Evening star., 1928-12-16
BASIS
FOR new DRY ACT
Starts Special Report for
Subcommittee-Says Pres
ent Law "ToothIess."

MAJ. EDWIN b. deSSe, superintendent
of police, started preparation yesterday
of a special report for the Gibson sub
committee Of the House, which will con-
tain the foundation Of new prohibi-
ton enforcement act, designed to curtail
the activities Of the 3,000-odd bootleg
gers Prohibition Commissioner James
M. Doran recently estimated are en-
gagged IN the Illicit liquor trafdc in
Washington.
The District, in fact, has no real
prohibition enforcement act now, ,ac-
cording to Mai. Hesse. The law under
which a small liquor enforcement squad
of 3s men IS operating, he said, is a
"toothless" affair which gives the boot
logger more legal rights and safeguards
than any other class Of law violator.
Mai. Hesse's ideas as to what con-
stituJes q virile enforcement act will be
embodied In the report he is writing.
The Gibson committee has promised %
support them, if they are reasonable
and sound, and put them in the form OF
legislation for congressional considera-
ton and action. s~-.--.
Would Make Buyer 4 Felon.
The most potent and effective weapon
Congress can give the Police Depart
ment for enforcement of the prohibition
law, in Mai. Hesses opinion, is legisla-
ton which would put the man VINO
buys LIQUOR in the same category with
the one VINO sells it and charge him
with felony. The Gibson committee.
however, is known to be Somewhat
dubious of the value of such a law.
One of its members, Representative
Gilbert of Kentucky, has expressed the
belief that it probably would be DIM
cult to get jury to convict man OF
a felony who bought pint OF liquor.
Mai. HeSSe Is firmly convinced tnat
no time should be lost in clothing all
members of the Police Department
with authority to enforce the Volstead
act. A force Of 38 men. deputized. as
revenue agents, he admits, cannot. BE-
expected to keep on the trail Of $500
bootleggers.
These SO men, however, have made
quite an enviable record for them
selves, despite the handicaps and OBJ
structions which confront them IN their
work, according to the police super
intendent In the IL months ended
last June 80. he pointed out, they made
6.142 arrests for violations of the Vol
stead law. and seized 25,549 gallons
of illicit liquor, although they: did not
devote full time to prohibition actiyi-
ties.
Says Search Law Defective.
Another change Mai. Hesse intends
to recommend is that the police s.be
given authority to raid place Stls-
pected Of selling liquor without a search
| warrant. Too much time is lost in
procuring a warrant. Maj. .HeSSe said,
and moreover, the search and Seizure
! law has been so construed by the courts
that the United States Commissioner
] will not issue a warrant unless the po-
| lice have absolute evidence that a sale
of liquor has been made in the place
they want to search.
There are other defects in the search
| and seizure law which Maj. HeSSe said
| should be remedied., For instance, he
said, the police recently became suspi-
cious of man who had heavier springs
installed on his automobile, and shad
owed him for several days. Their sus-
picions were rewarded when he drove
the machine out of garage with the
body resting heavily on the newly In
stalled springs. They arrested him and
| found a large quantity of corn liquor
| In the car, but when the case was taken
into court it was dismissed on a techi-
| ca!ity-that the police had failed to
| procure warrant to search the ma
! chine. , s,a~...,
Paddock Provision Advised.
A paddock provision In the existing
enforcement law also would be very
helpful in Maj. Hesses opinion. This
would enable the police to definitely
close speakeasies which are now opened
an hour or two after being raided.
Statistics compiled by the Police De-
partment show that 162 places where
liquor is sold were raided more than
once last year. One of them was raided
four times within. "a hours, and re-
opened each time few hours after the
police had left. 1t is such places as
these that paddock, law would be de-
cidedly effective, according to the police
superintendent.
Shutting off the source Of Washing
tons liquor supply also is. a problem
which Maj. Hesse admits is difieult Of
solution with the small force Of men
who are legally constituted to enforce
the prohibition law. Prohibition COM
missioner Doran has told the Gibson
committee he believes a large quan-
tity of it comes from Southern Mary
land. The only way to stop this
source, the police superintendent de-
clared, is to halt and search every ma
chine crossing the District line from
Maryland, but this cannot be done
legally.
Would Protect Ex-Conyicts. 3
Plumbers and timers vino set up anu
connect stills will be liable to convic-
ton for felony and given at least one
year in the penitentiary. If a proposal
made yesterday to the committee by DR.
E. E. budding, president of the Prison
ers' Relief Society, prevails. -. Z
Washington bootleggers are Offering
ex-convicts employment at substantial
wages. DR.. budding advised the con-
mittee in a letter containing sugeeS
tions for revision of the Districts prN
hibition enforcement law.
1T got so bad that we had to estah
lish a secret entrance to our building
to prevent the bootleggers from getting
hold of our men that We seek to re
FORM DR.. budding wrote. II Think
that one year in a penitentiary for the
first conviction for bootlegging should
become law as quickly as possible and
five for the second conviction. Give the
police all the power they ask and then
If the law Is not enforced, get a new
police force A special judge and
special prosecutor should by all means
be included in the bill"