Evening star., 1933-12-22
j. s. GIVES CONTROL
OF RUM TO STATES|
Present Policy Calls for Fed
eraI Supervision as Tenn
porary Measure.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Responsibility for the control of the
sale of liquor must rest with the States.
The Federal Government will help to
prevent smuggling, improper labelling
and evasion of taxes. But the guam
titles to be consumed, = the conditions
under which selling is to be permitted
and even the ultimate price to the con-
z1ner are matters left entirely to the
Etates
The foregoing is the present policy of
the Roosevelt administration, and while
the codes that have been drawn up to
be supervised by the Federal Alcohol
Control Administration are really rigid
in their control features, this is a tenn
porarT eXpedient which is designed to
be superseded as soon as the States are
able to assume full responsibility by new
legislation.
1t is significant that no code was pro-
mulgated for retail distributors, al
though one was prepared. The reason
given is that transactions wholly within
a State could not be regulated by Fed
eral law. This. however. has not pre-
vented the milk agreements or the oil
pool compacts from controlling retail
distribution and fixing prices.
The President IS represented as feel
ing that, with the repeal of the eight
eenth amendment, the people specifi-
cally voted to have the control of the
liquor problem turned back to the
States and that It's social and economic
aspects should be handled by the States.
Uniform Price Talk.
Pressure is coming to change this
policy and have system of complete
Federal control. The argument made is
that the Stateg will not adopt uniform
systems, that the prices charged will
vary with the taxes and that the boot
leggers will take advantage of the lack
of uniform prices.
AS matters stand today the boot
leggers are rather happy. They have
never paid any attention to the snug
Cling laws They have been able to ship
across international lines and land
liquor on the long coastlines of America.
But what they have feared heretofore
has been the dangers of distribution.
Today such dangers have been diminish
ed because the demand for liquor is
greater than the supply, and the illegiti-
mate distributors have nothing to fear
in selling their wares There are not
enough agents Of the Government avail
able to trace the sales. Legal and illegal
are mixed up in shipment and delivery.
Secondhand bottles of legal liquor are
gobbled up by the bootleggers. Also
labels and stamps affixed to lawful
liquor are taken off and put on SNUG
gled liquor.
Many manufacturers are finding re-
tailers stocked with products they
themselves never sold, but which bear
their labels. The confusion is due in
ment to allow importations without re-
striction. The desire to negotiate
reciprocity agreements has been given
precedence over the necessity of driving
out the bootlegger Today the import
quotas are held down and the lawful
industry cannot supply the demand.
The bootleggerS have no such trouble.
They are bringing in all sorts of Euro
pean products through Canada. entirely
apart from the shipments of American
type whisky which were allowed to enter
from that country.
Important Question.
Meanwhile the negotiations for reci-
poets that any such important problem
Of foreign relations will be satisfactorily
adjusted for at least another six months.
Should the Government In the mean
time allow the American lawful indus
try to compete with the unlawful trade
by removing all import restrictions?
The question will have to be determined
soon. as it becomes apparent that the
public Is paying high prices to the
retailer which are not justified by the
known facts about manufacture.
The Government here has estimated
requirements far below the needs. This
is frankly acknowledged The policy
was adopted as part of the diplomacy
of holding back on the Europeans. But
the latter, who for years have been
Surreptitiously selling America liquor
which has not paid tariffs, are not
disturbed, in fact their sales are rising.
AS a consequence the American Gov
ernnent is losing the tariff money, the
tax money when the products are
labeled, and the lawful industry. with
millions of dollars invested, is finding
the competition with bootleggers so
severe that it would not be surprising
to find the legitimate manufacturers
coming to the Federal Government
some day with the request that they be
taken over completely as the only way
out.
This, of course is what some of the
officials of the Roosevelt administration,
notably the Rex TugweH group, have
wanted right along. But If that is done
the bootleggers will be happiest. For
when the motive of social control is
dominant and there is disregard of the
economics of retail distribution and
demand the illicit trade profits all along
the line
The decision Of the Roosevelt ad-
ministration TO insist that the States
take up the problem and handle the
question of distribution may be found
expensive by the States, but it is
pointed out that that's what the people
voted for in repeal of the eighteenth
amendment.
Copyright, 1889