Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1899-04-11
LIQUOR IN THE ARMY
CanfcenS MOI KDOEiShe d by
Recent Enactment.
Attorney Ge9eraI Holds That Sec
fion Seventeen FOrbidS Sale of
Liquor by Officers and Private
Soldiers but MOI by Civilians.

Washington, April 1O.-The secre-
tary of war recently requested the
opinion of the encouragement as to
whether section II of the act passed
at the last session of congress ''in-
creasing the efficiency of the army
prohibits the continuance of the sale
of intoxicating drinks by the govern
ment in the canteen sections Of the
post exchanges, which are organized
and maintained at the various army
posts and encampments throughout
the United States. The attorney-gen-
eral in his reply holds that the section
in question does not prohibit the con-
tinuance of the sale of Intoxicating
drinks through the canteen sections
as heretofore organized and carried
on, except that no officer or enlisted
man can be detailed for duty in the
canteen section to dc the selling.
Section II of the act is as follows:
THAT no officer or private soldier shall
be detailed to sell intoxicating drinks
as a bartender or otherwise, in any
pest, exchange, or canteen, nor shall
lowed to sell such liquors in any en-
campment Or fort or on any premises
used for military purposes by the
United States; and the secretary of
war is hereby directed to issue such
general order as may be necessary to
carry the provisions OF this section
into full force and effect.
The question involved is whether
this act absolutely prohibits the sale
of intoxicating drinks in canteens, CT
whether its effect is merely to regu-
late the same by disseminating the
custom of detailing enlisted men as
statesmen in the canteens. The attor-
ney-general says:
"If this act was intended to be en-
tirely prohibitory of the sale Of intox-
icating drinks, in post exchanges or
canteens, as well as in encampments,
forts. and ether premises used for
military purposes. then, to say the
least. congress used a very circ1ftous
route to reach that point, and en-
ployed many superfuous words to en-
act a simple provision, which could
have been stated in a single sentence
declaring that/hereafter nc intoxicat-
ing drinks should be dealt in or sold
i'll any post, exchange, or canteen, c.
on any premises used for military pur-
poses by the United States.
THE act does not make any such
declaration. On the contrary, the first
clause merely forbids the detail of any
officer CIR private soldier to act as
bartender, or otherwise, in the sale of
intoxicating drinks in any post eX-
change or canteen. Why specify Off
GERS and private soldiers as forbidden
if it was intended to forbid the traffic
of all other persons? The designation
of one class of individuals as forbid
den to do a certain thing raises just
inference that all ether classes not
mentioned are not forbidden. "A dec
laration that soldiers shall net be de-
tailed to sell Intoxicating drinks in
post exchanges necessarily implies
that such a sale is not unlawful when
conducted by others than soldiers. If
a statute were to provide that no
liquors should be sold tc minors in
any saloon, would not every one infer
that the enactment was predicated
upon state of law which, as to 9th
ers than minors. allowed the sale Of
liquCr in saloons?
"As all parts of the act must be
given effect according to their natural
sense and meaning, if possible, it be-
comes necessary to attach to this first
clause, therefore, signiication which
implies that the sale of liquor in post
exchanges is not unlawful when con-
Quoted by others than soldiers. Ger
tainly, standing by Itself, it can re-
ceive no ether or broader meaning
than that the officers or private sol
diers are not to be detailed to sell in
toxicating drinks.
"The result of these reflections is,
then, that this esction does net pro-
hibit the continuance of the sale of
drinks through the can
teen sections of the post exchanges, as
heretofore organized and carried on,
except that, of course. no officer or
soldier can be put on duty in the can
teen section to do the selling, either di- |
rectly or indirectly. This latter the
Jaw clearly prohibits"
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REGIMENTS IN QUARANTINE.