Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-15

enforcement of the prohibition law
against members of Congress and those
VINO supply them with liquor to the
same extent and with the same degree
of diligence as against any private citi-
zen and his source of Illicit liquor. I
believe to so enforce 1t would command
respect.
Congressmen Who Sheer at Law.
have found. however. a curious i'm
preston or state Of mind among men,
bers of Congress and other Government
officials that they are above and beyond
the ambitions of the prohibition law.
Their attitude would be amusing If 1t
were not so tragic in its effect upon
the great mass of people who abhcr
the hypocrisy manifested by dry-wet
officials There is no legal foundation
for extending freedom of the port" or
special privileges of that. character to
Congressman returning from abroad.
Yet only within the past few months a
Congressman wrote to the Undersecre-
tary of the Treasury requesting freedom
of the port on his return to the United
States. and the request was granted.
The customs collector at the port OF
entry was told by his superiors in Wash
ington to extend the usual customs
courtesies and free entry privilege" to
the Congressman.
When Representative Michaelson,
another whose case brought freedom
of the port" into the public attention,
landed from abroad he declared IA
pieces of baggage. He was accom-
panied by four other people, one of
whom declared three pieces of baggage
and the other six. Although the Rep
resentative was granted free entry
privileges without examination of his
baggage at the time of landing. he was
asked if he had any liquor. and he re-
piled that he did not. OF the nine
trunks brought in. three were checked
to Washington and six to another des-
tination, from which they were re-
checked to still another point. Before
they were reShipped from the first
and seized. One trunk contained moth
ing but barrel of rum. the interior
of the trunk having been cut SO that
the barrel rested neatly in hole in
the tray made for that purpose. One
trunk. which was found to be empty.
was likewise seemingly cut evidently. to
accommodate a key Of the same size.
No doubt key had been in this trunk.
but had been stolen by some one en-
route A third trunk contained wear
ing apparel, in which were packed IL
bottles of assorted liquors. and there
was the remains of another bottle
which had been broken. It was this
broken bottle which attracted attention
to the trunk and caused the seizure.
Hypocrisy Prohibitions Enemy.
A few days after the seizure the Rep
resentative came to the offices of the
head of the prohibition unit in Wash
ington and demanded release of the
fy,,v,Lc Thn frffokc FoInQCQ hIIf
the liquor was retained as evidence.
The Representative was indicted. but
recently received an acquittal from the
jury in Florida. He denied knowledge
that the trunks contained liquor. On
the other hand, his brother-in-law,
who had been member of the party
entering the port, testified that the
trunks seized belonged to him and an
other member Of the party, and not to
the Representative. He refused, how
ever. to answer questions which might
incriminate him." He is now awaiting
trial.
In another case involving q Repre-
sentative entering the port of New
York the members of the grand jury
of the southern district of New York
made a statement from which Gull the
following:
I'VE regard it as un-American and
contrary to the fundamental principle
of equality before the law that any citi-
zen, merely because he is congressman
or other official, should be exempted
from inspection of baggage or from the
operation Of law or departmental regu-
lations, while others who are merely
part Of the plain people are required to
submit thereto. On the contrary, public
officials should be the first to set the
example Of scrupulous acceptance and
observance of the burdens of the law.
While under the technical rules Of the
criminal law and in view Of the nom
examination Of the baggage following
the grant of free entry, criminal pros
ecution may not be possible in this case,
nevertheless an official who prevented
examination of baggage by claim of
free entry and by threat of causing
trouble in Washington cannot complain
of consequences when weighed in the
forum of public opinion"
think that every citizen, whether
wet or dry, will agree with that state
ment of principle. Until politicians are
made to obey the laws which they en-
act we cannot expect respect for the