Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-28
|DORAH THREATENS
DRY FORCE PROBE
Idaho Senator Says Office Is
Under Observation by
U. S. Agents.
Continued From First Page.)

ing Republican on the House judiciary
committee, said the Supreme Court hac
held it could not say the one-half of
per cent determined by the prohibition
statutes as the maximum alcoholic con-
tent Of beverages was inadequate, ir
view of the legislation already passed
Dyer has said Congress had the author
ity to raise the per cent to 2.75, as that
percentage was not intoxicating
After Celler finished in the House,
Representative Oliver, Democrat, Ala
bama, commended the staPd taken by
the Attorney General
I'm writing that letter." Oliver con-
tinued, Mitchell has rendered a dis
tinct service to the American people,"
In response to questions from Rep
reSentative La Guardia, Republican,
New York, and Representative Celler,
Oliver said he thought that the posi-
ton taken by Mitchell should be
adopted by heads of other governmental
departments and city judges.
Representative Mas, Republican, of
Minnesota, said, "The fact that Mitchell
has to warn against district attorneys,
assistant district attorneys and United
States marShals drinking, and thereby
patronizing the very bootleggers they
are prosecuting, is, indeed, sad COM
mentary on prohibition"
He added Mitchells statement did
not apply in st. Paul, because Lew
Drill is a total abStainer, am glad to
say" Mas also said the Mitchell posi-
ton would have barred Representative
James M. Beck of Pennsylvania from
the Office of solicitor general he vacated
to enter Congress.
ut Is hopeful sign, however" he
continued, that the Attorney General
has the courage to expose this condi-
ton
Representative Williamson, Repub-
lican, of South Dakota approved Mitch
ellis stand, saying:
"All Acknowledgement officers should
be in agreement with the laws they
enforce"
Denial that Department of Justice
agents had inquired into the conduct
OF Herbert, administrator in Montana,
or had watched the Office of Senator
Borah or any member of Congress, was
made In statement today by Attorney
General Mitchell.
Some one has been misleading
Senator Borah," the Attorney General
said.
mo Department of Justice agent or
employe has watched or followed SEN
ator Borah or any other member Of
Congress" the Attorney General said.
ANY sort of espionage upon members
of Congress or their offices by &his de-
partment is unthinkable and utterly re-
pugnant to the sense of propriety Of
every official in this department"
Il think in fairness to this depart
ment he should disclose the name of
that person. I have sent j. E. Hoover,
director of the Bureau of Investigation
of this department. to state these facts
to the Senator and to ask his aid in
nnd1ng who Is masquerading as De-
parment of Justice agent"
Representative Schafer of Wisconsin,
a wet and a member of the committee
on expenditures, moved today again to
have DR.. Clarence True Wilson and
Scott Mcbride, head of the Anti Saloon
League, called before the committee to
discuss prohibition enforcement. His
motion was lost, however. Chairman
Williamson insisted that the committee
was not going into the merits or de-
merits of prohibition and that it was
to strengthen the enforcement Of the
law.
Wickersham Letter.
The Wickersham letter to Repre-
sentative Dyer said, in part:
You may remember that in one of
the cases which went to the Supreme
Court Of the United States, very large
amount Of evidence was educed by the
plaintiffs who were represented by ex-
Senator Root and William D. Guthrie
of the New York Bar, to show that no
beverage could be intoxicating that had
less than 2.T5 per cent Of alcohol. The
Supreme Court, however, held that that
was purely legislative question. They
could not say that one-half Of / per
cent was so grossly inadequate that a
court could hold that the Legislature
might not. in the exercise of its dis
erection, fix 1t as the maximum amount
which it was safe to permit as the
criterion of intoxication My recollec-
ton is that the opinion Of the court was
unanimous, although I am not sure of
this. am writing from memory. But
the real point is that the opinion of
the Supreme Court was that the whole
question was within the competency of
Congress and that the court would not
undertake to overrule the exercise of
its discretion. That being the law, as
established by our highest court, it
seems to me that it would be imprac-
ticable for this commission to attempt
to re-examine that question. I will sub
NIT your letter to the commission, which
is to meet here on February S, but in
the meantime I simply call your atten-
ton to this decision and to what seems
to me personally the necessary conse-
quences Of It,"
Dyer's Statement.
Mr.. Dyer issued a statement, in which
he said:
1.-THE letter from Mr.. Wickersham
would indicate that I did not make
myself clear in my letter to him of
January rs. The point I desired to
bring out in that letter was whether or
not law enforcement, so far as the pro-
hibition question is concerned, would be
benefited by changing the prohibition
enforcement act so as to permit the
manufacture and sale of a beverage
with an alcoholic content of 2.75 per
cent by weight. The point was based
upon the belief in my mind that the
prohibition act could be changed in
that effect without violation of the
eighteenth amendment.
I was anxious to secure from the
Wickersham commission a report
whether ATS per cent by weight in bev-
erage was intoxicating and then
whether the authorization by Congress
OF change in the law would assist our
Government to enforce prohibition"
Mr.. Dyer added that he did not think
the decision OF the Supreme Court, cited
by Mr.. Wickersham, touched either lof
these questions. He said that if the Law
Enforcement Commission did not take
up this question he would ask the chair
man of the judiciary committee of the
House to have public hearing on this
phase Of the question.
Urges Big Fund.
Provision by Congress of a minimum
appropriation Of $300.0o0,00 for prohi-
in letter to House judiciary subcon1-
mittee by Henry H. Curran, president
of the Association Against the Prohi-
bition Amendment, in thanking the
group for an invitation to appear and
present testimony.