Internal Rev
enue Bureau, who recently was made
director of prohibition, also was out OF
the city today.
Wheeler Defends Arrests.
Wayne B. Wheeler, general counsel
of the Anti-Saloon League of America
today declared it 10 be his opinion
that the trapping of violators of the
Volstead law was legitimate and added
that while large expenditures were TO
be avoided, 1T makes little difference
whether it costs 81 900 or 5.oe0 if eff
fective cases are made against dealers
in rum"
when prohibition agents know that
certain persons are consistent viola
tors of the prohibition law he said,
they are justified in meeting them,
suggesting to them that they make
illegal purchases, and to sell liquor to
them in order to make charges against
| them"
Mr.. Wheeler said that he had begun
an investigation into the case of the
youth of 10 years, who Representative
Gallivan said had been led by a pro
hibition agent to buy liquor and then
arrested by the same man.
THAT sort of thing, II true IL not
Continued OH Page :. Column 80