The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-10-25
Mellon Legalizes
 Beer As Medicine

Washington, Oct 25 - Declaring | yesterday that "the legal rights of the parties concerned being plain, | the department is unable longer to delay the issuance of these (the beer) | | regulations" Secretary Mellon signed | the rules under which beer can be made, sold and prescribed for. me- | dicinal purposes. | the desk of the Secretary of the | Treasury several months ago by Com | | missioner of Internal Revenue Blalr, | but upon the suggestion of President Harding were held up until Congress | had been given reasonable time to pass an anu-beer bill. Yesterdays regulations, it was stat | ed, make a case of beer the unit for prescription The important provision or the l rules issued today reads:
 ''No prescription may be issued for a greater quantity of intoxicating | liquor than is necessary for use as a medicine by the person for whom prescribed in the treatment of an aii- ment from which such patient is known by the physician to be surfer | ing Not more than a pint of spirit | | uous (distilled) liquor to be taken fn- | 1 ternally shall be prescribed Tor use | by the same person within any period | of ten days by one or more physl-
 "When spirituous (distilled) liquor | is administered to any person by any 1 physician or physicians as preScrlDeu in Section Il, the aggregate quantity l so administered and the quantity pre- | scrIbed for such person may not eX- ceed one pint within any period Of | ten days. Not more than a pint Of | alcohol for external use may be pre- scrfbed for the same patient at one time.
 ''Not more than two quarts of wine or two and one-half gallons of intoxi- | eating malt liquors to be taken in- formally shall be prescribed at one time for use by the same person Sep l arate prescriptions shall be used for spirituous liquors, wines and malt liquors. ..
 write prescriptions for intoxicating liquors for their own use or use any liquor procured on prescriptions 1s- sued by them. Intoxicating liquors obtained upon prescriptions may only be used for medicinal purposes by the person for whom prescribed and may not be sold or otherwise dispos- ed of by them."
 In a decision handed down March 8, just he was going out of office, A. Mitchell Palmer, then Attorney General, put beer and wine for medi- cinal purposes on the same basis as whiskey.
 The Palmer Ruling.
 | He declared that the denial of per mits for the manufacture. sale and i prescription of beer and wine for medicine was illegal.
 Having declared that, according to the law, the term liquor includes alcohol, brandy. whiskey. rum, gin, , beer, ale, porter and wine and in ad 5 dition thereto, any spirituous, vinous, 5 malt or fermented liquor." MT. Pal l ner asserted:
 'It was not the purpose of Congress 5 to prohibi the use of liquor for non 5 beverage purposes"
 | Ever since MT. Palmer rendered his opinion on his question a bitter con- l troversy has been waging over the l beer regulations The Anti-Saloon League, with all it's allies and lobby ists, tried to hold them back until [ Congress could pass a bill prohibiting . the use of beer as medicine. Mellon Issues Statement
 The Anu-Saloon League measure passed the House and went to the Senate, where it was blocked by a. coterie of Senators led by MT. Stanley = of Kentucky and MT. Reed of Mis- souri. When it became apparent that the Senate could not rush the bill through and the pressure from the outside to issue he regulations be- came very insistent, MT. Mellon de-
 In signing the regulations today he issued this formal statement:
 The issuance of beer regulations was delayed originally because it seemed probable that legislation could be enacted whereby the action of the department would be of no ested, and this view appeared to be acquiesced in by them, since there was at that time no urgent demand for the issuance of the regula lions. However, for some time past it has been strongly. urged by those inter- ested that this department had no right longer to withhold the regula- tions and that in so doing the depart ment is denying to those interested d their clear legal right and thereby inn posing serious loss upon them.
 The legal rights of the parties con cerned being plain, the department is unable longer to delay the issuance of these regulations
 Permits Brewing
 In addition, Secretary Mellon said. he did not believe the signing of the regulations would increase the diff culty of Prohibition enforcement. In l his opinion. the regulations are in strict accordance with the law as in- terpreted by former Attorney General Palmer.
 The beer regulations. known offici- | ally as Treasury Decision 3239, sign ed by commissioner Blair and ap- proved by Secretary Mellon, amend Negotiations No. 60." A new sub | division reads:
 Intoxicating malt liquors, such as beer. ale, porter. malt extract and = similar fermented ma1t1 iQuors con- taining one-half of 1 percentum or more of alcohol by volume, may be