The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1917-02-28
Wednesday, Feb. %, 1917.
THE LIQUOR SITUATION.

THE LIQUOR SITUATION.
The House Of Representatives at
the recent session Of the. General
Assembly passed the bone dry pro-
hibition bill. The Senate refused
to pass such q bill, but, on the other
hand, passed what is known as the
Durant Bill, providing that certain
persons might procure as much as a
quart Of liquor each month "for
medicinal purposes only" upon the
prescription Of a physician in good
standing. The House having failed
to agree to this bill, the matter was
sent to a free conference commit
tee, and the result is the legislation
on the subject copied in another
column.
Just when the legislature ad-
iourned the Congress Of the United
States adopted an amendment to
the postal regulations making posi-
BILE absolute prohibition in all states
forbidding the manufacture and
sale Of intoxicating liquors. Had
the members of the House known
that this amendment would pass In
Congress they would never have ac-
cepted the free conference report
on the liquor bill just passed. be-
cause, without doing more than al
lowing matters to stand as they
were, absolute prohibition was pos
sible.
The Durant Bill could not have
commended itself to any thoughtful
person who was in favor Of prohibit
ing the use of liquors as bever-
AGE. The contention that it was
necessary to provide some means
of procuring liquors for medicinal
purposes will not stand. Sections
7s6 to sOs of the criminal code had
already furnished practical way
by which alcohol might be obtained
for medicinal purposes. It furnish
ed a way in which alcohol might be
obtained without there being any
suspicion that the same was to DO
u,ed for beverage purposes. While
the sections are somewhat long IL
is worth while to keep the prov1s-
ions of some of these sections be-
fore US. Sec. 799 provides for the
obtaining of alcohol for use in the
Arts and for Scientific and Mechan-
ical purposes. Sec. sO1 provides
for procuring wine for sacramental
purposes. In addition to other pro-
visions for safeguarding the public
against designing druggists, Sec
tions 7s6-79s provide:
Section 796. Sales by retail drug
gists.-Any retaiA druggist whose
place of business is located in any
of the incorporated towns or cities
of this State, who is himself a regis
tered or licensed pharmacist, or
who regularly employs a registered
or licensed pharmacist, may SELL In
the manner herein set out, upon
filing a bond in the sum of hive
thousand dollars, to be approved by
the Clerk of the Court, in which
such druggist does business, condi-
toned for a faithful observance OF
The provisions of Sections 1874 to
S03, such bond to be approved by
the Clerk of Court, pure alcohol for
medicinal purposes only, grain al
cohol to chemists and psychologists
actually engaged in scientific work.
and for such purposes only, and
wine to be used for sacramental or
religious purposes only: Provided,
That nothing herein contained shall
prevent such druggist from using
alcohol in the compounding of pre-
scriptions or other medicines the
sale of which would not subject him
to the payment of special tax re-
quired of liquor dealers by the Gov
ernment of the United States: Pro-
vided further, That nothing herein
contained shall prevent such drug
gists from compounding or selling
medicinal preparations manufacture
ed in accordance with formulas
prescribed by the ~ United States
Pharmacopoeia and National For
mulary which contain no more alco-
hol than is necessary to extract the
medicinal properties of the drugs
contained in such preparations, and
no more alcohol than is necessary
to hold the medicinal agents in So
luton, and which are manufactured
and sold as medicine and not as a
beverage.
Section TOT. Sales upon physi-
clans prescriptions.-No sale of
pure alcohol for medicinal purposes,