Evening star., 1924-03-16
OTHER POWERS TO SIGN
RUM.RUNNINC TREATIES
British Pact, When Effective, to Increase
Hazards of Liquor Smugglers Off
United States Coast.

into American portS-Whlch they
have not been able to do since the
decision of the Supreme Court of the
United States held this illegal.
United States Ships to Stay Dry.
1t has been argued many times that
to permit the ships of Great Britain
and other foreign nations to carry
all the liquor supplies they desire
for passenger use is unfair to the
American passenger liners which are
"dry." The American ships, it appears,
are to stay dry. Albert D. Lasker.
former chairman of the United States
Shipping Board. protested vigorously
against making American ships dry"
in competition with the ships Of other
nations for passenger traffic. But
the lid was clamped firmly on the
American vessels.
But whether it is really a handicap
to be dry" is a debatable. question.
In the first place. a majority of the
people of this country believe in pro-
hibition, or there would be none.
Secondly, there are many persons.
both Europeans and Americans, who
prefer dry" ship to a wet" one
these days because of the greater
peace and quiet on the former, or be-
cause they are travelling with young
people in their party. Shipping Board
officials have received many commu-
nications from patrons compliment
ing them on the dry American boats
in recent months.
Restriction Not Underxtood, g.
The decision of the Supreme Court
that foreign vessels may not bring
liquor into American ports, although
under seal and perhaps consigned to
other foreign ports. has been regard
ed by some of the other nations as a
departure from international comfy.
They have been unable to understand
such restriction which interferes
with their trade with other nations
than America, although they have
acquiesced in the decision. The treaty
with Great Britain, it is pointed out.
removes this source of irritation. and
negotiation of similar treaties with
other nations would have a beneficial
effect in the interests of peaceful con-
ditions.
Probably there are foreign vessels
that will seek to violate the prohibit
tion law under the treaty stipulatfons
by landing Illicit cargoes of liquor,
but such will be risky business at
best. and will subject the vessels to
seizure by this government. One such
vessel. the Orduna, today is under
$1,000. 900 bond because of the landing
of liquor here. Prohibition agents
necessarily will have to keep a sharp
lockout for such violations. But they
must do SO under present conditions,
as the experience with the orduna
proves.
United States Committed to Limit.
The new treaty definitely commits
the United States to recognition of
the three-mile limit. But the Su-
preme Court of the United States
had previously declared the country
recognizes that principle in interna-
t!onal law. The three mile limit was
established many years ago, on the
theory that a country had jurisdic-
tion over the waters washing its
coasts to distance that cannon
placed on the shore could command
those waters-a distance then Of three
miles. Under such a theory today,
with guns that carry seven, eight or
nine times that distance, and even
further, the jurisdiction would be
much extended. But the nations have
thought best to stick to the old three
mile limit up to the present time.
But it has been recognized that
modern methods of transportation and
have, rendered the
three-mile limit wholly Inadequate to
cope with the rum smuggIers. High
power launches, airplanes, etc, have
enabled the smugglers to traverse the
three miles from the rum-runnine
vessel to the shore in such brief time
as to render their capture exceedingly
difficult, especially when the SNUG
glers have been notified of the where
abouts of government craft by radio.
The treaty provides that in cases
where liquor is intended to be con-
veyed to the United States by a vessel
other than the one boarded and
searched, it shall be the speed of the
other vessel and not the speed of the
vessel boarded, which shall determine
the distance from the coast at which
the right of visit and search may be
exercised. If. therefore, rum-run-
ming vessel of comparatively slow
speed was using fast, high-powered
launch to land her contraband cargo.
the speed Of the faster vessel would
be the measure Of the distance that
the former vessel might be visited
and searched and seized