The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-02-04
DRY LAW FEE
REPEAL URGED
BY DEMOCRAT
Lake County Representative
Says Court DoCketS
Being CIogged.
ANOTHER CHANGE ASKED
Prosecution or Deputy Would
Be Required to Approve
Liquor AffidavitS.

There is no sense in regarding
the drinking Of a glass of wine
or liquor worse than murder" de-
clared Representative w. E. Stan
ton Dem, Lake. in an indictment
of the special fee of $25 paid prose-
cutors for successful liquor law
prosecutions at a hearing before
the house committee on public NOR
ais late Tuesday
Armed with statistics of various
counties to show how prosecutors
let major felony cases clog up
dockets while prosecuting liquor
cases for the special fec" Stanton
begged the committee to report out
for passage of the Egan-Monnig
bill which would repeal the special
fee provided in the Wright bone dry
law.
At the same time he pleaded for
Endorsement of the section in the
new measure which would have
prosecutors or tLeir deputies pres
ent when affldavits for dry law
violations are sworn.
Urges Open Discussion
1.-THE Egan- Monnig bill should be
brought out on the floor Of the
house so that the people Of the
state would learn how the members
feel Stanton said
In Lake county we are sick of
this special dry law fee.
Our docket was left clogged with
important felony cases when the
last prosecutor went out of office,
but every liquor law violation case
had been tried.
There arc 1900 felony cases on
the dockets in Lake county, but
not liquor case.
The prosecutor grabbing for the
fee speedily brought action in those
cases. he charged.
1T seems as if the prosecutors of
the state can not see the diStinc-
ton between a drunk on the street
and murderer.
Every prosecutor should approve
the affidavit before the police go
into a mans cellar and Selling a
bottle of grape juice that has fer
mented, arrest him. There should
be guarantee that the citizens
right to consider his home his castle
be maintained" Stanton declared.
Representative Fred Egan Dem,
Lake., co-author of the bill, pointed
ont the dire need of having the
prosecutor or his deputy personally
see that the aff1davits are sworn to.
Possibility of Injustice
Take the case of one neighbor
who is angry at another" Egan said.
lie calls the police and says that
his neighbor has whisky or beer in
his home, and wagon is brought
up to the house. The neighbor is
loaded in and then the police search
the house and finds nothing.
What redress has the insulted
and damaged person? None at all.
The prosecutor should be response
BILE for all affidavits."
Turning on the special fees, Egan
declared; Instead of promoting
morality we are substituting the
prosecutors to perform their duty
with this $25.
1T appears today that the man
who takes a drink Is in the eyes of
the law committing a greater Of
Tense than smuggling another person
for the purpose of robbery.
Taking a drink is not morally
wrong and it can never compare in
its lawlessness with murder or as
Sault, but the special fee has made
it that in INDIANA"
Dry Attorney Heard
Ethan A. Miles, attorney for the
Indiana Anti Saloon League, de-
Clared that when the fee system is
abolished a principal source of
revenue to the prosecutor would be
taken away and the other fees
would afford insufficient compen-
sation.
1T seems strange to me-" Miles
declared, that the men in the
counties where the prosecutor is on
a salary are the ones protesting
against this fee.
"The prosecutor is the poorest
paid OI1lClal LOT bIliS IedSOLl, duQ
is in some counties the poorest off,
cial'
Miles protested against the
swearing of affidavits before the
prosecutor on the ground that at
present the law makes ample pro-
visions that search warrant must
be obtained.
why not fix special fee for all
offenses?" asked Representative
John White dem, Marion). why
should we pick out liquor offenSes
and make them special?"
Because liquor offenses are the
most damnable,' was the answer of
Representative Thad S. ADAMS
CRep.. HendrickS).
The committee decided to post
none all consideration of the bill
until the Democratic platform
nledre fees and salaries bill had
been introduced, setting up fees for
all prosecutors.