The Washington times., 1929-02-21
OETENUSE
RAIDS To
FORCE
PAY

NEW HAVEN, Conn, Feb. 71.->s
Unsatisfactory conditions in proliis
bition were described last night by
Johh NJ. Doran, United States Com.
missioner of Prohibition, in the sec
ond of the Dodge lectures at Yale
University on THE Responsibility
of Citizenship"
He asserted that in a large East
ern city a prohibition administrator
told him that more speakeasies
were raided by. the police for fall
ure to pay graft than because Of
liquor violations.
He insisted that there had been
comparatively little cooperation by
local and State authorities with the
service, referred to conditions in.
Chicago and Philadelphia, and de.
clared that only cooperation be.
tween all classes Of society would
achieve success for prohibition.
Local Opposition
Commissioner Doran said:
I'm some communities we not
only fail to receive cooperation
from the local officials, but in many
instances they have offered hearty
opposition. One of the prohibition
administrators, whose headquarters
is in a large Eastern city, told me
that he was of the opinion that in
the last year more speakeasies were
raided by the local police for fail
ure TO pay graft than for the fact
that. they were obviously violating
the State law as well as the FederG
law.
1T seems to me that the esser
tial distinction as to the functio.
Of the Federal and local goevrnmen
is strictly lost sight of in publ
discussions relating to enforcement
conditions. Assertions with respe,
to enforcement or nonenforceHnen
of prohibition range all the wa.
from ordinary muddy thinking t.
the condition Grover Cleevland re
ferred to as sclotted ignorance.
Federal Job Well Done
'T assert that the Federal Cox
eminent, by, and large, has sub
stantially fulfilled its obligation
under the concurrent clause of the
Eighteenth Amendment in the ad
ministration of the national pro
hibition act and supplemental
statutes. that in it's proper sphere
of action it has brought about note
worthy accomplishments.
Unsatisfactory conditions still
obtaining in some localities are due
almost without exception to the
abject failure of local authority to
assume its proper obligation and
to enforce the criminal law.
In some cities, corrupt political
machines. through the police de.
partment, made an unholy alliance
with the underworld, and con.
tributed in no small degree to the
building up Of Illicit liquor rings"
After laying the blame for non.
enforcement of prohibition outside
Of the prohibition enforcement
service and citing failures OF State
and municipal authorities to cooper.
ate with the Federal Government,
Commissioner Doran said:
Dry Unit Clean
There is much talk about cor
ruption in the Federal service. Let,
me say that at no time has the
Federal Government failed to take
drastic measures to maintain
clean service. and, at the present
time, the Federal Bureau Of Pro-
hibition, of which have personal
knowledge through its field agents,
Is as clean as any body Of men
of like number in any service
throughout the land. r
Recent disclosures OF conditions
in police departments in some Of our.
large cities ehould be enlightening to
the general public, as to where some
of the weaknesses in enforcement
lie.
"a great public service is being
rendered by Judge Monaghan in
Philadelphia in disclosing corruption
in the police force with respect to
its handling Of the local liquor situa.
ton in that city. This fearless
States attorney, formerly on the
bench. has exposed conditions that
have shaken the police department to
the bottom.
Captains and police officials, who
have accumulated large bank &C.
counts running up into the hundreds
of thousands of dollars on salaries of
jail.
Quack Remedies Hit
Judge Swanson, the new States
attorney of Cook County, is out to
break organized crime and extortion
in Chicago.
In my judgment, there is no
quack remedy dealing with super.
ficial symptoms that will change the
situation over night. People who
are spending their time and energy
on such quest would do we'll to
inform themselves first on the prob
lem. No mans opinion on a specific
subject is worth any more than the
amount Of information he may pos
sess on the same subject"