Evening star., 1932-12-07
DRY LAW DECISION
SPEED HELD VITAL
Attorney General Urges Quick
Action if Policy Is to
Be Changed.

If the prohibition policy of thi.
country Is to be changed, it should bt
done speedily in the interest of genera
law observance. Attorney Genera
Mitchell emphasized today in his an.
nual report addressed to Congress.
The statement was the first of it.
kind by the Justice Department head
since the Prohibition Bureau wa,
taken from the Treasury and trans
ferred to the Justice Department two
years ago.
There was no indication in the
recommendation of the Attorney Gen.
erals personal attitude toward proposed
changes in dry laws, as each part of II
hinged on the word 'if."
Two Recommendations Made.
He said:
IF any changes are to be made in
our national system Of prohibition, two
things are obvious: First, the changes
II any, should be made as quickly as
possible; and, second, changes should
be made through amendment of SUBJ
stantive law and not by leaving laws
on the statute books and scuttling them
by refusal to appropriate money for
their enforcement.
1T is evident that the present state
Of the public mind will make the task
Of the officers of the law doubly diff
cult and increase breakdown and dis
respect for the law unless changes
which are to be made are made speed
Iy. Furthermore, one of the principal
arguments against our prohibition sys-
tenn has been that 1t has created dis
respect for the law, and nothing can
be imagined which would tend more to
create that disrespect than to have GRIM
nal statutes in force. but relax the
effort to enforce them"
Breaking Point Reached.
Again in his report, outlining the in
crease in the departments work in GRIM
inal law, in the face of curtailed ap-
preparations. the Attorney General said
1T is quite evident that we have reached
the breaking point in the reduction OF
Department of Justice expenditures,
and added that IF any saving is to be
effected in the field of criminal opera
eAoAio ~ ckioAlA 1lOt DC dDOu
by lax enforcement Of existing crimina
laws"
The Attorney General said that al
the end Of the fiscal year there were
pending ON crimial dockets only 1886
prohibition cases, the smallest number
since June 80. 1921, and 3,195 less thar
at the corresponding date of 1881. This
was accomplished, he continued. despite
the fact $3.50 new cases were insti.
tuted during the fiscal year 1882, OF
8,8lo more than In 1881. There were
SO, ,155 terminated, the report showed
Convictions and pleas of guilty
totaled 488 to each acquittal during
the year, compared to "a in the prev.
ious IL months.
Half of Cases Lost.
In 10 districts, 1t was brought out
the Government lost SO, per cent OF
more of the cases tried by jury These
were Eastern Arkansas, Delaware
Northern Iowa, Eastern Louisiana, New
Mexico, Eastern New York, Puerto Rico
Western Tennessee, Vermont ane
Wyoming.
In seven districts-including the Dis.
trict Of Columbia, in which were the
greatest number of cases-the results o.
jury trials were as follows: District o.
Columbia, IS per cent convictions and 81
per cent acquittals; Southern New York
6S and 80; Eastern Kentucky, 80 ane
18; Eastern New York, So and "a
Western New York, SO and At; North.
ern New York, 73 and 81; Minnesota
81 and 13.
In the District, there were 1914 case.
terminated. of which "A per cent were
dismissed; 83.5 ended with pleas o.
guilty, and 1.3 went to juries.
The report Of Director A. w. w
Woodcock Of the Bureau of Prohibition
(Continued on Page q. Column A