Arizona republican., 1922-06-21
The Violated Spirit if Not the Letter

We have received from the United States ship
ping board copy of the letter which Chairman
Lasker wrote to Adolphus Busch III in reply to
communication from that young to President
Harding enclosing from Adolphus Busch II on
the subject Of the sale of liquor the vessels of
the shipping board. Concluding his letter. Mr.. Las
ker says
Il believe you to be thoroughly selfish and that
you are acting in the hope Of creating public re-
volt against prohibition so that you may again revive
the sale of your liquors utterly regardless of how
you might hurt the American merchant marine IN
your effort to create situation to benefit your
brewery
1T is, Of course, notorious that the Adophus
Busch who founded your brewery was possibly the
kaiser's closest friend in America, and that your
family for many years has maintained a castle in
Germany; your action in any event will not dis
please your German friends whose greatest hope Of
restored German merchant marine is in hurt to
Americas newborn merchant marine.
Il refer to these extraneous facts not in resent
ment, but that it may be made clear that in my
opinion you do not before the bar of public
opinion with clean hands,"
We hardly think the public needed to be apprsed
of the extraneous facts" herein set forth There
no misapprehension anywhere in the country that
the Busch family is concerned in prohibition enforce
ment except in so far as it might remove the compe-
ttion with the imitation beer to the manufacture
of which the family is restricted is not presumed
that any member of the family its forbears includ-
ing the first Adolphus, and the late Mr. Anheuser,
Murphyites, Blue Ribboners prohbitionists
Anti-Saloon Leaguers. Castles in Germany no
than castles in Spain the relations of Busch
progenitor with the former kaiser have anything
do with the sale of Intoxicating liquors American
vessels
Chairman Lasker offers two defenses OF the
shipping boards position with reference the high
seas traffic by the American government in liquor.
The first is its legal right to engage in such traffic
under an opinion by its general counsel, a gentle
man by the of Schlesinger which opinion Mr..
Lasker believes is sounder than the contrary opinion
Of the office of Attorney General Palmer The other
defense is the necessities Of the American merchant
marine. whose life informed by the chairman
depends upon the sale of alcoholic drinks:
80 long Great Britain Japan France Germany
and other maritime nations continue liquors
TO American passengers am ashamed to state that
my experience leads me to believe there is suff-
cnt number of Americans without proper pride in
their flag ships who would divert their trade
to the foreign flags to the extent that the compet
ton would be from profit operating standpoint very
heavily against the American ship
81 do not believe speak inadvisably when 1 state
that so long as foreign ships can enter America
serving liquor the lack of that privilege might be
the very determining factor in the life death of
the American merchant marine and that so long
as foreign ships allowed the privilege of entering
and departing from American ports serving liquor
that same privilege must be allowed our merchant
ships"
The opinion of Mr.. Schlesinger rests wholly upon
the definition the word territory" in the consti
tuition; the distinction between territory" and
place" in various statutes and the words of the
eighteenth amendment, territory subject the juris
diction" of the United States.
Whatever difference of opinion there may be
in regard to this, it hardly be doubted that if
such controversy had been foreseen at the time
of the framing of the amendment the latter would
could not have arisen. Nor can it be contended
that whatever ambiguity there may be inten
tonal, the purpose being to permit the sale of liquor
American vessels At that time too thought
given to American merchant marine.
1t is fact too. that it understood that the
amendment applied to American ships, for after 1t
became effective, the sale of liquor them was
suspended. That the sale had been resumed was so
generally unknown previous to the Busch disclosure,
that generally that class of citizens of whom Mr..
Lasker is ashamed took passage on foreign boats.
That the intent if not the letter of the law is
being violated cannot be doubted An individual or
private corporation is justified in availing itself
of loophoes in the law the of technicalities is
the privileges Of citizens; but would hardly
expect the government or branch of it to avail
itself of such privilege when such of it could
not fail to encourage revolt against the law which
it is evadng.
Certainly if the Busches trying to produce
a revolt against prohibition, as Mr. Lasker asserts,
they are only employing the which the ship
ping board has put into their hands.