PROHIBITION IN AMERICA.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17293, 3 November 1921, Page 11

PROHIBITION IN AMERICA.

6 LAT est developments. (»BOM OCR COMMPOIUJKST.) SAN FRANCISCO, October 4. The United- States Government is obendeavouring to meet the dethe overwhelming section of the ' nle of America for some form of calculated to act as a £ulaiit, for announcement has been ' 2e in California by Colonel J L «uT„ internal revenue collector, that 7r 0 permitted to manufacture of wine each in their cellars PCSd consumption," but a WeKf ''intention'' must first be fKth the revenue officials. For homo consumption, Colonel Flynn 200 gallons may be made tax where more is made the Go''£™ment will collect a tax of 16 cents lUi Failure to file a statement of a 1 to make wine will render the 1P liable to a tax of 16 cents on all r - .no/te besides subjecting the maker n,nC provided by the * Xrevenue law. Internal Revenue fffior Flynn, in his warning, emthe law governing internal on it e agents' right to enter any home r , eT ,;" t [,o dflvtime to ascertain whether • « bein<' made, without the formlity of anarch warrant. "If. a w 0 quantity c! grapes or grape juice k S>en br "no of my men gome into a nrivato residence Jio will bo within his ' "thoritv if -lie follows the grapes or the Sane jaice to find if the consigneevhaa fiLThis statement of intention. JLt no intention has been filed and the. evidence shows that tlm untermented juice is intended for wine, full tax will l>e exacted and if the circumstances aro MM-avated tho penalties running up to dollars fiuo or a gaol sentence in wine instances may be addod." No Limitation. Colonel Flynn explained that there ia 110 limitation on-making wine 4'or family use bejoud filing tho statement and navin" the tax'for all amounts made in excess of t-he '-TO gallons, llnliko the duties of the prohibition offioc, which punishes, for the sale of liquors in all places not authorised to sell, and which has to havo proof' of sale before it can get a search warrant toi enter a home; tho 1 internal* revenue officers, ' concerned "only with tho collection of taxes, raw- enter without formality anofilto jin search of taxable goods, gljifomr variation!? of interpretation • regulations concerning the matinff fff tho 200 callous in the lioma Jmle.-ftppoarcd in the Press from expfupniinns of Government officials, thai tho peoplo are .becoming mystified l , , and it lias resulted in a chorus or tllsauprwal i" tho columns, of the daily newspapers of America. Tho San Francisco "Chronicle," in an editorial note, captioned "Two Hundred Proof Hypocrisy/' alluding to tho Vqisteadian »jce as being worso than any percent- - age of nlcohol,. said: "So far as tho ImmA brewers and homo winomakor? dKs concerned, tho successive annouhce- ; nientj of tho Proliibition JSnforcement • Bureau on the 200 gallons of fruit juice, and on the legalityof home flirtation with the- demon alcohol, boil • down thufl:— . , "(a) You may not make any Kind ■lit intoxicating beverage, even for. strictly family tippling. ' • ' ; "(b) You-may not.sell, buy, or peasees any material of an • intoxicating beverage-, if so' intended to be used. You may, without) molestation, squeeze out any kind of fruit juice up to 300 gajlbn-S without a permit, proMded you tell tho Stato Prohibition beforo-you go ahead. It may bo repeated that the juico-inay be that, of tiie grape, or the prune,, or amy i. other fruit without distinction. ' "(d) Your fruit juice—grape juice -or whatnot—must remain suck.- It must not ferment. If grape juice it must shrink dutifully from any alcoMio contamination by th» bacteria • that lurk on th© sk,itiß of grapes waiting for a chance to do thAt very thing. "(e) You must tljen, if yoW wish to tinker with fruit juices at home,: .join bjithely with tha Government,, and .ita i prohibition .bureau,, in Its orgy of hypocrisy. For the Government knows, iafid the Prohibition Commissioner kpows, and tlje householder knows, that the only' oonoeivoible reason for ■ making 200 gallons of grape juice iathat it will" in time, acquire a pleasant jazz, ana so. enable its maker to ; eVade the law, which says ho cannot, buy itat stuff in the open market. It will •: farment, or else.'the maker will throw it affay and begin over again, and that w kill thes is to it. ■ • , - Tlii?: hypocrisy is the vice of the i ; prohibition business, more dei more demoralising to the ■ ftation than IQO per cent, alcohol." i 4 The general public has not been dow - to avail itself of the advantage of the interpretation of , tho' Volstead -Act wowing the manufacture of 200 gallons wiiie a year flor. -personal 1 use. • A % Selujte of applications for permits under L shows that home Win*e-mak-iire tho increase, prohibition offim Washington freely admit. Combiiio Uncovered. liquor manufacturing organiemploying.hundreds ana operatwholesSd dm g-storeH ha 3 been by Federal prohibition Mtment leaders in York, accordjnc to An annotuicemtot in Manhattan. - organisation lias been foedmg tho s United - States' with whisky, gin, rum supposed to ; have been iißWggled into the country, but which, .was, manufactured."some-, 'iu Ahierica" and sold with fako and "Cuban" labels. Backannouncement, it waa stated M<ywt!<one arrest had been made already Mwii% !fthe entire band was under surIssffWce." Ycllowley, associate-enforce-flirector. sent to New York from |JSW|j|hington, tojd' of the opelations of and said: "When wo have s. wfitoed out these illicrt wholesale drugwork of foforcing prohibition |v easy. Practically all of the in circulation iiv New York from this source. It isValso to other parts of tho country. 810 Eome smugglers in operation, of tho stories of rum-running Exaggerated. These drughavo obtained permits to obtain ' staple drugs to make their look legitimate. " We have they are " operating 'drug .-jjajgl-on wheels,' carting their small goods from one place to another vjMlßfe nrolnbitiop agents come around Wo nave evidence that fciiiMpSflave attempted to bribe our have already arrested one a 600 .dollar bribe and iSaMPUy gave 400 dollars. They take SaHjpfeOTd by a simple process manufor the most part. Gin 'Mmft made—but rum ana a certain ! §j|W|of. whisky can be made. They §§sSpjjiil printed 'Gordon gin labels' rum labels,' exact duplithe originals. These labels and llgjfcM of the bottles have printed 'London,' 'Santiago,' and all it# o " iaTe taken to make real. I have, informed aptnapUtey. have even taken.' tna stuff .the three-mile limit on boaW ttien smuggled it back to make the look real to prospective cusiWMftara.: who believe the liquor is MPytrgled. - There are 100 applications drng permits in niy office are. tracing them all. It ggfffixeeeainglv hard to 'get thfl goods' illegitimate druggists without |ljssifcg, legitimate alcohol . manutacWe have beeh checking up on issued, and are slowly feriggglng out tho crooks. I expect more shortly." Operators G«t Bolder. Plic iuor-running along the Pacific sea-1 has assumed tJarming' propor-

