Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-06-04
NOBODY KNOWS HOW DRY
WE ARE, HASKIN SAYS
Daily Letter by Frederic j. Haskin

LAiEAS
was a time, not SO long ago but that
the memory of mar runneth to the
contrary, when on occasion, with
good fellows together, a certain RI
bald chantey was usually heard. 1t
was what might be called a good old
American folk song. The words were
simple, but the sentiment they car-
rled was we'll nigh universal in its
appeal. The air, too, was simple,
but its harmonic possibilities were
such that when effectively rendered
along about 3 o'clock in the morning
it has not infrequently caused strong
men to break down and sob. It was
a good song III land or sea, and even
yet, to those who knew and loved II,
it seems that the plaintive chorus
echoes family from afar-"How Dry
l Am! Nobody Knows How Dry l
Ami"
Well, does anybody know just how
dry we are, these days?
What with the repeal of the pro-
hibition enforcement law by the New
York state legislature, the Supreme
Court decision that ships that touch
liquor shall lot touch our shores, a
lower court decision that, the Vol
stead act to the contrary, physicians
can not be limited in the amount of
liquor they may prescribe, and the
evidence of our police courts that
the man who wants a drink general
ly finds it, there is reason to raise
that question.
In fact, almost everything points
to the conclusion that nobody does
know how dry We are, and nobody
can know until congress meets again
and settles the question: it can be
settled by legislation.
That congress must do something
is generally agreed. The drys and
the vets are a unit on that, and the
considerable element of the public
that is neither rabidly for MOI
against prohibition is rapidly getting
into the frame of mind of the man
with the Chronically sick mother-in-
law when he expressed the fervent
hope that shed get well-or some
thing,"
Even the b~ootleggers are becoming
uneasy, They don't know whether
to study medicine and become IL
censed practitioners or sit tight and
pursue the evil tenor of their way.
As for the politicians, candidates and
prospective candidates for any office
from poundmaster to President they
are more than ever in doubt whether
to be dry, wet or just a little bit
moist.
Those Court Decisions
Time Was, also, when the idea was
prevalent that in case of a muddled
situation with respect TO a law all
that as needed to clear the whole
thing up was a court decision. That
is how the courts, without any ex-
press authority TO do so, came to in
terpret the acts of congress and BASS
upon their constitutionality. But
have the court decisions clarified the
situation as to prohibition enforce
ment? Not so you could find your
way about in the dark.
Take the last word of the highest
court in the land ON the question of
liquor aboard ships, for example.
The supreme Court has decreed in
language that admits of only one in
depreciation by laymen that neither
our nor foreign ships may bring
liquor WithinNthe three mile limit off
the coas of the United States. That
seems clear enough, but If the deci-
sion is enforced literally 1t promises
to beget complications that are al
most endless.
suppose foreign ship owners insist
that the liquor they carry is not for
beverage but for medicinal purposes
and that TIER ship doctors can not
be restricted in their prescriptions to
crews or passengers. That would call
for another legal battle and another
decision by the Supreme Court. Or,
suppose they take the position that
their vessels are making continuous
voyages, stopping at our ports only
as ports of call, and hence that, un-
der other decisions of our courts,
they have a right to seal their liquor
stores when they come within our
three mile limit and can not be held
TO be importing or Transporting Ii
quor for beverage purposes within
our jurisdiction. That would mean
another case.
Again. suppose foreign govern
ments determine upon a policy OF
reprisal and pass laws that Ameri-
can vessels can not enter their ports
unless they carry liquor as a part of
their regular ship stores. Such a bill
has already been offered in the Bri-
fish parliament and it is understood
that France is contemplating some
thing of the sort. What will we dc
JRhout Ehs42