The Mena weekly star., 1921-06-09
WH|SKEY ROW IN
 CONGRESS LOOMS
"Drys" to Make Strong Effort to Pass Amendments Making VoIstead Law > More Rigid-Three Gallons of
 Wine for the Sick.
By W. H. Atkins, International News Service Stan COrreSpondent

Washington, June 5.--A fight be- tween the "wets" and "drys,' begun thru moves to amend and make more rigid the provisions of the Volstead law, threatens now to involve both sides of the capitol in whiskey row.
 The rum battle has many angles. The biggest fight develops out of Con- gressman Volstead's drive to tighten the screws" on whiskey as a medical agent and to outlaw beer.
 Other phases of the whiskey en- broglio, grew out of vigorous moves by certain ''wet" leaders to obtain 'liberap amendments to the dry law One of these, fathered by Congress- man Edmunds of Pennsylvania, would allow American ships to- carry liquors aboard. Mir. Edmunds' proposal in- vites strong support from Senator's and Congressman. Shipping interests urge it's passage on the ground that American ships are suffering competi- tion with foreign liners. Passengers are taking passage on foreign-owned boats, because liquors are sold and served on them.
 Verbal pyrotechnics will come soon in debates over beer. The treasury is holding up regulations which would authorize manufacture and sale of medicinal beer.
 Protests Pile Up.
 Congressman Volstead claims Con- gress by an overwhelming majority, will declare beer is not medicine, and will specifically bar it. Volstead S fight is the result of an opinion by former Attorney General Palmer, holding beer sales by druggists to be legal.
 Breweries, drug manufacturers and leading anti-prohibition organizations have entered strong protests against the Volstead measure. The protests 1 against the Edmunds' ship measure | are less numerous, altho it is strongly | opposed by the Anti-Saloon League. Few will deny that in Congress there now exists greater support for light wines and beer. The real mys- tery is whether or not new accessions to the beer and wine standard will vote as they drink or think. In all wet and dry contests at the capitol the votes on liquor questions have shown, invariably, a large percentage of "wets" lining up with "dry" advo- cates, upon measures to clamp down the lid tighter upon the rum traffic Three Gallons of Wine for the Sick. The "wets" in the new skirmishes may be somewhat appeased by the fact that the new Volstead bill leaves wine as a medicinal drink, which may be prescribed, along with whiskey and other "spirituous" liquors It is prob able, however, than when the finish ing touches are put on the bill, before 1t comes to the president for his sig nature, it will contain many restric- tions, limiting the freedom of doctors in prescribing wine for patients.
 Prohibition Commissioner Kramer has suggested that it should be per missible for physicians to prescribe wine in amounts equivalent in alco- holic content to whiskey allowed Kramer figured that as patients are permitted to have three pints of whiskey month, just proportion of wine would be three gallons a month gauged by its smaller content of al cohol.
 The "drys' are aligned for a terri | fic attempt to jam their amendments thru, and they freely predict they
 have enough votes to win. But the winning will come probably only after some spicy talkfests in both chambers
 with mixture of wrangling always
 to be expected in liquor debates. --n--------
 If brevity is the soul of wit thes, | fxr11 <>f Ss.~4e I1s. Al L