New York, Mar. 20.
The New York "Telegram," a Scripps-Howard newspaper, deciared to-lay* that bandits kidnapped Samuel Barton, wealthy real estate operator, and held him captive for 500 hours in order to obtain a secret formula which Mr. Barton evolved stances, Wickersham also, indicated complete its while in college enabling him to remove poisons from alcohol.
When questioned by officials, Mr. Barton denied that this had taken ing. not prohibition enforcement lone, but the entire question of law enforcement in the United State:
Mr, Wickersham said that the Law Enforcement Commission was studying the extent of actual law enforcement.
Replying to questions, he said that prohibition could not be enforced 100 per cent. nor can any other law.
He denied reports that the commission had found wide-spread corruption in the law enforcement machinery, "Phere is corruption, of course, he admitted, "but I don't think it wide-spread. Our reports do not show it'
He said he did not know whether the commission would decide as to the advisability of retaining or amending the present prohibition low, "Mr. Wickersham pointed out that he could not speak for 11 mem~ bers of the commission—United Press.
After giving evidence to-day before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr, George W. Wickersham, head of President place.
According "to the "Telegram's"' account, the kidnapping was evidently by. bootleggers who wished to Hearn how they might make forbiden drinkables from alcohol treated by the Government in effort to render it undrinkable.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.