Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-06-16
UNCLE SAM AS A BOOZE
SELLER.

0AAA
"A UGUST A. BUSCH, president
of the Anheuser- Busch com
pany, incorporated, has written a
letter to the president Of the Unit
ed States, protesting against the
action of the United States ship
ping board which authorizes the
sale of liquors on vessels owned by
the United States government and
operated under regulations laid
down by that government. He re-
Gently went to Europe on board
the big passenger steamer George
Washington and as soon as the yes
sci had left New York and steamed
to a point three miles beyond our
coast line it opened up its bar and
sold all sorts of liquors to its pas
sengers. It had its stock on board
while in the port of New York, in
tended for this purpose, and Mr..
Busch claimed that this was in vio-
lation Of the Volstead act and also
Of the constitution of the United
States. He holds to the theory that
the constitution of the United
States follows the flag. and that a
vessel owned by the United States
and sailing under our flag is Amer.
lean territory.
There is no dispute about the
facts. Chairman Lasker of the
government shipping board admits
the fact that an open saloon three
miles at sea is a part of the equip
ment Of the George Washington
and claims that it is not against
either the Volstead act or the con-
stitution to sell liquors aboard of
he vessel after it is three miles
from our coast. That is a matter
Of legal opinion which we will not
discuss in this article. Let is as
aunae that Chairman Lasker is
right and Mr.. Busch wrong as to
he technical law question involved,
though that is certainly debatable.
Even then, the United States gov
eminent puts itself in rather an
odious moral position when it sells
liquors aboard its ships while
spending MILLIONS of dollars and
maintaining a prohibition navy to
prevent such sale of liquors on its
soil. If State Prohibition Enforccr
Shelley and Rev. Pope were main
tanning a saloon three miles from
our coast line while making active
efforts to suppress the sale of
liquors on the coast it would Gre
ate a first class scandal and bring
down on their head the Reproduction
Of public sentiment, ever if it were
formally shown in the courts that
they were within their legal rights
and had violated neither the Vol
stead act or the constitution of the
United States. Uncle Sam is in
much the same moral position when
he sells liquor or his property as
soon as the property gets far
enough at sea SO that technically
the laws of the United States as to
this act do not apply if it be a fact
that they do not apply.
We think that Mr.. Busch has
very much the best Of the argu-
ment, and that the reply of Chair
nan Lasker of the shipping board
is weak, indeed-weaker than half
of one per cent. He says that the
shipping board is compelled to sell
liquor because if they did not, pas
sengers would patronize foreign
lines over which they have no con
troll after they reach the high seas
In other words the government
ships must sell liquor at sea or
they would make no money. The
hotelmen along the Mexican Dor
der could duplicate this argument
and say that they must keep open
bar or their customers will patron
ize hotels on the other side Of the
line that do keep open bars.
Then Mr.. Lasker goes on to as
sail the private character of Mr..
Busch as a citizen and ascribe ute
rioy motives to him because he
stated the facts. He says that he
is a special and intimate friend of
the ex-emperor of Germany and
his loyalty was under great suspi-
cion during the war, also that he
is opposed to prohibition and would
like to discard it. What of it if
these statements be true? They
have nothing to do with the case, as
long as the charges he made are
admitted to be true? The question
at issue is not whether Mr.. Busch
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