Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-11

Assistant Engineer commissioner hugn
by small boys.
of weakness in enforcement, was that
the amounts of alcohol that permittees
could handle monthly were greatly en-
larged, and In many instances made
unlimited. Alcohol manufacturing plants
are given the right to make unlimited
quantities of alcohol. These plants are
not bootlegging concerns by any means,
but they are making all the alcohol
that they can sell, and the amount that
they can sell is increasing daily at an
alarming rate, away beyond the rea-
sonable growth of businesses and trades
that need alcohol for legitimate pur-
poses. Witness how some alcohol manu-
featuring stocks have Sky-rocketed on
the stock exchanges; note also the in
creased imports Of sugar for alcohol
factories.
Investment bankers. in advertising
an issue Of securities Of an industrial
alcohol company. included IN their
prospectus the following:
Commercial alcohol plays a vital
part as a solvent or base In industrial
alchemy. and likewise in the manu-
facture of dyes, glass. ink, drugs, paint,
perfumes, Aims and hundreds OF other
essential products. the demand for
which is constantly increasing.
such is the background OF the
steadily expanding market for the COM
mercial alcohol industry, which In the
United States has grown from an an
nual production Of 100000 gallons in
1906 to more than 100000 gallons
in 1928"
Would it be unfair to the legitimate
alcohol companies. anxious to keep
legitimate business. to restrict the
amount they can manufacture to some
figure reasonably near the actual needs
of the country?
Suggests Survey.
In nv Judgment one of the most i'm
portant steps TO stop the largest source
Of liquor supply in the country today
is for the Commerce Department or
some other disintereSted agency to md
ont how much alcohol is really needed
to meet actual industrial demands, and
then limit the issuance Of permit priv
leses to figures reasonably near Such
needs. To deliberately grant so many
privileges where liquor can flow in I'M
limited amounts just means increasing
proportionately the number OF inspec-
tors to watch how the privileges are
used. But no such increases in the
inspectors forces have been made. 1t
would have been simpler to have with
held these grants. To trace leaks mas
become vellnigh hopeless. The Gov
ernment's policy has been like pouring
BIB shot on the floor with one mana
and irving to pick it up with the other.
I'm not inferring that all permittees
are dishonest. Far from 1t. But the
honest ones are put at a disadvantage
by the weakened policy of too easy
grant of permits. They should not be
subjected to the competition OF NY
by-night" concerns. There Is every
economic reason that old firms with
established reputation will use Gov
eminent privileges most fairly. They
should be given first chance. Allowing
newly organized firms to have these
permit rights should be done
very infrequently. Some lawyers IN
the Treasury Department have Justlned
their "yes-yes" policy by saying that
the prohibition law gives the commits
sioner no power to say mo" to appli-
cants for permit privileges unless they
are found to be actually convicted law
breakers I do not so construe the
law. The only way any law can be
made certain is to have the courts
speak on it. have urged. literally
begged. prohibition officials yearly since
1922 to refuse applications and let the
applicants sue. have looked with
eagerness to the chance thus to clarity
the limits of discretionary powers OF
the Treasury Department In such mat
tiers. But the prohibition ONCE has
said mo" so seldom that only one case
raising the question has reached the
Supreme Court Of the United States
in the whole 10 years OF enforcement
It was the case of the Making
Products Co., 271 U. S., 479. where the
court observed. Here plainly the re-
fusal of the permit involved no error
of law"
Easy to Obtain Liquor Now.
What I'm emphasizing is that this
too liberal grant of special permits
has created big source of liquor sup
by in the United States today. 1t Is
easy to obtain liquor now. The public
believes that enforcement has broken
down. The conditions might be quite
different If a sturdy policy Of restric-
ton of special permits had been stead
lily maintained from the first.
Permits are no longer issued In
but the formulate for
these specially denatured alcohol privi-
leges are subject to approval at Wash
ington. In the reorganization OF the
last year and since civil service ratings
have been required some courageous
administrators have been wrestling
valiantly with the permit situation in
their respective districts. Their task
is no easy one. for. although they
may say mo" to the loose issuance
of a new permit, most of them took
charge of districts where far too many
permits were already in existence. 1t
is a much harder job under the law
to revoke privilege once given, upon
which the citizen may be able to show
a large outlay, than 1t Is to prevent
his securing the Government sanction
to handle alcohol In the beginning.
Ons Leak Plugged.
To illustrate: In Philadelphia there
functions as prohibition administrator,
Col. Samuel o. Wynne, one of the
ablest men in the entire service. He
inherited a whole flock of malodorous
out-and-out diverters of alcohol from
former halcyon days for alcohol rack
eteers in the City of Brotherly Love.
when permits were evidently doled out
with prodigal hand. He is reducing
the flow of alcohol in his district very
materially.
Frequently agents are called upon for
a high degree of courage in curbing
these powerful permittees. On De-
cember IL, 1925, two investigators, Leo
Conner and Andrew Quigley, with
whom have come into close personal
contact with the result that holo