Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-01-28
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL y. COLLINS.

Is enforcement of the Volstead law
| q failure? A report is published in d
! New York daily that Gen. Andrews,
| Assistant Secretary of the Treasury In
charge of the enforcement OF the pro
hibition law. said a few days ago, in a
speech before the metropolitan Soci-
| ETY. of Preachers in New York:
The Nolstead act could not possibly
| be enforced under the existing Gov.
eminent policy, and there was no in
dication of such radical changes as
would be necessary to make enforce
ment 4 possibility
X j: =
| A request that the quotation he
commented upon by the general
| brought reference TO Mr.. K. A.
| Haynes, in whose office is the depart
ment of statistics, by which might be
| measured the success or failure Of the
! enforcement.
| Mr.. Haynes sent out a note saying
ETY. for me to comment upon the al
legged statement of Gen. Andrews when
| he is in the city and amply ablo to
modify. verify or repudiate It."
| Further inquiry at the office Of the
| chief brought the statement from his
private secretary:
| II have shown the newspaper state
1 lneIlI TO the general dIlG ne SAYS HS
| did not say it. He has said nothing
further. The trouble arose from a
speech by Mr.. Buckner, United States
district attorney, who told of the diff.
ficulties of getting cases TO trial. be-
| cause of the crowded condition of the
courts. He gets only one-third OF the
time of one Judge, and there is no use
| in piling up cases which cannot be
| brought to trial"
| 1t is commended by adherents of the
| eighteenth amendment and the Fed
eral legislation in support of 1t that
| the practicability Of the law cannot
be judged by the success of the short
term of enforcement under the pres
ent regime. The situation in New
! York City is said to be worse than
anywhere else. and tho State authori-
ties, following the cue Of Gov. Smith s
veto of the state law for State en-
| forcement, are not supporting the
Federal authorities to the full extent
that they might under earnest ex-
amples from the statehouse.
x x :: I;
| No statistics from the Prohibition
| Bureau We're accessible under the
policies in force by the bureau, but
considerable light is thrown upon the
| situation from the office of Mr.. Wayne
B. Wheeler, general counsel of the
! Anti-Saloon League. Mr.. Wheeler ap-
peared before Gov. Smith at the time
the State law was awaiting action of
| the governor-which action proved
to be a veto. He argued that 1t is
Just as truly the sworn obligation Of
all State officials to support and en-
force Federal laws and uphold the
| United States Constitution as it is to
enforce state laws. Every judge and
every of1iceholder takes oath to that
effect.
| Mr.. Wheeler dictated the following
statement:
/ There is no place in the United
States where the law cannot be fairly
we'll enforced, If the officers will use
all the power that they have un
der the existing law. We do need
| additional machinery, especially in
New York City, but this is no reason
why the Federal judges should no.
use the full power of the law. no
why State equity courts should nc
enforce the injunction provisions c
the Volstead act. These provision,
apply not only to the place where tn,
liquor is sold, but to tho individual
bootlegger."
Mr.. Wheeler stated that the glut
ting of the courts is not wholly du'
to prohibition cases. Only one-siXtf
of commitments to Federal peniten
|tiaries are due to liquor law viola
ltions. District Attorney Buckne1
wants Congress to establish Fedora
police courts to handle minor cases
Another plan proposed is to give juris
diction to court commissioners, blu;
the objection Is raised that that woule