Evening star., 1923-06-29
Seizure of Foreign Liners
Openly Violating Laws May
Be Necessary.
OFFICIAL WORD LACKING
BY STATE Department
Curzon's Statement That Comfy
Has Been Violated Viewed
as Serious.

With one horn OF the ship liquor
dilemma cut off by Great Britain's re-
fusal to consider the American two
sided treaty offer, and with the other
horn-remedial legislation by Con-
gress-believed by officials to be jam
med and choked by the dry sentiment
in the country and Congress, the ad-
ministration here today faced the
most delicately acute international
situation OF all the aggrayating pre-
dicaments into which this government
has been precipItated in the history
of prohibition.
Hesitant to seize foreign liners
which have in open violation of Amer
lean law brought in beverage liquors
under seal, the administrators i'm
mediate problem seemed to be: How
can the government bring sufficient
pressure on foreign shipping interests
| to persuade then: to keep their bever-
age liquor outside the three-mile linn
II, and at the same time avoid such
extreme measures as arrest Of foreign
captains, fines to shipping, and, worst
Of all. seizure of foreign vessels?"
United States Plan Unacceptable.
Great Britain, through Marquis
Curzon. secretary for foreign affairs,
yesterday in the house of lords in
! effect proclaimed to the world that
! the American treaty proposal to ex-
| tend the three-mile limit for search
and seizure to twelve miles, and at
the same time mitigate the severity
| of the American ship liquor ban was
entirely unacceptable. The State De-
partment here had not received this
morning any official communication
from Great Britain, but was deeply
concerned in the receipt of press dis
patches of the foreign secretary's re-
marks. No official comment was
1 forthcoming.
Lord Curzon's declaration that this
| government had the right to break
! the customs seals of a foreign power
inside the three-rniIe HIrit. but that
| sidered a violation of the, comfy of
| nations, was taken In unofficial quar-
| ters here today as broad hint that
| Great Britain would persist in her
! efforts to mitigate the ship liquor
| ban.
The administration, II was revealed
| at the Treasury, fs by no means ready
to seize foreign ships. Although the
| actual regulations for such seizure
| have been drawn up, and are on file
at the Treasury. It was revealed that
the policy of the administration. ad-
mittedly in Quandary how to pre-
| vent violation of American law had
not yet been committed to the drastic
| step of ship seizure. Liquor seizure
! it was indicated, would be continued.
Door Shut to Possibility.
| Great Britain's refusal has shut the
door to possibility of relieving the
situation, by treaty; and high offlcis Is
| who today declared the only other
eventuality was remedial Legislation
by Congress, were just as emphatic
in their belief that the dry Congress-
would pass no legislation sufficient
really to afford international relief.
Why does not this government seize
the foreign liners is a question which
has obtained for three days, but which
again today was met with the reply
that although the Volstead act does
provide for seizure of vessels vio-
lating the law, it is not mandatory
upon the administration to go to such
lengths. Not all criminals are hung
was the answer given in explanation
of the principle that not all of the
penalties provided in the Volstead act
need be applied.
While Lord Birkenhead in the Brit
ish debate yesterday held out some
hope for settlement of the difficulty
| through further representations"
there was no definite indication in
any official quarter here today as to
what form such negotiations might
take toward an alleviation of the
situation. Great Britain having evil
IDENTIFY rejected the American offer, it
was a matter of some conjecture as
to what the British may have in mind
to make the trend of their representa-
tions.
Smuggling Separate Subject.
Intimation by Lord Curzon that the
\ real motive of the United States In
making the treaty offer was "the de-
traffic in contraband liquor" was un-
officially answered today by the ex-
planation that the two subjects dealt
with in the American proposal were
smuggling and the matter Of British
ships entering American waters under
the ship liquor ban, having separate
origin, were said to have presented
consequently included In the proposal.
Lord Curzons reference to a loop
hole" in the Supreme Court decision
by which the United States might
avoid seizure of liquors wes the sub
ject of much discussion here today.
with the plain intimation set forth
that no executive of the American
government could take advantage of
the 'loophole" without additional leg
islation by Congress.
Whether Congress when 1t meets
will take advantage of the loop
hole" to enact amendatory legisla-
tion to relieve the situation is a
: matter over which wide difference
of opinion exists, but the declaration
of high officials of the administra-
/, tion today that there was little hope