24 JANUARY 1931, Page 2

American Prohibition The eagerly awaited Report of the Wickersham Commission,

appointed two years ago to study law enforcement, particularly, of course, in relation to Prohibition, has been . published. It is a confused document. Of the eleven Commissioners one demands an immediate repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution—the Amendment which prohibits alcoholic drink and defines what it is ; six desire revision of the Amendment ; three wish the law to remain as it is for a further experiment ; and one inclines to the view that the present system is as good as any that is likely to be attained. A fact of prime importance, as the Washington correspondent of the Times says, is that with one exception the Commissioners either favour immediate revision of the Amendment (as distinct from repeal) or admit that such action will be wise in the end. Even the one dissentient suggests a phraseology for a revised Eighteenth Amendment. So evidently he is very far from confident that the Amendment can be preserved. * * * *