Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee. the purpose of this amendment. of course. is to authorize the deportation of those who have manufactured or sold intoxicating liquors in violation of the laws of the United States. It does not affect any other class of violators of our prohibition laws. It provides that conviction must be had in a court of record and not only that but it must be a second conviction. It does not have anything to do with the length of the sentence that may be imposed. and I respectfully submit to you that an amendment such as was described by the chairman of the committee. the gentleman from Washington. will not have the effect of authorizing the deportation of a large majority of these alien violators of our prohibition laws. for the reason that in those sections of the country where such violations are most rampant and where there are the largest number of alien violators of the prohibition laws the judges who customarily pass upon such cases do not impose sentences of the length of one year for the offense of selling intoxicating liquors or for the offense of manufacturing intoxicating liquors. in the vast majority of cases. The penalties imposed by the judges. range from a small fine to a few days in jail. The minimum punishment for a first offense under the law may be as small as one day in jail or a penny fine.
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