Evening star., 1934-05-10
BOOTLEG WAR SET
GOING BY TAX UNIT
"We Mean Business" Says
Morgenthau-237 En-
pIoyes Transferred.
BY REX COLLIER.

BY REX COLLIER.
Declaring I'VE mean business" Sec.
retary Of the Treasury Morsenthau
today took over the task of Kidding
the country of Illicit liquor.
Two Of the Treasury's generals in
the new drive to enforce repeal
Arthur J. Mellott, Kansas lawyer, and
Capt. william r. Sayles, retired naval
oticer-stood beside him as Morgen-
thau announced formal merger Of
Justice and Treasury alcohol agencies
into the Revenue Bureaus new alcohol
tax Unit.
I'VE are going after IT," the Treas
| ury Secretary stated-the 'it" being
taken to mean the thousands of dol
lars of taxes now being lost to the
Government through bootleggirg ana
| smuggling.
We've found that the public is
| very sympathetic to this drive, and
with the cooperation of the public
we should meet with success" he said.
MeIlott Oath Deferred.
Morgenthau said Mellott was to have
,, been sworn In today as deputy COM
missioner of internal revenue in
charge of the alcohol unit. but that
this must be deferred because Of legal
technicalities. For the time being,
| Mellott will be special assistant to
the Treasury Secretary.
Capt. Sayles. stocky veteran of the
naval service and chief Of police IN
Schleswig Holstein during the 1919
plebiscite under the Versailles treaty,
will be chief of the enforcement divi-
sion, in which capacity he will wage
intensive warfare on illegal liquor
manufacturers and distributors.
The Alcohol Tax Unit was born today
Of a consolidation Of the old Bureau
of Industrial Alcohol of the Treasury
and the Alcohol Beverage Unit Of the
Department Of Justice. An executive
| order which became effective today
transferred to the new unit 1887 en-
| ployes of the Bureau of Industrial
Alcohol and 951 employees of the JUS
tice agency.
3,298 New Employees.
That made a total increase In per-
sonnel of the Revenue Bureau today
of 3,298 employees, and this number
will be increased as the work Of the
new unit develops until some 1000
/ employees have been added.
OF the total personnel, about 1850
will be field agents of the enforcement
section under Capt. Sayles. They will
comb the Nation for Illicit stills, boot
leggers and smugglers and others SEEK
| ing to evade payment of liquor taxes
to the Treasury.
| The enforcement staff today in
cluded TOO field agents from the Justice
unit. These are without civil serv-
ice rating, as the Justice agency was
not under civil service, but many OF
these men have retained former civil
service status gained while serving In
the defunct Prohibition Bureau. En-
ployes not of civil service status will
be required to take regular compete
| tive examinations within two months,
| it was announced. Another TOO f1eld
| men are from the Bureau of Industrial
Alcohols force Of regulative inspectors.
The new unit will have another
major division, known as the per-
| miSsive section. The chief Of this
section has not been appointed. The
permissive section will have super
vision of the licensing Of legitimate
members of the liquor industry.
Regulative Inspectors.
The force Of regulative inspectors.
organized six weeks ago under Deputy
Revenue Commissioner D. 6 Bliss.
already has made quite record in
enforcement Of the repeal liquor laws.
The Treasury disclosed today that
1,046 arrests have been made Tor
operation Of Illicit stills and that 857
stills with a capacity output of 1913, ,584
gallons of moonshine have been seized.
A total of la automobiles used in
illegal transportation also have been
conflScated. The value OF seized prop
erty exceeds half a million dollars.
The alcohol tax unit has estab-
lished IL field districts, with head
quarters at Boston. New York. Phila-
delphia, Baltimore, New Orleans.
Cincinnati. Chicago. ST. Paul. St.
Louis, Denver, San Francisco and
Seattle. These districts are identical
with those of the old Bureau Of In
dustrial Alcohol There were %
field offices OF the justice unit, and
many of these will be consolidated
with the new district ofices. Others
will be retained as branch ofdces.
Deputy Commissioner Bliss today
resumed his former duties as super
visor of the Revenue Bureaus miscel-
laneous tax unit.
John S. Hurley, head Of the abol-
ished justice unit, together with his
immediate staff. were transferred to
the Revenue Bureau.
McKelIar Sounds Warning.
In the meantime Senator McKellar.
Democrat, of Tennessee. who Is spon-
soring q resolution to block transfer
into the new set-up of about 1900
former prohibition agents who were
dropped last year and then reinstated.
today predicted that they would not
be allowed to hold their jobs.
At a hearing on his resolution by
the Senate Civil Service Committee.
McKellar said the bureau may be
transferred, but hope the personnel
won't be transferred" adding that If
he knows what the Senate and House
think about it, 1t won't.
At the hearing Harry B. Mitchell.
president of the Civil Service Com
mission; l. A. Meyer, the chief ex-
aminer, and James G. Yaden, chief Of
the examining division, defended the
reinstatement on the ground that
these men had civil service status.
and that the Treasury was within
its rights in asking that they be re-
stored to service. The Treasury asked
| for the men by name, it was said.
The civil service officials contended
they were only following the law when
they authorized these restorations.
Mcclellan asked for a list of those
who are being transferred, saying he
would like it at o'clock this after.
noon, as he was anxious to get legis-
lation as quickly rs possible. He was
advised the data would be ready for