The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-08-09
DRY AGENTS OF
HIGHER TYPE,
SAYS CRUSADER
Many Crooks and Grafters
Weeded Out, Asserts
Mrs. WiIIebrandt.
Continued From Page Onsl

The youthful agent was terrified.
He began shooting wildly. An Ital-
ian bystander IA wounded. The
agent was arrested. He and his
mother came to my Office begging
the protection of the federal gov
eminent.
Youth Not to Blame
He was wrong. I couldn't legally
defend his official conduct. But
who was to blame - that poor,
frightened, 2~2-year-old boy, with his
life ruined, facing a trial for assault
with intent to kill in a hostile state
or the politically strangled higher
ups who turned him loose with no
preparation except q gun he didn't
know when nor how to use?
The first civil service wedding re-
suited in retaining far more we'll
meaning but dumb men than
those who actually were corrupt.
The force always has needed, and
still needs, systematic and extended
training on such subjects as how 10
gather sufficient evidence legally,
when papers can be seized, when q
defendant should be put under ar
rest, what facts justify the issuance
of q search warrant, and under what
circumstances an agent is justified
in shooting.
There are, Of course, many other
subjects on which instructions
should be given before. q prohibition
agent is allowed to exercise author
ity.
worked hopefully with the train
ing-school plan for months, but
eventually It died in the mire Of
inter-departmental differences Of
opinion, division of authority and
responsibility, and political interior
ence with policies.
Just Newspaper Headlines
The net results were just news
paper headlines that all prohibition
directors would call in agents and
give them four days training! In
the last year some steps have been
taken to train special agents who
work under the assistant prohibi-
blOll 6QAA44llL9ul GJOla GQb Bl4dU I-1O 4AOO
been extended to enough Of the
force to say yet that agents receive
any real training such as is given
in other investigation services.
To place on the rank and file of
prohibition agents all the blame for
past and present unsatisfactory con-
ditions would be wrong. The e
sponsibility must be placed where 1t
belongs-higher UP.
It will take many a day for law
enforcement to recover from the set
back it suffered from General Lin
coin Andrews. I recognize that
many people believe General An
dreWs to have been a martyr to the
prohibition cause. He multiplied
publicity; he created a public pSy-
chology in his own favor; but short
ly after his appointment as general
issimo of prohibition" as he styled
himself, he began to put in Of
fee men who were temperamentally
and in every other way untitled for
the task to which he assigned them.
Two Bad Appointments
Two of his most notorious ap-
pointments were Roscoe Harper,
later tried for conspiracy to issue
illegal alcohol permits at Buffalo,
and Frank Hale. To the latter Gen
eral Andrews gave unlimited con-
troll of the alcohol output in the
whole New York territory.
Hale had been in the service be-
fore, and had been suspended by
the commissioner of internal reve-
nue. after I had stated on four diff
ferent occasions that 1 would not
direct any United States attorney
to conduct a prosecution on evidence
he gathered. because of his unre-
liability.
This opinion was based on facts
reported from our field offices, now
a part of official files, and later
given to a senatorial committee.
Soon after General Andrews as
sumed Office in the treasury de-