Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-25
fcontinued From First page.)

=
gated from time to time to the secre-
tary, of the Treasury with an utter
absence of logic or sound reason.
But, regardless of what the experts
say, the reader viii want to know the
why" of the proposal to centralize pro-
hibition enforcement authority some
where else than in the Treasury De.
partment.
The why" as I see 1t is that with
responsibility divided as it Is at present,
there is no way for the President, Con-
gress, or the people to put q finger on
the weak spot in enforcement. Even
this discussion Of mine, showing 0p
weaknesses in efforts 50 far, although
I have tried to make 1t definite, is
bound to leave the reader with feeling
Of, well, to whom can I look to clean
out politics from dominating United
vice standards for agents, compel CO.
ordination of border forces, tighten up
on permits, and improve regulations?"
And the answer now is, "A dozen differ
ent people" The result Is constant buck
passing between them so fast that a
person gets as dizzy trying TO secure
improvements as though watching q
toe dancer whirl. The heads Of the
prohibition unit, Customs Service, Coast
Guard Service, and the Prosecution d.
vision in the Department Of Justice
spend much Of their time saying, in
effect, 1T wasn't I. IL was the other
fellow who fell down on the JOB and let
the bootleggers slip through"
Not More Money But Better Men.
No great additional sum of money is
needed to improve prohibition enforce
ment. There Is plenty Of man power,
thought not all Of the right kind. But
the man power isn't made to work to
the best advantage. For instance, there
are six separate investigation units CT
the Treasury Department, besides one
in the Post once Department, one In
the immigration Service, and one in the
Department Of Justice. II they were
made to work together In the right way,
with the proper exchange Of informa-
ton and personnel, there would be
more of the Remus type Of bootlegger
caught and convicted-the men at the
head of the big liquor rings.
Right in the Treasury Department It
self. there is a scattering Of responsible.
ity that encourages "buck-pasSing" when
anything goes wrong with prohibition
enforcement. The Secretary Of the
Treasury necessarily must occupy most
of his time with the financial affairs Of
the country. II he Is really wrestling
with problems Of international finance.
prohibition is bound to hit his blind
spot!
The real solution Of the enforcement
problem is to secure the close grouping
and proper coordination Of the various
evidence collecting branches Of the
Treasury Department with the prescott
ing agencies under the Department OF
Justice. There should be one head TO
determine policies. 1t doesn't have TO
be the Department Of Justice, but GER
tainly control should be centralized
somewhere.
Plugging the Alcohol Leak.
It is essential that bootleggers be
cut of from their supply Of industrial
or specially denatured alcohol. Prev
ously, I have stated In detail what the
alcohol leak amounts to, and how It
can be plugged by rewriting regu'a-
lions and tightening UP on permits.
That the leak Is q big one and that 1t
can be stopped Is amply proved by the
work of Maj. Chester p. Mills, former
prohibition administrator Of the metro
politan district Of New York, He re-
signed, he said. because political in
fluence disrupted his force and his work
tl1C bCCO 0AA0 AAAOSS
practicable plan to make the eighteenth
amendment effective" which won the
s25. 900 Durant prize award, Maj. Mills
said:
I'm March, 1925. the withdrawal by
such alcohol permit holders In the sec
ond Federal district was $50, 900 gallons
Of specially denatured alcohol q month.
BY increasing vigilance and supervision
Of the activities Of these permittees:
their number was materially decreased
and this volume was reduced within a
month, a reduction Of 100000 gol'ons o
ronttl. re7re.sntins alcohol previously
diverted into Illegal channels"
When the alcohol leak Is plugged,
there will be vastly less bootlegging In
the United States Of America than there
Is at present.
Another method Of improving prohi-
bition enforcement will be to cut OF the
flow Of LIQUOR from Canada and other
points outside the United States. First,
it will be necessary to convince the
Canadian authorities Of the honest In
and integrity Of our own ofh-
cials, in order to secure more effective
aid from Canada. A good start has
been made in recent changes in the
Customs Service at Detroit. Second. 1t
will be necessary to- strengthen our
border patrol.
There are now two patrol organi-
cations which might be co-ordinated or
There Is q border patrol
operating under the commissioner Of
customs In the Treasury Department.
Of TOO men. This service is
and decentralised, operat-
ing in local units under the political
Of the various collectors of
customs.
There is another unit under the
Secretary of Labor known as the inmi-
grafton border patrol. It consists of 400
men and operates under the direct
supervision Of the Commissioner of I'M
migration. A consolidated border pa
troll, or one co-ordinated by q capable
familiar with the border
liquor situation, and working with the
Department Of Justice, could greatly
essen the smuggling of liquor into the
United States.
Civil Service Personnel Needed.
The fifth step toward making prohi-
oition enforcement effective Is complete
elimination Of political appointees from
The enforcement organization. AS long
Is one-third Of the prohibition force Is
made up Of people who have not quail.
led under proper Civil Service examina-
ions, and political pull and influence
Are instrumental in keeping dishonest,
unframed or stupid men in the service,
here will be little possibility of the kind
II enforcement that Is required.
Securing Civil Service qualifications
las not been wholly free from political
influence. One Western attorney failed
IN the character examination for OBJ.
'ious reasons. After o number Of politi- |
al forces, including q dry Senator, had |
pleaded for him, he was reinstated and |
given q grade Of 99-the highest on |
'ecordi The first grading was correct. |
50 politics must be kept away from the |
Jivil Service Commission, and stand.
.rds for Civil Service qualifications ma |
erially raised.