Evening star., 1925-07-20

What ails the prohibition enforce
n,eut organization, that even It's
stsnch supporters are complaining OF
it's breakdown. The answer appears
to be as elusive as the inquest on
WHO killed Cock Robin? Not l,
RESPONDS the detective, II have made
in the District of Columbia in the Iast
five years, between 500 and 500 cases
and have been upon the witness stand
to testify in my arrests Just II times
no more. There are today between 90
and so of my cases pending, but /
have had no notice as to when they
will come to trial. The rest Of my
500 or 500 cases are simply lost
The detective who thus laments
what he terms miscarriage of justice
after the arrests are made Is Lone
Wolf" Asher. and he adds that the
situation in the District of Columbia
courts is the worst in the country; u
is so bad that he is discouraged about
working in the District any more; lit
does no good"
Says another detective of the pro-
hibition unit: When we make an ar
rest it is we agents who are put on
trial in the case, not the bootlegger.
We are cross-examined and lectured
by the attorneys and the court, and II
there is any chance technicality at
fault in our case the bootlegger is
petted in court and we are fiayed.
Perhaps, if our case is too clear, the
bootlegger will be fined $50. but what
is $50 to a bootlegger? 1t does not
amount to even a license fee. He
pays it and goes right out and re-
peats the offense.
why, the other day we received a
tip by telephone that a certain boot
logger would deliver liquor at n GER
tain place in Washington, at a GER
tain hour. We lay for him, and he
came almost exactly as we had been
tipped off. We stopped him and
whisky in sight, but l saw a sealed
carton. / asked what was in that
sealed box, and the bootlegger claimed
that 1t was empty. l lifted 1t and
found it heavy. Then he answered
defiantly. It's got whisky in it
IT put him under arrest and took
the carton with the prisoner into
court-here in Washington. The judge
dismissed the charge and roasted me
for invading the automobile without a
search warrant. / tell you it is dis
couraging when we get that kind of
treatment from the courts. 1t is worse
in Washington than anywhere that
have worked.
I'm some mysterious way, the
papers, the records in hundreds of
cases simply disappear from the court
files. Perhaps the bootleggers' at
torneys borrow them from the files
and then destroy them. Only a few
days ago the prosecuting attorney
had the records of a bootlegger case
on his table In the courtroom. He
was about to open the case, and he
turned to the table and found all the
papers gone. He simply had to re-
port to the court that he could not
go on with the prosecution, and the
case was dismissed. Perhaps that
sort of theft may account for the
loss Of Asher's 400 or 450 cases which
have disappeared from court records" :"
"Over in Maryland we get better
support from the police than we do
in Washington, though Maryland is
reputed to be wet The police at
least make some show of cooperating
with us, and even in spite of Judge
Peters ruling permitting liquor to
pass through his district without in
reference, all we have TO do is to
ignore local authorities and carry our
prisoners to the Federal Court in
Baltimore. There we are treated with
respect. In some counties in Mary
land the police do not hesitate to sup
port us even in gun play; they fight
for law enforcement"
What ails prohibition enforce
ment?" repeated a high official in the
Treasury Department "How can it
be efYectually enforced when Congress
refuses q greater appropriation than