The Washington times., 1919-09-02
ONLY HOPE OF
VETS HINGES
ON CONGRESS
LIFTING BAN


Il seems In order to state once
more that there is not the slightest
reason to believe President Wilson
VIII lift the ban on liquor until peace
has been consummated and until the
rstifeations of the treaty have been
exchanged, says a special dispatch to
the Baltimore Sun from its Wash
ington correspondent.
Many False Alarms.
II is apparent that reiteration Of
this Is necessary every little while in
order to carry conviction. The Presi-
dent himself has said it. The Attor-
ney General has said It. and the law
has said it; and yet false hopes. or
false alarms, according TO the way
you look at il, continue to be sounded
from Washington. and the country
continues to take them seriously.
Some Of the more recent reports
that liquor sales are to be legitima
tiEed once more have fixed the date.
One set Of them agrees that on Octo-
Der 1 the President will act. Another
set sets October Is as the time and
smother set indicates that before
November i" the saloons viii have
been reopened under Presidential or
der.
All Of them lead 70 the belief that
the dealers who have STOCKS on hand
shortly viii have an opportunity to
iQuidate them. and the folks who
have no stock but would like TO have,
viii be given a final chance before
the long drought beginning January
Is to lay in enough wet goods. for an
occasional mellow evening"
Law Explicit On Poinf.
Here is the exact situation: The
War time prohibition act autorizes
the President to raise the bars
against the manufacture and sale Of
liquor and other spurious beverages
as soon as the demObilization OF the
army shall have been accomplished,
and as soon as peace shall have been
proclaimed. The Attorney General
has given the President an official
opinion to this effect, an opinion that
Is his guide in dealing with the whole
question
The rehabilitation OF the army,
that Is. all Of it with the possible ex-
ception Of a few thousand men In ST.
IBERIA who were called for the emer-
gsncg win have come 10 pass around
0Ct8ber 1, according to the best cal
culatiOns OF the War Department
The last of the regular divisions in
France-the First Divisions now
en- route home, and after IL has pa
raded in Washington and in New
York IL win proceed to Camp Mezde,
where its emergency men will be dis
charged from the service. This viii
mean that the army viii be practi-
caliy on peace footing before the
end OF September.
II Il were merely a matter Of de-
mobilization, the President, upon the
receipt Of official information from
the Secretary OF War to the effect
that this had been achieved, might
issue his liquor prOclama tion without
delay giving the liquor people and
the ifQuor drinkers something like
three and a half months grace.
Date Really Up to senate.
But there are two conditions TO be
mel. The army must be on a peace
basis and the country must be at
peace. And it is the latter PROPOSE
tion that is making the whole bust
ness uncertain. Nobody knows when
peace may be proclaimed. As a mat
ter OF fact, IL is up to the Senate and
not up to the President to determine
whether or not liquor shall be sold
legally in this country once more.
II the Senate proceeds swiftly with
the ratification Of the peace treaty: II
q does not weigh down that instru-
ment with amendments or reserva-
oons requiring its resubmission TO
Paris, and If il makes an exchange
Of acceptances possible within a rea-
Hopably short time, a further season
oI.lquor sales may be anticipated.
Inc exchange of ratification need
not require any considerable fie1Stb
Of time. II the Senate were "a rstjF,,
the measure tomorrow, within three
weeks the governments concerned
could communicate their respective
actton on the treaty. to each other
ano within thirty days at the outside