Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-22
Howell of Nebraska Declares
President Could Stop
Local Liquor Traffic.
SAYS WILL is LACKING
TO HAVE ENFORCEMENT
Also Contends Transportation Of
Diplomatic Drinks Is Viola.
tion of Law.

A suggestion that the President
take hand in the enforcement of pro
hibition in Washington through the
power his ofiice gives him over District
off1c1als was advanced on the floor of
the Senate yesterday afternoon by Sen.
ator Howell, Republican, of Nebraska.
we are not willing to go as far as
necessary to enforce the eighteenth
amendment" Senator Howell said.
There is no question about it. En-
forcement can be brought about. en-
forcement in the City of Washington
can be effected. The President can
dismiss any official in the City of
Washington. because such officials are
MS appcintees or are appointees of the
President.
Could Get Action.
"In my opinion. if the President
called the Commissioners of the District
of Columbia before him and said. u
have secret service officials at nv com
mard. If they discover something
here in connection with the violation
OF the prohibition law before you dis
cover it, you are out there is no ques-
ton about what the result would be.
There could be one city in the Country.
that could be cleaned up"
Senator Howell also discussed the
question Of diplomatic immunity for
liquor intended for foreign embassies
advancing the argument that any COM
mon carrier transporting such liquor
would be subject to confiscation. Re
ferrlng to the transportation of diplo.
matte liquor, Senator Howell said:
Il think it was in 1928 that the At
torney General handed down an opin-
ion that whereas liquor in the hands of
diplomatic officials could not be seized,
that II liquor were consigned to a dip
lomattc official it did not relieve it from
the right Of seizure and that any COM
mon carrier that transported that lio-
uor would be subject to confScation
under the law.
Position of Carriers.
+ I'm most of those cases the liouor
that came to the Siamese legation or
that has been delivered to other lega-
tons here was transported by COM
mon carrier. IN the case of the inn
portation of liquor to the Siamese Ie-
CATION I find the name Of the steam
ship that brought it in the United
States, and that it had to cross the
three-mile limit, that portion Of the
sea which Is a part of the United
States, and therefore that steamship
was subject TO confiscation for trans
porting the liquor through that zone.
Has the Department Of Justice done
dLylIllIlS dDOuL 1tS
Again, have the name of the truck
ing firm that hauled that liquor to
Washington. It does not make any
difference that a diplomatic oficial or
an employe of one of our embassies
here in the city was sitting beside the
driver of that truck. 1t was subject to
confiScation under the decision of the
Attorney General.
The reason why this sort of thing
is not stopped is because there is not
the will to stop it."
President All Powerful.
Earlier in his speech. referring to law
enforcement in the District, Senator
Howell declared "tne President of the
United States is all powerful In the
City of Washington. He appoints the
oficials of the city and under the law
he can remove those officials when he
sees At, no matter if they must be ap-
proved by the Senate upon appoint
ment. If he insisted upon their en-
forcing the law or leaving their offices,
they and the police force under them
would enforce the law"
The question before the Senate while
Senator Howell was speaking was an
amendment in the tariff bill having to
do with the responsibility that should
be placed on the owners and masters of b
vessels to prevent the use of their ships
for the bringing Of narcotics into the
United States. Senator Howell'S speech
dealt mainly with that subject. but dur
ing the discussion he turned his at
tention to prohibition enforcement in
Washington.