PROHIBITION LAW

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 February 1926, Page 8

PROHIBITION LAW

RIGHT OF SEARCH LIMITED (Reuter.) WASHINGTON, Jan. 30. The “Wet” leaders point to two small developments in the prohibition situations, namely a warning by the Federal Department of Justice that illegal warrants for searching dwellwhere liquor is suspected, no longer will be tolerated; and secondly, an immediate reduction in the number of Federal prohibition agents. They, say that this marks the end of the Anti-Saloon League’s domination of the Government’s activities, and consequently the beginning of an era of • sanity in the dry law enforcement. The “Drys” were obviously depressed, and have admitted the result will markedly affect the enforcement. The illegal warrant declaration has been followed by a Judge’s freeing a dry law violator, whereas he said: “It is claimed that he was guilty and deserved a sentence, but his conviction has been accomplished by a plain violation of his constitutional right, and by a method which I cannot sanction.” Approximately six hundred out of nineteen hundred Federal agents will be dropped, because the Prohibition unit is exceeding its eleven million dollars years’ appropriation. There is no likelihood that the force can increase next year, since the Congres* sionaT appropriation is slightly less.