Evening Star Newspaper, September 27, 1931, Page 72

“Femperance Education BY HAROLD B. ROGERS. DMITTING that the United States has not: yet: been brought to “ab- stinence,” Col. Amos Walter Wright ‘Woodeoclt, director of prohibition, nrosecutes his war against the com- mercial violator along a battlefront throughout the United States, but he believes the time has now come for a return io thefbig temperance edueation programs of the days before the eighteenth amendment. Not' discouraged, still fighting, the dry czar finds more and more that the constitution and the law are protecting what he calls-the “private violator;” and’it is this “private violator” in the homes of the Nation, Woodcock says, who now needs the force of public sentiment stirred up by temperence campaigns. It is more than a. year sinece the former distriet: attorney: from Maryland took over the reins of natiomal prohibition enforcement at the head’ of a new bureau in the Department of Justice from which it had been shifted from the Treasury Department. He has borne the brunt of battle. He has met sharp criticism, he has dealt’ with diffienlt' problems; with results whioch have met with a. widely, differing response of approval and disapproval. But' he still holds his good: disposition and’his net 150 pounds of fighting . weight: His manner is just as steady and.as mild as when he took: office on. July 1, 1930, and he rises to five feet: eight! and three-quarter inehes of soldierly: height' with the firmness and con- fidenee of: the military: leader that e is. AR matter of fact; thie whole war against prohibition violators is being waged along military lines. Asked if’ his military: career, which included: valiant' service in: the World, War, was: heiping him to enforce prohibition, the colonel answered: “Tremendousiy!” “I apply military principles almost comtinu- ously,” the colonel explained. “We have what corresponds to a general staff, organized on the line of the Army. general staff. It has modifi- cations, to be sure, but it meets our needs. I find the whole idea helpful. We have a great many military men in the organization. Mil- &spkethesoldhwhomched(orplo ' lantry in actien north of Verdun, when he was' in command of' a battalion with the rank of captain. The forces under Capt. Woodeock; Army. But Col. Woodcock is more than a soldier, he is a lawyer, a former district' attorney whe prosecuted’ a. lot: of tough cases: in his hom State of Maryland, which has. never State prohibition enforcement act. He, fore, knows his limitations as an offic law. And it is with such knowledge that insists his administration shall always be not only honest and earnest, but also “lawful.” For instance, he explains, “there are limita- tions' in the statutes and in the Constitution against the search of homes and of the person, which make the efforts of the law*to reach that 4 We are not trying lator as their special field. Education for the private violator and law for the commercial violator—that i a good slogan. You cannet realize the ideal of national prohibition without a combination of law and education.” Temperance education is not what it used to be, according to Col. Woodcock. “There was a great deal of education and agitation for temperance the period from 1901 to 1914, he said. “But figures show that con- sumption of liquor was increasing each year. These figures are available in the Treasury De- partment. because liquor sold had to pay a tax. “Since prohibiton, however,” continued the director, “there has been. a great deal less temperance education. We do not know what the consumption is now, but certainly we haven't brought about abstinence. So it would seem that before prohibition edueation without law was ineffective; since prohibition law. without education has not been entirely effeetive. There- fore, to reach the ideal of national prohibition you must have a combination of the two.” Placing this challenge up to the organized dwtcrceso!tbecountrythedrycmdeelued: “Now is thelr opportunity to advise. This is Declining to discuss the famouse reports of the Wickersham Crime Commission, Col. Wood- cock said he was not. so much concerned about public opinion, except that he hopes “by the merit of our own efforts we will rate a higher regard.” Cold. facts show, the colonel said, that prohibition enforcement today is meore efficient than a year ago. “We are making more cases and better cases,” he sald. unknown element is the violator we are reaching. About 6,000 cases are being each month and our figures show that we gaining in the percentag instanee, the reports show that during the year 86 per cent of the cases terminated were convictions. @ yeport from one of his prin- THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON; D. G, SEPTEMBER 27, 1931 = National Prokibition Director Believes the Solution of the Enforcement Problem Lies in the Hands of the “Private Violator™ W hose Support Must Be Won. Col. Ames Walter Wright Woodcock, dtrector of prohibition. cipal prohibition administrators, Jobn D. Pen- ninzton, in charge of the big district' of Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey, finds the scheols of instruction “of inestimable value to our investigators and agents. They have been the medium whereby our officers