Evening star., 1933-12-21
DRY ARMY CALLED
OUT |NL|QUOR WAR
Rush of Foreign Products
Threatens Wholesale VIOLA
tions, Says Cummings.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
The administration today disclosed
that rush of foreign liquors into the
United States had brought a majority
Of the import quotas near exhaustion
and at the same time moved to combat
domeStiCally what Attorney General
Cummings described as "a rather whole
sale plan to violate internal revenue
laws on liquor"
The Attorney General told nevsmen
the entire force of ITO prohibition
agents would be deputized by the In
ternal Revenue Bureau TO prevent
bootlegging and other illegal liquor op-
Joseph H. Choate, Jr.. alcohol control
administrator meanwhile announced
that 10th France and Portugal have
exhausted the liquor import quotas al
lotted them and that other foreign
quotas were nearing that point
The French allotment was 784,000
gallons. while Portugal was allowed
10000.
The French commercial attache,
Maurice Garreau-D -Dombasie. renewed
his effort to have his country's quota
ulIICdSru III d lIlIStlly AOlAANAh4NS NANA
State Department officials
Would Break Impasse.
He sought to break the impasse that
arose when France agreed to increase
its quotas on American apples. pears
ham and lard in exchange for enlarged
wine imports, but at the same time
hoisted its tariff rates on these prod
ucts.
The Frenchman. before entering his
round of conferences. said he was opti-
mistic over an early agreement. The
State Department has been insisting
that the tariffs be lowered before the
wine quota can be raised
Exhaustion of the French liquor
quota might have a definite influence
on the French attitude" Choate said
Chotae said his office was giving a
great deal of thought to the question
of handling bootleg liquor now reported
to exist in large quantities in this
country. but added no action had yet
been taken.
The Attorney General said the JUS
tice Department will continue to prose-
cute prohibition cases pending at the
time of repeal if it considers them ''of
the type that ought not, in good morals.
be dropped"
In discussing the new cooperation
with the Internal Revenue Bureau,
Cummings said the entire question OF
consolidating all governmental investi-
eating units was receiving some con-
sideration."
This plan involves possible unifica-
ton of such investigation bureaus as
those in the Department of Justice. the
customs and internal revenue investi-
gators of the Treasury, the postal in
spectors of the Post Office. Interior De-
partment investigating units and other
departmental divisions.
Unit without Authority.
He explained that after repeal the
VolStead act went out of effect and the
prohibition unit of the Justice Depart
ment was left practically without au-
thority.
1T also was apparent depredations
were going on" Cummings said. "Thers
were illicit stills and operations indi-
eating a rather wholesale plan to vio-
late the internal revenue laws.
1T was a new situation. with which
the Treasury was not quite ready to
cope. We have been carrying ON, out
without some Of the powers OF searcn
and arrest in revenue cases"
Acting Secretary of State Phillips
told newspaper men today he had no
official report on the complaint OF i'm
porters that France is planning new
limitations in 1884 on the admission
of American machines equipped with
built-in electric motors. News dispatches
from Paris indicated the American
Chamber of Commerce in that city had
meeting of machinery importers
scheduled for today to consider such a
possibility
had no report the machinery situ-
alton, he explained that quotas are
revised every three months ON 100 prod
ucts admitted from all nations under
import licenses and the quantity OF
the requirements Of the French mar
ket and the interests of French in
dustries.
Big Market Foreseen.
Both French and American officials
have estimated that the United States
, market would absorb about i've times
the French quota originally set.
With the tangle of negotiations with
France, other wine producing nations
have been making hard drive to get
additional quotas of their liquors ad-
mitted SO that they may establish their
brands in quarters which used French
products in Reproduction days.
Mexico today was allotted monthly
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