Evening star., 1928-12-27
CRITICS STILL HIT
At DURANT AWARD
"Travesty Upon Justice" and
"OId Stuff" Are Comments
Aimed at Mills Prize.

nlbltlOn bureau, ana a contestant loI
the 5000, today dispatched to w. c.
Durant, the donor, a tart letter, charg-
ing the award committee with "ignor-
ance," and declaring the award to Maj
Chester P. Mills to be "a traveSty upon
justice, and an insult to the intelli-
gence of people familiar with the facts.
The prize plan presented by the for
mer prohibition administrator from
New York was sharply criticized by
Spates. In the final analysis Spates
said it was nothing more or less than
a statement of conditions as they exist
ed In New York City when Maj. Mills
left the service about two years ago
without any regard for conditions in the
balance of the United States"
At the same time, Dr. James M
Doran, prohibition commissioner, who
sharply scored the Mills plan yeSter-
day as "old stuff" came out with
warm praise of the educational program
proposed by Malcolm D. Almack, Cali
forria high school boy which won the
$4,000 school prize in the Durant COM
petition and said he should have gotten
the S25,000 The boys educational
plan had much merit, DR.. Doran said
dAtel GdIclully peIuSlng IL.
Spates Cites disappointment"
SpateS expressed disappointment" al
the award to Mills. not, as he said, be-
cause as contestant he failed to get
the prize, but that the award should
so plainly show the ignorance of facts
as they exist today both on the part
OF the committee and the prize winner .
Do vino so II dim f4 Hoi Iie
With whom the writer Is personally
acquainted" SpateS told Durant that
lit must be admitted upon analysis OF
his paper that there Is not a con-
structive thought looking to the future
preservation of the eighteenth amend
ment." The Mills plan, Spates charged
was grossly unfair to the Bureau OF
Prohibition as it now exists" explain
ing, every suggestion made in this
paper has long since been put into
effect with more or less success within
the limits Of the appropriations.
Every official and employe of the
bureau" charged Spates, has Just
cause to resent the whole of the
article written by Maj Mills and the
action Of the committee in awarding a
prize to a paper that does not contain
one constructive suggestion, in thu
light of the facts as they now exist"
Comment from other sources was
mostly critical of the Mills proposal.
Sees Gold Brick Bought.
"Durant has purchased a gold brick,
declared James P. McGovern, counsel
for the Industrial Alcohol Institute and
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
.Lowman said that Mills plan was
largely enforced at the present time >
While no Government official con-
nected with prohibition enforcement
praised Maj. Mills suggestions, not all
of the comment was critical. Senator
Capper of Kansas said that taking the
enforcement of the Volstead act out oi
politics is highly important" He added
that. Mills was dead right on that
point"
Other Comments.
=. Other comments gathered by the AS
ISOLATED Press follow:
Andrew j. Volstead: maj Mills
(winner of the Durant $25,00 prize for
a program of prohibition enforcement)
is entitled to a good deal of credit fol
not proposing a reorganization of the
service. The prohibition forces have
been organized almost to death. 1t has
been the bane of the service almost
from the very start.
IF understand Maj. Mills position
it is that the main difficulty with pro-
hibition enforcement is that Illicit
liquor comes from pure or denaturec
alcohol or other prepared liquors, di-
verted from legitimate to illegal uses.
THAT has not been the case in this
section for more than year. Nearly
all the illicit liquor sold here is the
product of moonshiners. Practically
none is imported or made from de-
natured alcohol.
Maj. Mills suggestions along other
lines do not impress me as particularly
new. The Prohibition Bureau has been
doing nearly everything suggested by
him in his plan"
Campbell's Comment.
Maurice Campbell, successor to Ches-
ter P. Mills as prohibition administrator
of New York district: Maj. Mills has
merely written history" Campbell said
IT am not going into long story, but
I do want to give credit to Gen. An
drewS, former Assistant Secretary OF
the Treasury. This plan of Mills has
always been In operation since An
drewS' time"
Prohibition Administrator Edward r
Bonner of Southern California and
Nevada: Mai Mills has formed his
conclusions from the narrow New York
circle in which he worked" said Bonner
"It is a foolish plan for a universal
prohibition enforcement policy. because
it applies to one small section only.
Here in California and in Detroit,
Mich, the problem deals with SNUG
Cling and with illicit liquor distilling.
Maj Mills makes no mention or these
problems. What good will his plan do
here--here. where we have no INDUS
trial alcohol problem?"
DR.. Ernest H. Cherrington. general
secretary of the World League Against
Alcoholism: MIR. Durant has made a
real contribution toward the solution OF
the beverage alcohol problem by his
offer of $25,000 for the best and most
practical plan to make the eighteenth
amendment effective. The fact that
more than $4,000 manuscripts were sub
mitted indicated that his offer inspired
serious consideration of all the phases
of the problem on the part OF vast
numbers of the American people.
&"Mai. Mills, who received the prize,
nointed out a very important factor In
enforcement The necessity Of reducing
to the minimum the diversion OF indus
trial alcohol, for beverage purposes.
There is no doubt that such diversion
has been one of the serious difficulties
In the way of enforcement in the past.
1.-THE Federal prohibition unit, how
ever. has made remarkable headway
toward solution of this phase. Of the
problem during the last IL months.
Nevertheless, there Is much yet to be
done along the line suggested by MAJ.
Mills.
while not In any sense minimizing
the importance Of the stopping OF tne
diversion of industrial alcohol for bev-
erage purposes, it is difficult to conceive
Of any adequate plan to make the eight
eenth amendment effective which does
not include as factor Of major. i'm
portance the molding of public opinion
or, oil lnhases of this very impOrtant