Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1922-11-16

MANY THINK TIE ATTORNEY
GENERALS ORDER WILL HELP
PASS THE MEASURE.
CONGRESS TO DECIDE 1T SOON
Chairman Lasker's Appeal to Save the
Merchant Marine Leads to Wonder
That Americans Cannot Do Without
Liquor Few Days.
BY EDWARD 8. CLARK

Washington by court
decision, the lids are on the pewter
pot and the wine glass on American
vessels, and on foreign vessels sailing
this side of the three-inile limit. SO it
Is that now Il fact, condition and a
theory, all in one, are here either TO
plague or to please the public, If the
ultimate conclusion of actual prohibit
ton on the part of the high seas Is
reached.
There have been charges in Wash
ington, as elsewhere, that certain
things which have been said and GER
tain printed references which have
been made TO financial disaster in case
of prohibition on the high seas are
part of plan to help the cause of
ship subsidy in the halls of congress.
These charges, of course, come from
men who do not like the ship subsidy
and they are combated by friends of
subsidy just as strongly as they have
been made by its enemies.
One thing today seems to be def
nitely settled and that is that CON
gress will vote on the question of
ship subsidy within a few months
What the result will be Of course no
one but a prophet with the highest
kind of honor can tell. 1t is said today
that the men "mentally opposed" in
congress to a subsidy outnumber those
who are at heart friendly to it, but
arguments may prevail to win a ma
jority for subsidy. and the arguments
that have been and will be advanced.
the friends of subsidy say, are suif-
GENTLY strong to win the case.
1t is not the intention here to dis
cuss the virtue or the lack of virtue Of
ship subsidy legislation. There are
some elements in what may be called
the accomplishments of ship subsidy
legislation which are not perhaps with
out their human interest and one of
them is the matter of the American
travellers appetltes for whisky. beer
and light wine on the high seas
Chairman LaskeTs Views
1t was only the other night that
there was little crossfire IF speech in
the city of Chicago between Attorney
General Daugherty ana the shipping
board chairman, Mr.. Lasker. 1t is held
possible in Washington that this inter
change, in connection with some other
things, may have its influence one
way or the other on the administra-
tons ship subsidy plans.
Chairman Lasker said in his speech |
that with the subsidy loss of $4,000.
600 a year could be ended within two
and a half years Mr.. Lasker has
said ut other times that the American |
merchant marine SO far as its pas /
senger service is concerned, cannot en-. |
ter into competition with foreign yes
sells if they are allowed to sell cock
tails, hghballs. straight stuff and wine,
while the American vessels are pro.
hibited from so doing.
AS things are today, no American
vessel can sell liqtOr on the high seas
to its passengers and foreign vessels
cannot enter our ports unless they get
rid Of the stuff outside of the three
mile limit. This in a way puts the
foreign vessels on par, so far as the
liquor business is concerned, with the
American vessels, but it is stating only
the truth to say that few legal authori.
ties believe the inhibition will be main
tanned against the foreign vessels by
the highest court Of the land.
Why Not Be "Dry" a Few Days?
So it seems likely that eventually
the foreign vessels win be allowed to
continue to sell drinks while the Amer.
lean vessels will have to stop selling
them, and this leads up to a matter
which it has been intimated might be
the point of the thing. Without any I
idea Of discussing the rights and the
wrongs Of prohibition, without any
thought of intimating that a man
ought not to drink or that he ought
TO drink, II might be said that It IL
extremely curious from one point Of
view that even Americans who want
to drink and who are going to travel
abroad cannot curb their appetities for
the seductive thing during the six or
eight days that it takes to cross the
ocean to a place where they can get
all they want to drink. either for the
benefit or the "unbeneft" Of their
souls and bodies
Even drinking men here say that il
would use American ships
when they travel the passenger traffic
of our marine would pay for itself,
and the same drinking men, or good
many of them at least, intimate that
an American who is not willing to 90
dry for the six additional days that it
takes him to cross the ocean is not
very good American.
Drink waits on the other side OF
the water and passengers on any dry
ship can have their six or eight DAYS
which some people think
Is more pleasurable than realization.
and in the case of drink good many
men will say they are right.