Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-08-16
Cost of Drying Up New York
Assailed With Much Satir

American opinion does not unan:-
mouSly applaud thouSand-dollar Gov
eminent champagne parties as a means
OF enforcing prohibition. If there are
those who approve of the methods re-
Gently revealed in the expense accounts
of the dry Sleuths who drank their way
into the confidence of two Broadway
night-club hoSteSSeS, most Of them are
silent. Many comment ironically. but
others object TO the high cost Of this
method of Sleuthing or seriously urge
the Importance of stopping the flow at
the source rather than at the bottle
neck
They never all who drink in a great
cause" philosophers the New York
Times independently, as II views the
scene in which strong hearted and
strong-stomached men welcome the
risks TO which a collector of evidence
III these cases Is exposed" and states
that If the prohibition authorities are
right. there is poison in every illegiti-
mate glass" But the Times is inclined
TO believe that keepers of night clubs
are as easy marks as their clients"
How easily gulled were these charm
ing people. the night-club hoStesSeS of
New York." eXclaimS the ST. Louis
PoSt~DiSpatch independently explain
ing Along come the prohibition agents
representing themselves as big business
men from somewhere out where the
West begins convivial chaps and good
SpenderS and are So accepted without
demur or question. The SleuthS could
have gotten little thrill in freeing such
easy game And the abominable stuff
purveyed in these glamorouS, exclusive
studioS The champagne ut SIS a
quart, we are told. was charged water
lsrN@ .,sffA oil &1NNt FAaN
nuated Scotch and venerable bourbon
were synthetic products fresh from the
laboratNy. Scarcely a shred or a latter
of an illusion left"
Some of the agents" suggests the
Hartford Courant independent Repub-
licanl. apparently decided that ii was
better to secure too much than too little
evidence. In fact. during the course of
their activities they must have acquired
enough evidence to float a fair-Sized
ship Yet ii may readily be assumed
that, generally speaking. the agents
were conscientious In their diSburSe-
mentS. The net result of the
raids will be precisely nothing. even II
convictions are secured against the 1873
individuals indicted. and even ii each
of them Is given the maximum penalty
of $4,000 fine and two years in
prison, Needless to say. the chances
are that conviction will be secured
against relatively few Of them and that
the maximum penalty viii be inflicted
on few or none OF them"
III We are to Judge by the results of
a long series OF less expensive and spec
tacular raids OK this character" accord
ing To the Syracuse Herald tindepend-
enn. the only effect of the present
drive will be to make the vendors of
illegal beverages In the metropolis more
vigilant. or perhaps to turn over part
Of their SurreptitiouS business 10 the less
aTistocratic SpeakeaSies and the boot
Logging agencies"
The uight~ciuh closures according
20 the Moreantown New Dominion GIN
dependent Democradcl, have about
the same effect ON drying up Manhat-
tan Island as the dipping Of few
buckets ot water from the Hudson River
would have on an attempt To dry up the
river channel" The Harrisburg 1ele-
graph independent Republican, says
Experience has shown that every time