Dry, Regardless

Following the decision of the Supreme Court making the carrying and sale of liquor legal on American vessels, Chairman Lasker of the Shipping Board announced that government ships would continue dry until the President withdrew his previous dry edict. Mr. Harding has not done so, and is not expected to. Mr. Lasker is nevertheless openly in favor of having Shipping Board vessels sell liquor in order to place them on equality with their competitors which do so.

From the President's standpoint, however, it would be decidedly unwise. Mark Sullivan, able Washington correspondent of The New York Tribune, says: " There have been few things that hurt the Administration so much as the disclosure that liquor was being sold on the ships owned and operated by the United States Shipping Board." The President ordered that to cease some time ago, and now to rescind that order would be to open himself once more to criticism.

In addition, the Administration expects the ships to be run actively by the Government itself, if the present program for selling the ships fails, as is predicted. To operate the ships, it will be necessary to have funds from Congress, and Congress is still looked upon as dry. Allowing Shipping Board vessels to resume liquor sales, might seriously imperil the Administration's plan for Government operation.