The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1922-08-03

LII. LhUU D ~
WEEKIY Y LETTER
MI. Lasker Versus the Eighteenth
q Amendment
it is seldom, even in these days o1
administrative degeneracy that public
official succeeds in making himself Sc
4 utterly ridiculous as Mr.. Lasker
& Chairman of the United States Shipp.
ing Board. has succeeded in doing ii
Z his stupid attempt to refute the
I charge that the biggest bootlegger in
the country is the Government itself
y Il appears that Adolphus Busch
one of the biggest brewers in brewery
dom before the Volstead Act appear
ed on the Federal Statute books, wrote
to President Harding inviting his at
tention to the almost incredible fact
that liquor is being sold on American
/ ships, flying the American flag, under
the direction of John III. Lasker, Chair
man of the American Shipping Board;
that this unlawful sale Of liquor was
a bad example for the Government to
set up and had a pernicious effect up
!. on otherwise law-abiding citizens.
! *Now, it lis clear enough that former
brewer Busch raised two pertinent
) questions that were etitled TO respect
full consid ideration. First, is the Shipp-
ing Board bootlegging; and second if
) it is, is it just, honorable, proper and
decent that it should be? ~: .'S>a J.
Common justice, decency and dign-
ity united in demanding a satisfactory
and truthful answer. No one in his
right senses will. seriously contend
that accusing brewer Busch and his
father and his fathers father Of pro-
Germanism is a satisfactory answer.
It may be true. as Mr.. Lasker asserts
that Adalphus First, the founder of
the Anhauser-B Busch dynasty was "the
Kaiser's closet friend in America" but
that certainly hasn't anything to do
with answering the charge of Govern
ment bootlegging. DR.. Nicholas Muir
ray Butler and a whole lot more of
hundred per cent Americans claimed
that distinction before international
investment bankers loaned too much
money to the allies, when they sudden
ly concluded it best for business rea-
sons to deny the relationship. How
ever, it looks kind of contemplate for
Mr.. Lasker who was born and raised
in Germany to bring the charge Of
pro- Germanisms against an American
who can boast of three generations
of Americanisrn,. It creates an i'm
preston that Mr. Lasker's American
ism is entirely Of the commercial ord
er and his patriotism business asset.
Furthermore, as the war is over, pro-
Germanism cannot, now be regarded
as unpatriotic. Nor is, the charge that
brewer Bursch is interested III the
success of the German marine an hon
est and satisfactory answer even II it
We're true. =, 49,. ill.,.
But after all, the palavering about
o-Germanism and disloyalty, one is
asEounded with Mr.. Lasker's admis-
sion that the Busch charge is true.
Then one is further bewildwered with
Mr.. Laskers defense which lawyers
term a plea of confession and avoid
ance which admits the truth Of the
facts as stated in the pleading to
which it is an answer together with an
allegation of new and relevant matter
which purports to destroy the legal
effect of the facts admitted. Mr.. Las
ker confesses that he is violating the
law and eontemptuously disregarding
the Eighteenth Amendment to the
Constitution, but he contends that it
is good business and the only way he
can compete with his business rivals.
In former days this same argument
was used by managers and owners
of hotels in the large cities. 1t is IN
substance the argument which <Deme-
trius, the silversmith, defended the
sanctity of the temple for which ne
made shrines: "Sirs, We know that by
this craft we have our wealth. Ii
this be Mr.. Lasker's code of political
ethics he should have the courage OF
his convictions and carry his program
to it's logical conclusion. He should
insist that all the liquor. seized by pro-
hibition agents should no longer be
DESTROYED but turned over to the
United States Shipping Board. He
could thus got his liquor, supply free
and institute line of bar prices that
would eventually drive his competitors
from the seven seas. But he needn't
stop at that. He could establish a
system Of rebates, whereby passen-
per's fare would be scaled at an IN
verse ratio to his drinking bill, and
thereby giving practical advantage OF
q cut rate to thirsty patrons. why,
1 the possibilities of such a code OF po-
litical ethics are simply incalcuable.
President Harding's discovery of Mr..
Lasker means an easy solution OF all
our financial difficulties. Why con-
..,r. .,,reaI,IarS ohn,,t lavish oyYsnn(1i-