The Washington times., 1925-10-08
MANY DRY
AGENTS
To co
Last Great Effort to Enforce
VoIstead Act to Get Under ;
Way Soon
b ROBERT S. THoRNBURGH

By ROBERT S. THORNBURGH
One week from today the Gov
ernment's new prohibition ma
chine officially replaces the old
and starts its big job of trying
to dry up the United States.
October Is is the dead line"
On that date, by an official
order OF the Treasury, the serv-
ices of $500 agents, State .direc-
tors and divisional chiefs are ter
minated.
Must To Be Retained
Prohibition administrators then
win be in the saddle, backed by
employees of their own selection, ana
responsible to Secretary OF the
Treasury Mellon for 100 per cent
enforcement of the Volstead act.
Although orders were issued dis
;harging all unclassified employees
IL the old machine, it was under
Esood today that from so to Is per
cent will be retained in the reor-
ganized unit.
OF the nineteen divisional chiefs
and fifty. State directors only q
handful viii be out of jobs after
next Thursday, the former captains
of enforcement having been reap
pointed as administrators, assist.
ants or to other important posts.
Has Big dob ON Hands
The new machine faces its task
with public opinion in some sections
against enforcement methods, wide
spread violation of the law and re-
ported corruption among public Of
ficiaIs. The reorganized dry unit
was widely heralded as move to
sweep away Objectionable features
of the old system and to create
machine that would deal adequately
with prohibition problems.
Apparently, however, the changes
are not as radical as had been pre-
dtcted. The effort to obtain big
business men" as administrators
Gopped-the same result attended
the original purpose to take en-
forcement out Of politics.
Enforcement of the dry unit from
the field of the politicians created
q young maelstrom among Senator'S
and congressman. who were as
thick around prohibition headquar-
ters5 for a time as scalpers in Pitts
burgh and Washington.
Eventually the politicians came
put on top and the reorganization
proceeded with serenity.
Last Great Effort
1T has been commonly understood
that the present aim at a dry United
States is the Governments supreme
effort to enforce the prohibition law,
If the new system gets no better
results than the old some high Of
eicials are in favor OF changing the
prohibition law SO it can be en-
forced.
No decision has been reached by
the Treasury as to the size OF the
new prohibition force. This to a
great extent depends upon the
enforcement by the next Congress.
The Treasury hopes to obtain about
81 .O00, 900.
The most sweeping change in the
new unit is the practical abolition
OF the mobile force of general
agents formerly under e. c. Yellow
ley.
so Rowing Agents
This force of 900 agents will be
eut to less than fifty. Officials said
the new mobile unit, operating un-
der Major Walton Green, will con-
osist of highly trained Investigators
70 function against international
and interdistrict conspiracies. The
experts will be available to prohibit
tion administrators for meeting
special problems.
''Pussyfoot" Investigations of dry
officials and agents have been
tabooed. The special intelligence
unit of the Bureau of Internal
Revenue will not investigate &C
tivities of prohibition personnel in
the future, according to officials.
Administrators will be held RESPONSE
bic for the conduct Of all personnel
and are directly answerable to
Mellon for their own conduct in
office.