The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-04-05
THEY WILL FIGHT IT.
temperance People Aroused by Attorney
General Griggs' Decision.

General Grggs' Decision.
Washington, April THE decision of
Attorney General Gr!ggs on the can
teen legislation of the last congress has
already stirred the temperance and re-
Hslous elements to activity, and to-
night the superintendent of legislation
OF the National W. c. T. U. and the
mead or the reform bureau announced
that they would not submit without a
fight to the Interpretation put on the
law lay with the president: If he chose.
would appeal to the president himself.
They said that the execution of the
law lay with the PRESIDENT; if he chose,
the power was in his hands to suppress
absolutely the sale of liquor in the
army ana that they would not rest sat
isfied until Mr.. Mckinley has acted.
They indicated purpose to begin an
agitation OF the matter in the churches
throughout the country and to have
them urge on the president that he
carry out what they insist. notwith-
standing the attorney generals opin-
ion, was the plain intention of con-
gress.
Section II of the act is as follows:
THAT no officer or private soldier shall
be detailed to sell intoxicating drinks
as bartender or otherwise. in any post,
exchange or canteen. nor shall any
other person be required or allowed to
sell such liquors in any encampment or
fort, or on any premises used for mill
tary 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 in
toXicating drinks in canteens, or wheth-
er its effect is merely to regulate the
same by discontinuing the custom Of
detailing enlisted mon as statesmen in
the canteen. The attorney general says:
If this act was intended to be pro-
hibitory of the sale of Intoxicating
drinks in post exchanges or canteens
as well as in encampments, for this and
other premises used fer military pur-
poses, then, to say the least, congress
used very circuitOus route to reach
that point and employed many super
fuous words to enact simple provis-
ion, which could have been stated in a
single sentence declaring that hereaf-
ter no intoxicating drinks should be
dealt in or sold in any post exchange, or
canteen, or any premises used for mill
tary purposes by the United States. The
act does not make any such declaration.
On the contrary, the first clause merely
forbids the detail of an officer or pri-
vate acting as a bartender or other
wise in the sale of intoxicating drinks
in any post exchange or canteen. Why
specify officers and private soldiers as
forbidden if it was Intended to forbid
the traffic?
THE third clause of the act directs
the secretary of war to issue such gen.
eral order as may be necessary to carry
the provisions of this section into full
force and effect. If the section was in
tended to be an absolute prohibitory
act, preventing the sale of intoxicating
drinks on all government premises occu-
pied for military purposes, then it would
execute itself and would not require a
general order from the secretary of war
or from any one else. In the face Of
general prohibitoTy section of that kind,
such sales would be unlawful and the
order of the secretary would not in any
way enhance their illegality. If, how
ever, an Interpretation be adopted
which separates the. first and second
clauses of the act and makes the sec
ond refer only to the sales by persons
not Connected with post exchanges or
canteens, then the third clause of the
section becomes Ineligible and appro-
pirate and applies to the future sales in
post exchanges or canteens. The fact
post exchanges or canteens. The act
having forbidden the employment of
soldiers as bartepders or statesmen of
1llHhS IL "UulG ne ldWl vi
and appropriate for the managers of
the post exchanges to employ civilians
for that purpose
"Of course employment is matter
of contract and not of requirement or
permission. The regulation of the post
exchanges and canteens being within
the power of the secretary Of war, the
act means that he shall by order mod
ify the regulations upon that subject
so as to make them consistent with the
provisions of this act. To that end it
will be requisite that he shall deter
mine the question of the persons who
may be employed in the post exchanges
and such other conditions and require
ments in connection Herewith as his
good judgment may dictate.
THE result of these regulations is
then that this section does not prohibit
the continuance of the sale of intox-
icating drinks through the canteen sec
tons of the post exchanges, as hereto
fore organized and carried, except that,
of course, no officer or soldier can be
put on duty in the canteen section to
do the selling, either directly or indi-
rectly. This latter the law clearly pro-
hibits."
nnlJor