The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1921-05-20

Ever since A. Mitchell Palmer filed
his notorious beer ruling, on the last
day OF his term as attorney general OF
the United States, joy has reigned in
the German-American Alliance and
bright visions of old-time campaign
contributions from revived brewing
industry have pervaded the headquar-
tiers of corrupt political machines. II
these giddy optimists ever become
capable Of understanding the facts
however, they will moderate their
transports.
If the legislative power of Con
gress could be nullifed whenever all
official or court destroyed the eff
feet of an enactment by an arbitrary
Interpretation, the country would
eventually have no laws at all. But
it is always open to Congress to give
stronger and more definite express
sion to its will, so that the obstruc-
ton is merely temporary. And Con-
gress may be relied upon to deal ef-
fectually with the Palmer device, ever
though it has been tacitly approved
by his successor, Harry M. Daugh-
erty.
Mr.. Planners eleventh-hour officia
opinion, which was so welcome to the
brewery clients of his law firm, was
to the effect that beer could lawful,
be prescribed by physicians as medi
cine, and that the government had nc
authority to limit either the number
of permits for its manufacture fol
medicinal purposes or the amount
that might be prescribed for thirsty
invalids. The decision was hailed ex.
ultantly by the liquor forces. "The
old stuff, with body to it," said a
Washington dispatch, will be obtain
able by the bottle, the gallon and the
case if the Palmer dictum stands up
and there is every indication now
that it will stand up, for apparently il
is based squarely upon the law, and
lawyers say that it is well-nigh inn
pregnabe" The business in pros
pect looked so big that the other day
a leading Chicago brewer said the
trade would be able to deliver real
beer at the low rate of $3.50 a case
of twenty-four bottles.
But those who have been looking
for return of the good old berry
days are running the risk, we fear, OF
bringing on eys-strain. Proceeding
with its accustomed directness, eff
cheney and promptitudc, the Anti
Saloon League has already caused to
be introduced bill supplemental to
the Volstead enforcement act, de-
signed to shut off the spigot opened
by the obliging Mr.. Palmer. Among
It's PROVISIONS Nilf1n nave q dCddly
explictness. is one which declares
"Only spirituous and vinous liquor
may be prescribed for medicinal pur-
poses, and all permits to prescribe,
and prescriptions for, any other liq-
uor shall be void" 1t doesn't need
an attorney general to interpret
this clause, which means precisely
that if the bill is enacted the pre-
scribng' of beer will be as unlawful
as any OF the ruder varieties of boot
Logging.
One can easily credit the statement
from Washington that the presenta-
ton Of this measure startled the wet
forces" 1t must have been a stag
gering blow to the brewery interests,
which for years have conducted a
propaganda to persuade, the public
that beer is virtuous and benehcent
member of the booze family, unjustly
aspersed and penalized because of its
unfortunate association with other al
coholic products. And now they find
it threatened with exclusion even
from the medicinal" classification,
the last refuge of "spirituous and
vinous liquor"
Yet they really ought to be graft
fed. Ever since Prohibition became
effective, they have been yearning
aloud for chance to battle for beer
without being embarrassed by the
evil record of the liquor traffic in
general. IT. they cried, way could