Evening star., 1921-11-03
Editorial Digest
Medicinal Beer.

independently suggests. we sve threat
ened with "a malt and vintOus tidal
wave," battling which "the proiibi-
tion enforcement officers may throw
up their hands and go down fda- the
third time" the responsibility ulust
lie. ~ many editorial writer's see IT,
not with the Treasury order regulAt t.
ing the sale Of beer and wine foa'
medicinal purposes. but with a daily
ing Congress, which has been play
ing with the measure designed to
prohibit tho very thing that Secretary
MELONS, ruling permits. Editors who
are a. dry as the driest are out OF
sympathy with the attack on the Sec
retary for q decision which Is held to
be plainly within his province under
the law.
The Christian Science Monitor lBos-
ton. independently. for instance. thinks
1T will be difficult for anybody justly
to find fault with the Secretary OF
the Treasury for authorizing the is-
suance of regulations permitting the
manufacture and sale of Intoxicating
beer for medicinal purposes, since the
official Interpretation given the pro-
hibition law before he took once
| has not been corrected by leg1sla.-
tlon. Th0 pfOnlpltlOnIStos INC o@tsi
more Sun eindependent democraticl
observes. should be the last persons
to criticize or denounce him." since
what Secretary Mellon is doing Is to
enforce existing legislation. and the
prohibitionists are always insisting
Volstead law" And it is wholly a
matter Of law. the Pittsburgh Leader
progressive republican, a:sefts. the
opinion of Attorney General Palmer,
upon which the Treasury ruling ,Sa ssct,,si WAS
based. was built ~, upon on fns ne acs9ai and
Secretary Mellon delayed for many
months to allow Congress time to
make changes in the act which might
permanently stay the ruling Bu1
the anti-besr bill remains hung up.
the chicago Journal (democratic)
notes because both houses Of Con-
gress. torn by rival lobbies and hay
ing no discoverable mind or principle
Of their own. are unable to dectoe
whether they will win or lose votes
by passing the measure. Cera'ny
II criticism Is deserved anywhere. the
trenton Times Independently feels
that ut is Congress which should De
blamed for its failure to pass the anu
beer bin"
can be passed on the rafing. as the
(Proyidence Tribune independent re-
puhlicanl sees it, lis that 1t has been
too long delayed by internal reve-
nue. officials, who seem to have been
rather unduly considerate of the SEN
sibilitfes Of the Volsteadians. VINO.
the New York Times Gndependent
Fdemocratic) says, have calmly added.
in effect, the words or for medicinal
purposes" to the prohibition against
liquors for beverage purposes con-
tained In the eighteenth amendment
Nevertheless. the Lynchburg (va-)
News (democratic) contends, the
temper and purpose of Congress mas
ter of traffic in beer, even when con-
fined to medical uses, and in q way
that IL not favorable to the policy
lust inaugurated by Secretary Mel
lon," and there Is no standpoint
from which the order can be Justf-
fed" And. wherever responsibility
lies. the sentiment Of substantial
minority Of the press is expressed by
the Rochester Times-Union Gndepen-
denD when it says that the step
taken by Secretary Mellon is step
backward" which will loosen the
restrictions on booze and make II
still more dinicult to enforce prom
Fliouor traffc." By this "deplorable"
ruling the medical quacks. the fake
druggists and the bootleggers have
won . victory" in the opinion of the
Sioux City Tribune dndependenO:
since there can be no question OF
the injurious effect Of the new regu-
Elation on the efforts properly to en-
force the prohibition amendment"
Medicinal beer may contain cou-
pie Of per cent Of medical benefit for
suffering humanity" the Chicago Post
Independently comedies, with reser-
vations. bat decidedly Its other SO
odd per cent Of excuse for existence
In neither more nor less than anti
prohibition camoufiage." The Akron
Beacon Journal trepublican). how
ever, doesn't grant even one-half of
per cent benefit 1t interprsts the
whole scheme" as designed not to
aid q diseased or suffering world"
but ito create market for that
which clearly the people who voted
for the eighteenth amendment in
tended to prohibit" The Des Moines
Register independent republican,,
also .discounting the advantages to
be gained from the medical aspect,
believes that what the new order
really comes to" is to restore the
beverage use Of wine and beer"