have become grounded in the fundamentals of crim- inal investigation and enforcement law,” said Pennington, “and as & result we are operating with greater efficiency in the way of better and stronger cases.” “All too frequently in: the past,” said Pen- nington, “men have been appointed Federal officers, had a:gun and a badge placed in their hands, and ordered out to enforce the law without the slightest preliminary training. The results obtained from such enforcement very often brought bitter resentment against the law from those favoring prohibition, solely on the ground that the methods used in enforce- ment were not sane, were not honest and were helpful to continue these schools with the idea and hope of eventually developing our force into a body of trained investigators.” in looking through the records that the year before 133 were dismissed, so we must be getting better.” Even though 1 is a hard job Col. Woodcock, after more than & year at it, keeps himself fit physically and mentally by reereation of his own choice, including particularly military work, reading and the theater. Fond of the stage, the dry director not only attends the so-called legitimate theater but the movies and takes delight in reading modern drama. “I like clean modern comedy at. the movies,” he said, “such as ‘The Millionaire,” with George Arliss. I have the ploamreoiknowmgw.umlandflndhima most amiable gentleman. Gangster pictures? I don’t think gangster pictures are real. There was only one that I saw that really painted the gangster as he is—“Little Caesar.” The gang- ster is not a hero, but an egotistical murderer.” In his reading Col. Woodcock likes partic- ularly history and modern plays. He takes the opportunity offered by his long official trips throughout the country and his week-end trips from Washington by train to his home at Salis- bury, Md., to read for'entertainment and re- laxation. Modern plays, he says, give him a pieture of present-day life, while history visual- izes the past. He is now reading, among other authors, from the modern school of biographers, including Lytton-Strachy, amaliel Bradford, Maulrois and the Germah, Emil Ludwig. Col. Woodcock says he has read everything Shaw has written, Next to him he likes Sir Arthur Wing Pinero. He is fond of Sir James Barrie and John Galsworthy. Modestly, however, Col. Woodcock is reticent about his classical taste. But he admitted that he still keeps up his liking for Latin in the original. It is omly at his comfortable old home, however, overlooking the Wicomtico River that he picks up a well-worn old volume of Horace which he had in his school days, to read Latin for pleasure. This family home, which is his only real residence, as he lives in a hotel in Washington “Chatillon,” after & little during the World War. estate of 2', acres, Col. Woodeock goes when he is not on & long trip. rs greet his home coming—Miss . Woodcock and Mrs, T. E. Martin- MUC‘H interest was stirred by Col. Wood- cock’s recent order to prohibitlon agents to stop drinking. He believes prohibition can be enforced without agents: consuming the.evi- dence. He has laid down his principles on this ceded,” Says#7 oodeock point and called upon his agents to follow “It is, in my judgment, no longer prohibition agent to consume § "agiia i I sk BEERE §§ 5, 55 gg g?.-?i M i the thousands of visitors who will flock to the Capital to do homage to the memory of a many who, on the 200th olhhufifi stands head and shoulders above all others the hearts of his people. the drama will cover the prine ) Washington’s life from the be= ginning of his engineering carcer at the age of 16 to the final tragic episode of his death. Yes; in any way to the sensibilities of British visitors who might witness it. On the contrary, our English cousins might well feel slighted should there be omitted so important an event of the Revolutionary period. Research workers are studying the details of the Yorktown scene so that it can be presented as nearly as possible in accordance with the hm painting by Trumbull, which hangs ig the Capitol. Trumbull, being an eye-witnesg to the surrender, as well as a participant in the battle itself, is accepted as an excellent authority on what took place. Burmmbdtwmselecuouotun drama’s actors. In addition to the streamy of letters which has been pourning in from varie ous States, including large numbers Minnesota, Wyoming, New Jersey, New Yi Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Virginia, A Maryland, Louisiana, Illinois and one o Alaska, there have been hundreds of photo= graphs, many of them unfortunately takem. from an improper angle, making the judging more difficultc Arnold Kruckman, director of the District of Cplumbia Commission, pointg for a very, very good reason. The left side off his face was badly scarred as well as pocks marked more pronouncedly than the right#, right side from the standpoint of vanity his “good side.” It is said also pposedly for this same reason, he selected & t in his family pew in the guaint old Church, famous for his attend: which would his right profile to majority of the congregation, indicating sensitiveness to his scarred cheek. One of the subjects for the role of Washm ington who has offered his services statea ia (Copyright, 1931.)