Evening star., 1933-11-27
Federal Liquor Control.

zenith amendment practically at hand,
the administration is moving as rapidly
as possible to be in position to keep a
firm hand on the liquor traffic until
Congress and the States have an oppor-
tunity to enact the necessary new
laws. The fact that the national pro-
hibition amendment to the Constitu-
ton will cease to exist on December S
and the Congress does not meet until
January makes an awkward situation.
The Congress at its special session last
Spring and Summer took no steps eek
ing to the new conditions to result from
repeal of national prohibition. The re-
peal amendment, submitted to the
States, contained no provision postpon-
ing the operation Of repeal until some
future day, as did the eighteenth
amendment, which did not become
effective until year from the day of
final ratification by the States.
The administration has been COM
PEELED to work with such tools as it
could find. Its problem was to keep
some kind of control over production,
importation and distribution until the
law makers could try their hands at
new legislation. Provisions in the farm
relief act, setting up the Agricultural
Adjustment Administration, and in the
national recovery act have been reSorted
to. A code for the liquor distillers, as
well as code for the liquor importers,
is about to be adopted, with an admin
iStrati0n liquor control board in a posi-
tion to dominate the traffic.
The distillers have sought to regulate
their own business, and presented a
code of fair practices under the opera
ton of the N. R. A. But the special
governmental committee appointed by
the President to work on the liquor
problem has framed a substitute code
which, to all intents and purposes, it
is reported, retains the actual control
of the liquor traffic in the hands of the
Government, through control of pro-
duction and Importation The code for
the distillers proposed by the Govern
ment. it is predicted. will be adopted
with some notifications, and under it
the distillers will have to operate until
Congress has an opportunity to put
through new laws.
The charge is made that the admin
istration is pursuing course with re-
gard to liquor that is contrary to the
policy of returning control of the liquor
traffic to the States. The Federal Gov
eminent, however, after the adoption of
the twenty amendment repeating
national prohibition, will still be bound
to protect dry States from the inflow
Of liquor from wet areas; it must also
exercise its taxing powers to derive
revenue from the manufacture of
liquor, and, through these taxing
powers, will be in a position to see to
1t that the American people are pro-
tected from unfit alcoholic beverages
and that tremendous inflow of i'm
ported liquors does not take place.
The return to legaIzed liquor traffic,
after the lapse of dozen years, nee
essarily places the liquor traffic ION
the spot" and with it the National
Government. The greater the abuses
under the new conditions, the greater
the condemnation of legalized liquor
traffic. The liquor trafhc itself realizes
this fact. The distillers, like other
manufacturers and distributors, would
prefer to be able to operate their busi-
ness as they see fit. Obviously, how
ever, this is not the time for them to
utter loud protests. The liquor busi-
ness will be on trial for months to
come. Repeal. of national prohibition,
by the very speed with which that is
being accomplished. has caught the
Federal Government and many Of the