The Washington herald., 1922-10-14
Lasker eeps Tabulations
On Number Who
Cancel Bookings.
PORTO RICO FEARS
RUIN OF COMMERCE
Injunction in New York
Holds Up Enforcement
Until Tuesday.

Chairman Lasker, of the Shipping
Board, has issued orders to all Ship
ping Board passenger ticket agents
to tabulate the number Of cancella-
tions on each steamer as result
of the Daugherty ruling. forbidding
liquor on American ships.
While this order does not go into
effect until next week, Lasker has
already received a tabulation Of one
ships bookings, which discloses
that within seventy-two hours after
the Daugherty ruling was an
nounced 81 out OF the ships 400 res
ervations were cancelled
Affects Island Possessions.
As a result of the Cabinet discus
sions yesterday the possibility has
arisen that President Harding will
urge Congress to modify the Vol
stead law. This modification would
extend only to the application OF
the Attorney Generals ruling to the
insular possessions OF the United
States.
In the opinion OF high adimnistra-
tion officials the ruling probably
will make the Volstead law effec-
tive in the Philippines, in Porto
Rico, Hawaii and all their posses
sions, and a strict Interpretation,
it is stated, would mean disaster to
the commerce of those possessions.
Serious for Porto Rico.
The case of Porto Rico is par
ticularly serious. The chief crop
of Porto Rico, ~"the poor mans
crop" as 1t is called. Is coffee. Two
thirds of all this crop is shipped
to Cuba, while more than half of
the remainder is shipped to Spain.
According to Secretary Of War
Weeks. under whose Jurisdiction
Porto Rico falls. by far the greater
part of this commerce is carried
in Spanish vessels, most of which
carry stocks OF wine or liquors as
part cargo. Under strict inter-
probation OF the Daugherty ruling.
such Spanish ships carrying any
liquor whatever in their cargoes
would be barred from entering the
Porto Rican three-mile limit.
Enforcement of Mr.. Daugherty't
construction of the national pro.
hibition act Will be withheld pend.
ing the outcome of the restraining
order granted in New York by Fed
eral Judge Hand. 1t was made
known by Secretary Mellon.
Holds mp Enforcement.
Mr.. Mellon was declared to tax.
the view that while. legally speak
ing, the injunction will be operaties
only in the southern district OF New
York. nevertheless, as Is usual !,
would be effective throughout the
entire country.
Customs officials, It was stated,
would regard the New York re-
straining order as for the present
holding up the enforcement of the
nsw ruling, as It was not the pol
icy of the service where an injunc-
tion has been granted to one COM
pany to require every other COM
pany to 90 to court to obtain the
same temporary legal relief, which
1t would be assumed they could S.
cure.
Shipping Board vessels, however
Chairman Lasker announced. will
obey the ruling despits the injunc-
tion proceedings. No intoxicants
will be sold aboard the government
liners.
Postponed Until Tuesday.
The effect Of the New York court
proceedings has been to postpone
the effectiveness of the Attorney
Generals opinion until October IT,
when the restraining order is re-
turnable, but officials withheld COM
ment as to the possible outcome of
a permanent injunction should BIS
granted.
Secretary Mellon, however, d.
rected the chief of the division of
customs and commissioner of in
ternal revenue to give publicity to
the following notice:
The provisions Of the national
prohibition act are applicable tc
United States vessels leaving for.
eign ports after October IA and tc
foreign vessels leaving foreign
ports after that date on coming
within the territorial waters of the
United States. All sales of bev-
erage liquors on United States yes
sells anywhere and on foreign ves-
sells within the territorial waters
of the United States are unlawful
after October 7. This notice does
not apply to foreign vessels pass
ing through the Panama Canal and
not touching any other port un'
der the Jurisdiction OF the United
States"
Rules on Foreign Ships.
Foreign ships leaving their own
ports up to and including Octo-
ber IA. 1922. and American ships
leaving foreign ports UP to and in
Guiding the same date having stocks
of liquor on board will be permitted
without interruption to make a con-
tinuous voyage into foreign ports
for the disposition of such liquor
even though they touch ports Of
the United States en- route.