The Washington times., 1926-04-07
Continued from First Page,

was no state enforcement law
said Buckner.
Buckner said the prohibition law
rounding up gangs OF criminals.
The police went to ''holes-in-the-
WALL where thieves. bandits and
gunner gathered and made arrests
for violations Of the dry law when
| they could not pin other crimes on
the gangsters. The result has been,
he added, to clog the Federal courts
with petty cases" In which the
Government Is unable to get jail
sentences. and this revealed the
weakness OF the present law, he
added.
.'You win never enforce the pro-
hibition law in my district until
people go to JAIL, said Buckner.
I'VE can only try two jury cases a
day. and 1t would take the .>0ne
Federal Judge assigned to me for
criminal cases whole year to try
the petty cases that the city police
bring in every month, and that
would mean we wouldn't handle any
of the big cases, the alcohol diver
sion, the conspiracy, the smuggling
cases.
Oh ILlGGI1P tHGHy ~ sWQMA0 kff1AO
IL Federal judges to keep up with
the calendar on the individual
cases?" asked Senator HarreId lR.l
OF Oklahoma.
Yves, for the petty cases alone"
Violations InnumerabIe
Senator Reed sharply questioned
Ruckner about the number Of per-
sons who violated the dry law in
New York city. The witness would
not even hazard q guess.
You don't even know the num-
Der of violations, much less how
to stop them?" Reed continued.
why. there are millions of vio-
lators in New York city, aren't
there?"
"I won't commit myself" was
Buckner's reply.
Buckner said much injustice"
was done prohibition by the belief
that New York juries wouldn't con-
vict dry law violators.
Probably prohibition convictions
are more difficult to obtain in New
York than in Texas" he explained.
I'VE think the strongest element
that causes an acquittal in a case
where we expect a conviction is be-
cause the defendant is subordinate.
The jury says why send this little
guy to jail when the higher-up is
getting Off by graft or bribery.
Big violators," Buckner said,
were easy to convict"
THE Industrial alcohol situation is
a major issue" in prohibition en-
forcement, Buckner declared.
Conditions in the alcohol in.
dustry are much more important to
enforcement than the little fellow
who sells a flask" he said.
Nearly 4 Billions Yearly
I'VE find that before the war and
prohibition that an apparent In
consumption of industrial alcohol
marked the legitimate expansion CT
that industry. On that basis. taking
the consumption in the fiscal year
ended June 80, 1925, we find that
so ,0O0, 900 gallons of Industrial al
cohol went into the bootleg trade"
Bootleggers use one gallon OF
alsohol 10 make three gallons OF
whiskey.
AT SIS a quart for bootleg
wheskey--" Buckner began.
Its SO quart out in my
country" Reed interposed.
well. find that $4,000, 900 900 Is
the gross business involved In the
diversion of 100000 gallons Of in
dustrial alcohol to the bootleg
trade"
The total use Of Industrial alcohol
was $4,000 a year in 1926 and
only 68,000,000 in 1924. Buckner
told of reducing alcohol diversions
in New York city when Lincoln Z.
Andrews, dry car, sent 81 new in
spectoFs to New York city to watch
10 denaturing plants. These new
inspectors merely stood around in
the denaturing plants for two
months, without interfering, but
merely observing"
Big Leak Checked
THE output of those denaturing
plants-13 in number in New York
and Northumberland 100000
gallons a month. There was no
tnterference--nothing except to have
those Fl men stand there.
That was reduction of $500 900
gallons a year or split three ways
for bootleg whiskey, that means TO-"
100000 gallons Of bootleg liquor
year. At SIS quart, that means
these II men by merely standing
around the plants had kept $780,
100000 worth Of bootleg liquor from
reaching the trade. That meant
$lO,OOO,OO0g of liquor stopped by
each agent"
There is a trace OF poison in 98h
per cent of all the bootleg liquor
seized in New York, Buckner said.
Our chemist analysed $4,000 SAM