Show I Dry Law Violations 1 i i 01 0 1 1 PROHIBITION continues to be bt the chief J Jj M criminal problem of the federal government government govern- govern ment liquor violations being intimately asso- asso lf d with oth other r criminal offenses The Thed d i report of Attorney General Daugherty for the fiscal i cal year shows a total tofa of criminal I of prosecutions launched by the department l jr justice ce an increase of over th the preceding prel pre- pre l ij ceding year The startling increase in violat violations violations viola- viola t c of the federal criminal statutes corn corn- fl attention n It t is s subject to different i interpretations I t It fo opposite ends Prohibitionists and defenders defend- defend t- t E J ers erf of th the dry era may may- maysee see in the increase in 5 pr prosecutions a wholesome ind indication cation for the f It may be he reflective Of of greater ze zeal l b. b 1 on the part of prosecuting mg officers and mean t that t the effort to enforce the dry laws is t Lj gai gaining ing strength On the the other h hand nd the I increase may be reflective of increasing opposition to the dry laws having no particular I effect on the illicit traffic in liquor C One ant thing however s seems ems certain and that tha t at is that prohibition violations are taxing fG U he e facilities lOr of the prosecuting agencies of he the federal feder l government t. t During the ye year r v 42 70 criminal eases cases ases were disposed of as t. t 1 against launched which would indicate indi indi- cate that violations are being uncovered faster than they can be disposed of Some effort 1 i has been made in the past to avoid congestion in in the federal courts and additional judges I J have been named for some districts i Even so it does not appear that the judicial judi judi- t. t w tr cial dal ial facilities are equal to to the demands and it be found to revise the may necessary procedure dure In the cases disposed of during the year were were remore re more than pleas of guilty so that hat the time of the grand juries and the Y e federal era district et c was devoted devote largely t to ces in III which the defendants were prepared prepared to admit their guilt and accept punishment If the procedure e were revis revised d making it pos pos- sible for United States commissioners to try j and nd dispose dispose- of oJ liquor violations considerable time and money might be saved At the thet t same ame time the government would be spared j t the necessity of f waiting months to bring a I ff f prisoner to trial as required under the present system If f commissioners were permitted to hear nd try dry law violations ns prosecution might be more effective because penalties could be j I exacted without the interminable waits no noi now j f required The change might t also tend to i I standardize punishment in prohibition cases serving another excellent purpose Un Under er the present order th there re is a great disparity in iri the I pe penalties inflicted by the various courts Identical Iden Iden- offenses in different parts of the country J invoke penalties which vary with the courts The fhe same disparity is evident in regard to other criminal cases Many judges will exact the maximum penalty in narcotic and white s slave lave ve violations while inflicting the minimum I p penalty n ity for liquor law v viola violations ons l t i The greatest evil of the law today is 2 f found nd in the disparity in fines and sentences C One e man may go to jail fo for a few months h. h Awhile another is imprisoned for years for offenses which are identical This tends to put jut ut justice on a personal basis and breeds disrespect for the law and dissatisfaction with J the courts The law Jaw presupposes that all men t- t tre are re re equal and being so they should be ti fi treated ate l i alike Jike ik when hen th they y transgress the law i |