Evening star., 1932-02-07
u. s. LACKS FIGURES
ON DRY LAW COST
Mitchell Says Wickersham
Report Shows Disparities
in Letter to Wood.

BY the Associated Press.
Attorney General Mitchell said yes
terday the Government is without re-
liable figures on the cost of prohibition
enforcement.
He described the Wickersham Com
mission report, which made an estimate
of over S34 900 900, as containing dis
PARTIES" where it attempts to apportion
costs between prohibition and other law
enforcement activities, but added
II have no doubt the commission did
the best 1t could In an attempt to ap-
proximate these costs.
Must Retain Agencies.
Further. Mitchell said:
TT is also to be noted that the elimi-
nation Of prohibition cases from the
Department of Justice and the courts
would not reduce the expenses Of all
these agencies in direct proportion to
the reduction in the volume OF business,
as most of these agencies would have to
be continued for the transaction OF
other kinds of business
Mitchells statement was contained in
a letter to Representative WIN r. Wood
of Indiana, ranking Republican on the
House Appropriations Committee and
former chairman. Wood had requested
a statement showing total FEDERAL pro-
hibition enforcement costs.
The Wickersham Commission esti-
mated that In the fiscal year 1880 1t
cost s34,828,550 to enforce the dry law
or two-thirds of Government ex-
penditures to administer criminal JUS
tice. Its report said the figure was
based on estimates of Justice Depart
ment officials.
II did not know that any such ma
terial had ever been obtained from this
department" Mitchell wrote. Il have
made inquiry from the solicitor gen.
eral as to the basis for the estimate
from his Office and he was not aware
that such an estimate had been made
Rough Guess Attempted.
ut appears that some member OF
his staff did attempt rough guess al
the proportion of their time spent or
prohibition cases but the solicitor gen.
eral advises me that he has no data
which would enable him to apportior
the expense of his division between
criminal and civil litigation or to make
| a further apportionment between varl'
Gus classes of criminal cases
The same situation must be true
with respect to other offices
Referring specifically to the Wicker
sham figures on the costs of activities
of United States marshals in prohlbl-
ton enforcement, Mitchell said
My attention has been called TO the
great disparity between costs in COM
parable districts
For instance, it is said the eastern
district of New York charges 30 pei
! cent of the criminal cases to prohi'
bition, whereas the southern district Of
New York charges 467 per cent; Maine
charges l3 per cent TO prohibition
while New Hampshire charges 93,8 pei
cent and Vermont 1913 per cent
Report Showed Disparities.
Mitchell said the Wickersham esti-
mates on activities of district attorneys
showed similar disparitieS.
Explaining why reliable figures arr
not available. Mitchell said,
The only way to apportion the ex'
pense between the various classes o1
business would be to have system in
augurated which would keep an exac'
account from day to day Of the mum
Der of hours devoted by each of these
officials and agencies to cases arising
directly Or indirectly out Of the ma
tional prohibition act
Nothing of that kind has ever beer
attempted and so far as past opera
tions are concerned there is no avail
able information which would give
basis for computation"