The New York herald., 1922-10-23
LINERS NOW AT SEA
MUST COME IN DRY
New Dry Deadline Is Set for
All Save Vessels of Nine
Fleets.
AWAIT HAND DECISION
Meantime Stems and Ocean
ters Must BE Regulated
With Logs.
AWAIT HAND DECISION

WAsHINGToN. Oct. 22.-Ocean steam
ships which left foreign ports to-day for
the United States faced the necessity of
carefully computing the amount of alco-
holic beverages on board against the
mileage shown by the ships daily log.
The last stein and decanter must be
emptied before the ship crosses the three
mile line marking the accepted limit of
American maritime jurisdiction. under
an Interpretation OF the prohibition laws
which became effective at L. :0l O'Clock
this morning.
Fleets of nine companies are exempt
temporarily from operation of the law by
reason OF injunction proceedings pending
before Federal Judge Hand in New
York, and will be permitted 10 enter
with their wet goods safely sealed under
the system which prevailed before Attor-
ney-General Daugherty ruled that the
Eighteenth Amendment and the Valstead
act applied to American territory" as a
whole, and not only to the continental
terra firma.
The nine exempt lines include two
American companies-the International
Mercantile Marine and the United Ameri-
can Lines-and seven registered under
foreign flags-the Cunard-Anchor, White
star, French, International Navigation.
Holland-America Scandinavia
and the Royal Steam Packet They have
sought permanent injunctions against
enforcement of the law on the ground
that Mr.. Daugherty went further than
the authors of the statute and amend
ment intended, or II he did not err in
this respect then the act itself was
Illegal in scope.
All other ships come within the law S
meaning set forth by the Attorney-Gen-
eral and approved by President Harding.
Administration officials did not foresee
an immediate contingency arising from
violation by some foreign ship. Ber-
muda, the nearest foreign port of regu-
lar call. is forty-eight hours from New
York. while the transatlantic liners re-
uuire from five to eight days to COM
plete their voyage. 1t was considered
probable therefore, that week might
elapse before the enforcement agents
would be called upon to apply the new
restriction.
Meanwhile officials here were confident
that the forthcoming decision OF Judge
Hand might serve temporarily to clear
the atmosphere. Regardless Of its ma
ture however. an appeal viii be taken
to the Supreme Court.
proval tomorrow to regulations formu-
lated by the prohibition bureau for
guidance of customs and prohibition au-
thorities along the coasts. In view OF
their bearing on the relations of the
Government with foreign maritime ma
tons. both the State Department and the
Department OF Justice are expected to
take an especial interest in the pro-
cedure.
The regulations are expected to de-
limit clearly the activities of the dry"
navy to the three mile zone except in
cases of ships which have Illegally estab-
lished contact with the shore. while
themselves outside the zone. Several
cases involving this point already are
engaging the attention of the White
House and State Department, notably
that of the Canadian schooner Emerald,
which was recently seized eight miles
off New York.
The British Embassy has made an
issue Of the Emerald seizure, contending
there was no evidence to show that she
was in touch with American territory.
The prohibition agents at New York as
sert that they came upon the ship while
small boats from the shore were en-
gagged I'm transferring her liquor cargo,
and that this was sufficient to warrant
her detention. A more complete report
has been asked by the State Department.