Evening star., 1922-07-09
ing has offered his amendment to the
tariff bill.
Omcials Are Guilty
OF Law Violations.

Omcials Are Guilty
OF Law Violations.
The smuggling of liquor into this
country is not confined to private cit
liens. That is one reason 1t Is so
hard to stop. Public officials, 1t de-
velops. are just as thirsty. take them
by and large, as the ordinary run of
citizens of the country. 1t Is no Sc
cret in Washington that public off,
cials get as much liquor to drink as
they like. And If they use their pub
lie Offices to cloak these little excur-
sions into law-breaking. who is going
to call them to account? Certainly
no one has undertaken to do so yet
at least, publicity. But it is not be-
yond the bounds of possibility that II
the practice keeps up a scandal may
develop that will become a national
affair. The inclination, it is charged.
has been to wink when taking an
oath to uphold the laws Of the United
States as far as the prohibition law
is concerned.
President Harding, In his address
delivered in Marion, Ohio, on the
Fourth Of July said:
THE eighteenth amendment denies
to a minority a fancied sense of per-
sonal liberty. but the amendment is
the will Of America and must be sus-
tanned by the government and public
opinion, else contempt for the law
will undermine our very foundation"
Law Can BE Changed
II Not Popular.
If the sentiment in the country In
regard to prohibition changes and a
majority OF the people are opposed to
it. then the law may be changed. But
as long as the law stays on the
statute books. then-if the speech Of
the President means anything-the
prohibition law must be enforced and
upheld by public opinion.
But smuggling in liquor and drink
ing 1t in violation of the law Is not
regarded at all in the same light as
other violations of law-as stealing
or forgery, for example. are regarded.
Public sentiment and opinion appar-
emily has not been reused to such a
pitch. Whether 1t ever will be re-
mains to be seen. Certainly it Is not
likely to be so aroused as long as the
drinking of liquor is practiced by Off
cials of the very government which
is supposed, under the law, to en-
force prohibition. No man likes to
be an informer. No man likes to in
terfere with the pleasures of his fell
lows. And so it is that the practice
of violating the prohibition laws Is
continued with comparative impunity.
So it is that some members OF Con-
gress continue to vote for prohibition
and to smuggle in liquor and drink it.
Prohibition has closed the corner sa-
loon in the shadow of the dome Of the
Capitol, but otherwise it has not
changed the situation here very much.
Those who like to drink, drink. and
those who do not like it are the pro-
Prohibition Injected 4
Into Tariff Fight.
Just as the Administrations ship
subsidy bill recently was embarrassed
by the outcry made against the serv-
ing Of liquor on board United States
Shipping Board vessels outside the
three-mile limit, the drys in Congress
insisting there would be no subsidy
for vessels flying the American flag
which indulged in such a practice, so
now the prohibition issue is to be in
jected into the tariff fight. Senator
Amendment, If debate is not
cut of by a motion to lay the amend
ment on the table, Is bound to lead
to considera BILE discussion on the floor
of the Senate. If it fails to be added
to the tariff bill, there still remains
the ship subsidy bill to attach 1t to
when the latter measure comes before
the Senate,