PROHIBITION: Proposed Treaty

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John Bull, in a genial mood, waved his hand in magnanimous assent. As far as he is concerned Uncle Sam may search rum ships not only three miles at sea, but a dozen miles at sea and even further.

A treaty, or at least the general terms of a treaty, were drawn up by the British Government with the approval of the Conference of Premiers of the British dominions, assembled in London. The acceptance of this plan by the British Government ended a long period of negotiation (TIME, Aug. 13) in which Secretary of State Hughes tried to make arrangements for searching rum ships which remain outside the three-mile limit. The British Government had little objection to helping America make itself dry, but it was entirely disinclined to relinquish the three-mile limit for territorial waters. Its reasons for this pertained purely to naval strategy in European waters.

Beginning June 10, by ruling of the U. S. Supreme Court, foreign vessels were not allowed to bring their liquor stores into American territorial waters. This ruling gave Secretary Hughes a point on which to bargain. The treaty as proposed now makes three points:

1) That U. S. vessels will have the right to search British ships for rum "within an hour's sailing distance of the American shore." This gives the U. S. Government all the authority that it may desire for checking the activities of ships supplying rum runners beyond the three-mile limit.

2) The U. S. will reaffirm the sacredness of the three-mile limit for territorial water. In this manner the question of preventing rum smuggling is entirely divorced from the legal restriction of three miles on territorial waters—the restriction which Britain would not waive.

3) British ships, touching at American ports in regular business, will have the right to carry their liquor stores into territorial waters under seal without liability to seizure. This is contrary to the Volstead Act, but a treaty has as much the force of law as a Federal statute. So if this treaty is negotiated it will have the force of an amendment to the Volstead Act in favor of the liquor stores of British ships.

While the proposed treaty would apply to British ships, it represents the probable course that will be adopted by other foreign powers. By tacit consent among the Allies, it was understood that Britain would settle the question and that the others would then act similarly.

The question of whether the British treaty will be ratified by the U. S. Senate is entirely a matter of politics. There are two classes of opponents:

1) Prohibitionists who object to modifying the Volstead Act even so much as to let British passenger vessels bring their liquor stores into American ports under seal. (It seems that most prohibitionists will regard this concession as completely outweighed by the authority the Govern-ment will have to prevent rum ships from "hovering" three miles out.)

2) American shipping interests which are vigorously opposed to the measure because it would allow British ships to sell liquor coming and going from U. S. ports—a disadvantage to American ships, which cannot do so.