tions, according to Government officials, who confess themselves unable to cope with the illicit trade. Millions of dollars' worth of Canadian liquor has found its wily into tho United States since prohibition became effective through a well-organised smuggling system, judging by a statement made by "William B. Hamilton, chief deputy customs collector in Ban Francisco. The depression of legitimate shipping business and the immense profits* to be made in liquor-running have resulted in enormous increase of "the illicit trade, it is said. Californian customs men said that there are probably more than 100 vessels plying along the Western Coast engaged in the ■ sole occupation of liquor smuggling. These vessels, usually of the small coasting type, receivo liquor cargoes in Vancouver and other Canadian ports, and clear for Mexico, the ship's papers mad© out in goad order showing Ensenada, Mexico, as destination. Then the runners set their courses southward, stopping at intervals alonw the unprotected coast, where small fishing boats go out and receive the liquor. In many instances tho smugglers have become bo hold that they run into San Francisco harbour tinder the cover of darkness and fog, making wholesale deliveries to waiting confederates, Federal officios said. Under maritime laws, tho coastguard service is helpless to put a stop to the rum-running, said Commander "W. H. Shea, commandant of tho coastguard service. Ships under foreign registry whose papers show ports outside tho United States as destination cannot bo molested unless caught in tho actual operation of law-broaking. Thus protected, the traffic iB carried on .practically without interference, it is alleged. Bishop Denounces Dry Law. The "Right Rev. Thomas F. Gailor, D.D., Bishop of Tennessee, and P r dent of tho National Council of tho Episcopal Church in the Unitod Spates, wnilo attending a conference with the clergy and people of tha Diocese or Sacramento,. California issued a statement in which, ho declared that prohibition, as foisted on the people in the form, of the Eighteenth Amendment to tho Federal Constitution runs directly counter to the principles of liberty and freedom upon which America was founded. Dr. Gailor explained that lie was not expressing the ideas or 'beliefs .of the Episcopal Church on prohibition, but was merely stating Ilia own beliefs on a national believe," said Dr. Gailor, "that prohibition should have been made part of the "Constitution of the United States in the manner that was employed. The Constitution should not bo treated bb an old suit of clothes, to be patched and mended to suit tho wishes and desires of any class. Furthermore, I do not believe sumptuary laws should bo 'written into the Constitution. If Congrtes wished to oxMriment with prohibition in the United States, it should have been done bo by a Congressional enactment, and not by putting prohibition into the Constitution, where it -13 irrevocable. The Constitution of the Unitod States should not bo amended without a direct vote of the people, and. to make it_ worse in the case.of prohibition, the Eighteenth, Amendment was adopted while the American beya were fighting overseas. Law is the expression of tho whole peoplo, and oae foisted upon the people without the consent of tie majority, as in the case of tho Eighteenth Amendment, inevitably will bring trouble.