New-York tribune., 1922-10-08
Foreign Ships
Get Till Oct. Il
10 Drop Liquor
hni ITO orcement Postponed as
Measure of Fairness and
to Avoid Confusion; No
Respite for u. S. Vessels
Lasker Broadcasts Order

Immediate Compliance With
Law Under Pain of Dis,
missal, His Warming
FROM the Tribunc's Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON, Oct Firm step.
were taken to-day by the government,
toward obtaining strict enforcement o1
tne Daugherty ruling against liquor or
all trade-oceanic liners touching tn.
United States. Chairman Lasker OF
the Shipping Board ordered the mast
ers of all vessels of his fleet as we'll as
the ships under charter to private com.
panles to unload every drop of alco
hollc beverage, and those now at sea O,
IN foreign ports will receive simila,
orders as soon as they touch these
shores.
In the case of foreign ships no en-.
forcement will be attempted for OBJ.
vlous reasons where they leave thei,
| home ports before October IA. Presi,
dent Harding, in letter to-day to Sec.
retary of the Treasury Mellon, pointed
out that the orders to customs officials
should allow this grace. The lette,
said:
"Supplementing my letter of in
struction of October 6, relating to
the enforcement of the Eighteenth
Amendment and the prohibition en-
forcement act as applied to carriers
at sea, you will please direct United
States customs officials to give no.
tice to all shipping lines that pend
ing the formulation of regulations
the enforcement of the prohibition
of transportation of cargoes or ship
stores will not be practicable in the
case of foreign vessels leaving their
home ports or American vessels leav-
ing foreign ports on or before Octo-
Der Ia, 1929. Any earlier attempt at
enforcement in the absence of due
notice and ample regulations would
be inconsistent with just dealing and
have tendency to disrupt needlessly
the ways of commerce.
No English Protest Yet
"This delay in full enforcement
does not apply to the sale of intoxi-
eating liquor on vessels sailing un-
der the American flag"
No word had been received tonight
at the State Department on the ex-
pected protest from the London For
eign Office against the ruling or notifi-
cation from foreign shipping interests
of the institution of legal action to
prevent its enforcement.
The order issued by Chairman n
Lasker and sent to al masters of Ship
ping Board vessels said:
Under a ruling by Attorney Gen.
eral Daugherty, the sale, transporta-
tion or possession of liquor on ships
entering American territorial waters
is prohibited by law. BY direction
of the President l instruct you to
make sure that all intoxicating
liquors in the possession of ships OPP
Grated by you for the government,
and all liquors owned by officers or
members of the crews thereof, be re-
moved and surrendered to the proper
official representing the Treasury
Department Immediately, where such
ships are now in their home ports,
or as soon hereafter as they shall
dock in their home ports, and there
after there must be no liquor on
ships.
Disobedience Means Discharge
''lf any officer or member of crew,
either on passenger or cargo ships,
is found thereafter to possess liquor
on ship, he shall be Immediately re-
moved permanently from the service
and his violation Of the law reported
to the proper district attorney"
The National Merchant Marine As
sociation, in a statement issued to-
night. declares the decision "must
handicap the development of liner serv-
ice under the American flag" Never
theless, it adds, at settles an issue
which seriously menaced the prospects
of the pending legislation to aid Amer
lean shipping"
There is no longer the question Of
opposition to the shipping bill on the
ground that subsidies would be paid
70 American vessels selling liquor, as
all sales are prohibited. Foreign ship
ping interests are expected to institute
legal action to prevent the enforcement
of the ruling without delay. Chairman
Lasker of the Shipping Board says that
one, result of the decision may be to
make Montreal the destination of some
of the big foreign transatlantic liners
and that on the Pacific Vancouver may
benefit by the changed conditions.
To Aid Shipping Bill
"This is a severe blow to the Ameri
can merchant marine" Mr.. Lasker said.
reports reaching Washington froni
various sections of the country indi-
cate that there is national reallza-
tion Of the dangers that lie in any plan
to postpone action on the shipping bill
until the short session of Congress, be-
ginning in December. Elimination Of
the extra session in November would
not only make it practically impossible
to have the bill passed by the present
Congress, but would be almost sure to
necessitate a special session next
spring to deal with general legisla-
tion."