Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-11
ALCOHOL DIVERSION
BIG LIQUOR SOURCE
Mrs. WiIlebrandt Would
Check Supply by More
Rigid Permit Laws.
Continued From First Page)

or UdSUe was SaIlSIleQ WIN the cheaper
article. There may be, and probably
Washington now than before prohibit
ton. But the basic condition always
existed. The only difference being that
in the old days it attracted little
attention.
Methods Of securing alcohol with
which to supply thirsty populace are
as ingenious as they are numerous.
Some time ago drug concern located
In a sparsely populated town in Texas,
secured the release on permits for
medicinal use Of 200 barrels of Jamaica
ginger. Jamaica ginger is 90 per cent
alcohol. Two hundred barrels Of 1t
would take care of quite a stable
quantity of old-fashioned dummy
aches''-many more than would be
likely to occur in sparsely populated
Texas community! The fact is OBJ
vious that such an immense quantity
Of the ready could not have any
legitimate medicinal distribution by any
one drug concern In any one small
locality.
Biggest Leak Of All.
IN my honest Judgment the great
est single source of liquor supply today
is alcohol diverted Illegally from con-
Germs bearing the stamp Of respecta-
bility In the form of a Government
permit.
Long before national prohibition the
Government authorized certain indus
tries such as paint factories, dye and
chemical plants, manufacturers Of per-
fume, etc, to withdraw tax-free alcohol
for use In the preparation of such prod
ucts. Under the existing law these in
dustries are still permitted to with
draw alcohol with no restriction other
than regulations promulgated by the
Treasury Department.
maintain, and have from my ex-
perience for years, that these regula-
tons stop far short of the proper legal
control necessary to keep industrial
alcohol from being the chief source
Of the Illicit cocktail supply.
Let no one make the mistake Of as
Stunning that I would hamper, harrass,
or even make unduly difficult the con-
duct Of legitimate business which needs
alcohol. But making the regulations
which govern Its use, crisp. definite,
and as restrictive as the law permits.
would safeguard legitimate business. It
would hamper only the illegitimate con-
to divert alcohol These latter all d.
vert through the well-known ruse of
shipments via cover houses" cover
house" is to the alcohol racketeer what
fence" is to a thief. Let me IL
lustrate. The dishonest permittee, I'M
der present regulations. is obliged only
to show in his office letter or some
other form of confirmation of the sale
Of his products. Government inspec-
tors take a list of the places where the
permittee's files indicate that his prod
ucts have gone.
"None Of Your Business"
Now I will cite an actual incident
Inspectors found that Permittee IA
shipped $4,000 gallons of highly alco-
holic "Carnation Perfume" to TX" The
inspectors went to see *" They asked,
Did you receive $4,000 gallons of car
nation perfume from Permittee AZ"
looked about but TX" had apparently
only rented room. a desk and a tele-
phone. They asked to see where the
$4,000 gallons of "Carnation Perfume"
was. *" replied. But it's none of
your - business where it Is or what
have done with it." And the tragic
fact is. that so far as prohibition en-
forcement is concerned under the reg
ulations as now written, 1t wasn't any
of the business Of the inspectors to fol-
low the product to its ultimate DISPOSE
ton. Nor can the inspectors who have
plainly run into lie return and charge
the original permittee "A" with dere-
LECTION of his duty or revoke his permit
for sending $4,000 gallons of "Carna-
~Sn0 Perfume" to this fake establish
ment. These fake establishments with
a set-up as ostensible consignees, are
what IS known as cover houses"
In my legal opinion the regulations
could be so drawn as to drive these
cover houses" practically out OF bust
ness. To do it would, however mean
standing firm against a tremendous lot
Of pounding from the organized drive
Of thousands Of pernittees with heavy
political influence. 1 know this, be-
cause repeatedly my office has recon-
mended legal changes in the regula- :
tons.
The Alcohol Lobby.
] remember specially the fate of our
recommendations about two years ago
They were we'll received by DR.. Doran
commissioner, and highly capable
chemist and other Treasury officials,
and we all practically agreed upon the
details. But our puny legal beginnings
Of improvement in the regulations were
exposed to the blighting political in
huence of the alcohol trade. Resolu-
tons against the proposed changes
which 1 didn't know any one but our
two Government departments had SEEN
began to pour in. Lobbyists came to
my Office alleging that was exerting a
malignant influence over the Treasury
Department. Drug associations, alcohol
lobbyists, the patent medicine group.
all appeared. Finally the regulations
came out without the proposed changes
The Improvements had died a-borning.
Every permittee, when he makes ap-
plication under the law, asks the Gov
eminent for a privilege. 1t is a valua-
BILE privilege. He expects to make
money out of it. To get that privilege
he enters into a contract with his Gov
eminent. In my Judgment the Gov
eminent has a perfect right to require
as a condition to his receiving this
valuable privilege a considerable de-
and to whom he will sell his products.
There Is no reason why before per-
rnittee "A" above mentioned ships the
$4,000 gallons of "carnation perfume"
with high alcohol content to "X' he
should not by contract agree to let the
Government into the secret of ks" re-
quest for the consignment.
In an attempt to prevent the diver
sion of alcohol, treasury regulations pre-
scribe that IL be treated by certain
formula of denaturants which are sup
posed to make 1t undrinkable. For
some uses the alcohol must be what is
termed specially denatured" and for
other uses completely denatured." Lit
tie trouble comes from misuse Of the
latter, which is either nauseous or
poisonous. Much of the specially. de-
natured" alcohol, however, is suscepti-
bic to manipulation whereby the de-
maturing products may be eliminated.
Gen. Andrews Regime.
Crooked permittees naturally prefer
the specially denatured" type. Great
pressure is exerted on every admini-
stretor to o. K. more and more, and