811.114/1015
The Secretary of the Treasury (Mellon) to the Secretary of State12
My Dear Mr. Secretary: For your information I wish to advise that I have received from the President the following communications containing instructions following the ruling of the Attorney General13 upon the administration of the prohibition enforcement act, as applied to service and transportation of intoxicating liquors upon carriers at sea:
“the white house washington
October 6, 1922.
My dear Me. Secretary:
“I have asked the Attorney General to place in your hands his ruling relating to the application of the Eighteenth Amendment and the Volstead Act to the service and the transportation of intoxicating liquors on American ships at sea, and the transportation of intoxicating liquors on all vessels within American waters. The ruling, you will note, holds all transportation in American waters to be contrary to a recent decision of the Supreme Court,14 and transportation and traffic on American vessels to be wholly contrary to law. I have directed the Chairman of the United States Shipping Board to order immediate observance of the law on all government vessels, and desire you to give like notice to the masters of all privately-owned ships operating under the American flag.
“You will note that the ruling holds the possession or transportation of all intoxicating liquors by foreign ships in American waters to be contrary to the decision of the Court. You will therefore proceed to the formulation [Page 578] of regulations for the enforcement of the law, and such notice to the agents of foreign shipping lines touching American ports or docking therein as becomes the circumstances and commits us to full enforcement of the law.”
“Very truly yours,
(Signed) Warren G. Harding”
“Hon. A. W. Mellon,
Secretary of the Treasury,
Washington, D.
C.”
“the white house washington
October 7, 1922.
My dear Mr. Secretary:
“Supplementing my letter of instruction of October 6th, relating to the enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment and the Prohibition Enforcement Act as applied to carriers at sea, you will please direct United States Customs officials to give notice to all shipping lines that pending the formulation of regulations, the enforcement of the prohibition of transportation of cargoes or ship stores will not be practicable in the case of foreign vessels leaving their home ports or American vessels leaving foreign ports on or before October 14, 1922.15 Any earlier attempt at enforcement, in the absence of due notice and ample regulations, would be inconsistent with just dealing and have a tendency to disrupt needlessly the ways of commerce.
“This delay in full enforcement does not apply to the sale of intoxicating liquor on vessels sailing under the American flag.”
“Very truly yours,
(Signed) Warren G. Harding”
“Hon. A. W. Mellon,
Secretary of the Treasury,
Washington, D.
C.”
In pursuance of these instructions I am having prepared the necessary orders and regulations to carry into effect the provisions thereof.
Very truly yours,