Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-27
District Committee Told More
Effective Means of Enforce
ment Here Possible.
QUESTION is RAISED
ON RETURN OF LIQUOR
Attorney General Notes Difference
in Measure and Previous
Draft.

Renewing his opposition to the
search-warrant provision in the Howell
prohibition bill for the District of Co
lumbia. Attorney General Mitchell told
Senator Capper, chairman of the Dis
trict committee, today that efforts to
improve prohibition enforcement at
this time could be better expended in
other ways than by permitting more
drastic searching of private dwellings.
Under existing law warrants to
search private dwellings are issued only
upon evidence of a sale.
In letter to Chairman Capper the
Attorney General also raises a serious
question regarding another section of
the Howell bill, which provides that if
the Government should make an illegal
seizure of liquor it would not be re-
turned to the owner unless proof could
be submitted that it was lawfully
possessed.
Grounds for Warrant.
The Howell bill, as now pending in
the District committee. would permit
the issuance of warrants to search pri-
vate dwellings upon information of the
unlawful presence of q still or that
liquor had been taken to or from a
owelllng. The Attorney General. before
christmas, expressed his belief that
Sucn law would be unwise, but Senator
HoWell decided to retain the proposal in
tue nnal draft of the bill he intro
ouced The District committee referred
tne Howell bill in its final form to Mr..
Mltcnel for comment, and his letter of
tooay emphasizing again his opposition
10 tne search warrant clause was in re-
ply to the request for a report.
the Attorney General recalled that
last November Senator Howell submitted
70 the Department of Justice a Tentative
uratC OF the bill he had in mind. With
tIlat uraft as a basis, the department
drew up proposed local enforcement
act Tor Washington and submitted it to
the District committee the latter part of
December. The Attorney General ex-
planned that Senator Howell's first draft
was used In drawing UP the bill ''in
order to avoid confusion and to bring
about cooperation between those hav-
ing the same purpose--that is, to inn
prove enforcement in the District"
The Attorney General has transmit
ted to Senator Capper a memorandum
showing just how Senator Howelrs bill
differs in its provision from the draft
previously submitted by the Depart
ment of Justice, but he said there were
only two points of difference he desires
to emphasize. Referring to these two
points, the Attorney General wrote SEN
ator Capper as follows
First. In his bill. Senator Howell
has added provision to section 10,
which allows search warrants To isslie
in the District of Columbia to enter
dwellings If still is unlawfully set up
or used therein, or If liquor is unlaw-
fully delivered thereto or removed there
from. The national prohibition act now
allows searching of dwellings only If
there be proof that liquor is being sold
therein. The effect of Senate 3344
(Howell bilD would be to subject the
dwellings of persons residing in the
District of Columbia to more drastic
searches than Congress has authorized
in the United States, Alaska and some
of the insular possessions. do not be-
(Continued on Page 2. Column So